In defense of Rereading

I struggle with the idea of rereading. Most books I read, I absorb, I'm done. Most of the time, this is enough. Certain books though beg to be reread. It's not necessarily about reading level either. I am currently in a reread of the Harry Potter  books. I reread through Mercedes Lackey's Valdamer series on a regular basis. Both of these are not what one would call a tough read. On the other hand, I also have an urge to reread I, Claudius which is considered a classic, and it strikes me that I haven't reread the Gothic romances in a while.

On the downside, rereading means spending book time covering ground already traveled.

However, on the upside there's much to be gained too. Rereading means greater attention on the thematic levels. Generally, we get pretty distracted by the surface of the plot. (And fair enough, that's what drew us in.) During a reread, we tend to notice things on a higher level of analysis. We notice what themes the author was trying for. We might notice references to other texts. Me might even notice things the author didn't intend.  There is value in rereading.

Because I teach Brit Lit, I've now reread Hamlet something like 15 times. Each time I notice something new.  Now Shakespeare is awesome, but it's not just because he penned the play. Any literature of any worth operates on multiple levels. Those levels often take rereads to access. So yes, reread a book every once in a while. It's a good thing.