Rereading

A little while ago, somewhere out there on the Internet, I ran across a thing about the joy and value in rereading books. I’ve managed to lose track of the thing now, but thoughts about rereading has been rumbling around in my head. So I started writing this, got a little hung up on why and how I read, so ended up writing my post on reading as well. Like that post, I’m not sure anyone needs to read this, but I’m writing it.

Overall I haven’t reread books all that much, so when I read that now lost thing, I had a bit of a revelation. One of the hangups I have around books, especially non-fiction and academic writing, is that I’ve always felt like I have to transfer everything perfectly into my brain all at once and my realisation is that, I don’t have to do that, I can read it again.

There’s a lot of other reasons to reread, enjoying a book again, getting a different perspective or looking at a different bit of writing, but realising that I don’t have to have perfect didactic recall of everything I read is really freeing. ( I’m sure people know this, but some how I ended up with this in my head and I think it’s really hindered how I read).

So I’m starting to to change how I approach reading, with the plan and expectation that I’m going to read the book again . I think that will complement my choice I can go quickly over a book (especially for fiction) and hopefully will help me not get hung up.

I had already been thinking rereading, especially wanting to revisit some series, like the Mercy Thompson books and the Lord Peter Wimsey books, to enjoy them again, but also to see what makes them work so well for me and how I could incorporate those elements more into my own writing.

Thinking about rereading, and the knowledge I can come back later, has me also thinking about how I’ve played games. I haven’t yet finished “Tears of the Kingdom” because I spent a lot of time deep in the side quests. Now those side quests are really good and worth playing, but I think I’d have been much better off playing the game through, getting to the end and then playing a second or even a third time to go through the side quests and get deeper into the little details. When I stopped playing I’d really lost track of the main idea of the game and momentum in playing more.

I think Tears would have been richer if I hadn’t tried to play so many of the side quests and if I’d pushed forward on the main quest more. It’s not the first game I’ve felt that about either (including “Breath of the Wild”). And so I’m taking this opportunity to remind myself that I can come back and play again and probably be happier.

Again, I don’t know that you need to know that I’m going to reread books and replay games more, but I feel good with that seed in my mind. I hope that if you’re in a similar space you can also let go of expectations and enjoy the things you enjoy more as well.