Why Successful People Are Rereading Books
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This post is all about why successful writers are rereading books, and why you should too!
Reading is a quintessential component of successfully becoming the type of person you wish to be, but rereading is the further exploration of that. That sounds complicated, but what it comes down to is that reading is actually proven to make you a better person.
‘Better’ is subjective, however, if complex thinking, increased empathy, and the slowing of cognitive decline is something you desire, then you may want to keep reading.
But why is rereading important?
I have been a life long reader, and there have always been a select few books I have returned to again and again. These books are super comforting, but recently I have noticed that I have been rereading them a little different than before…
I am noticing details that never crossed my mind, such as structure, character development, little hints and clues, symbols and so much more. I have been annotating like crazy, which has led me down a rabbit hole of curiosity, why do we reread, what type of people reread, and what can be gained from it.
This is what 3 successful writers have to say about rereading books.
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Donna Tartt on Rereading Books
Donna Tartt is the author of three hugely successful, award winning novels: The Secret History, The Little Friend, and The Goldfinch, the latter of which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She is an incredibly accomplished writer, but interestingly, Tartt has spoken about how much of her love of writing actually originates from her love of reading.
When asked about her favourite books, she responds ‘it’s terrible to ask me this question because I just read the same books over and over again’.
The first time you read a book, you’re discovering it alongside the writer. You’re following the story, meeting the characters and wondering what is going to happen next. But once you already know the story, you can stop worrying about what happens and start paying much closer attention to how the writer made it happen.
You begin to notice the little things you missed the first time: the structure, the foreshadowing, the way characters are introduced, recurring imagery and all of the tiny details that suddenly seem much more significant when you know where the story is going.
In other words, rereading lets you see the craftsmanship behind the story.
Tartt has expressed this idea beautifully in The Secret History, saying:
“It’s better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially.”
There is something particularly compelling about this idea.
We’re so often encouraged to read more books, as though the number of books we can finish is the ultimate measure of being a “good” reader. But there is something to be said for slowing down and getting to know a handful of books incredibly well.
Rereading books isn’t going backwards, it’s discovering what you missed see the first time.
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Vivian Gornick on Rereading Books
Writer and critic Vivian Gornick takes the idea of rereading even further. In her book Unfinished Business: Notes of a Chronic Re-Reader, she states that “the only true reader is a re-reader.”
Gornic focuses on how we change and evolve, meaning we can never be the same person each time we return to the book.
You’ve had new experiences, changed your opinions, fallen in love, lost people, grown older, made mistakes and learnt things since you last read those pages. All of that inevitably changes the way you interpret what you’re reading.
Gornick describes this process as a kind of regeneration. Each time we return to a book, we’re bringing a new version of ourselves to it, meaning that the experience of reading it can become something entirely new.
In Unfinished Business, Gornick explores how rereading can even help us achieve what she describes as a “semblance of an integrated self.” This means rereading isn’t about nostalgia or simply returning to a favourite story, it’s a way of understanding the different versions of ourselves that we’ve been throughout our lives.
Returning to a book is learning who you’ve become.
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C.S. Lewis on Rereading Books
C.S. Lewis is best known as the author of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but he was also a passionate reader. And when it came to rereading, Lewis was unequivocal about its value.
In a February 1932 letter to his friend Arthur Greeves, Lewis wrote:
“I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.”
The quote comes from Lewis’s correspondence with Greeves and is later published in his collected letters.
“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
This idea appears in The Joyful Christian, where Lewis argues for making room for older books rather than constantly pursuing something new.
In another letter to Arthur Greeves, he described how he would approach a difficult historical book by making maps and genealogical trees, writing notes at the top of pages and indexing passages he had underlined. He described this process as a way of turning reading into a hobby, explaining that a book read in this way could acquire “the charm of a toy without losing that of a book.”
This gives us a great picture of Lewis’s attitude towards books: he saw them as sources of both pleasure and knowledge, returning to them again and again.
And perhaps that is why another quotation attributed to Lewis feels so fitting:
“Re-reading, we always find a new book.”
Thus, returning to a book doesn’t necessarily mean repeating the same reading experience. It can mean discovering something you weren’t ready to see the first time.
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6 Suprising Benefits of Rereading Books
Emotional Comfort
A lot of the time, there is nothing more comforting than returning to an old favourite, whether it be Harry Potter, The Catcher in the Rye, or even the Twilight series. It takes us back to a place of familiarity, and helps us return to a version of ourselves and a time in our lives that feels nostalgic.
Cognitive Benefits
Rereading books engages the brain as you read, reinforcing memory like a brain workout. When you return to a familiar book, you can strengthen your understanding of the ideas, remember important details and make connections that you may have missed the first time around.
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Deeper Understanding
Like Donna Tartt states, it is only the second time upon reading you begin to understand and see the book for what it is made from- the structure, the foreshadowing, the way characters are introduced, recurring imagery and all of the tiny details.
Personal Growth
Like Vivian Gornick explains, books serve as a reference point for who you once were and who you have become. Rereading can help you measure how you have changed in perspective, values and understanding.
Creative Innovation
Rereading exposes readers to ideas previously overlooked. By reengaging you can inspire new thoughts, curiosities, perspectives and approaches to understanding.
Social Benefits
Rereading can also create opportunities to connect with other people who have read the same book. Returning to a familiar story gives you something to discuss with friends, book clubs or fellow readers, while rereading can reveal details and interpretations that make for more interesting conversations.
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This post was all about the power of rereading books
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