Why Re-reading is The Best Reading

In this post I explain why re-reading is so important (for us, and for our kids), share a podcast episode on that topic that you might enjoy, and also share some good book recommendations that I have read recently and loved!

I have a deep, dark secret to share with you. Very few people know this about me. You may lose all respect for me when you hear this (that is, if you had any to begin with). You probably already thought I was a little odd and now your most suspicious suspicions will be confirmed. In spite of all that, I feel that I must confess to you, my anonymous internet friends…

…that every single summer of my entire life (since I was a teen, 20ish years ago), I have read through Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. ALL THREE BOOKS. And sometimes the Hobbit too.

I know, I know.

It’s weird and nerdy and so darn long and Gollum is really annoying and why on earth would you re-read it SO MANY TIMES?

I cannot answer this question for you, nor do I remember how it began – other than simply loving the books and wanting to read them again. Now, however, I do it both for the sake of Tradition and because I still enjoy my yearly pilgrimages to Middle Earth. If I stop enjoying it, I’ll stop re-reading it. Probably.

Furthermore, I’ve learned more about the power of re-reading which has assuaged my guilt about this obsession. If you’ve ever felt guilty about your child (or yourself) obsessing over a favorite book and reading it until the pages fall out, please don’t! Sarah Mackenzie of the Read-Aloud Revival says it’s some of the very best reading, and I agree. It’s a great podcast episode to check out if you want to hear more, but a few of the benefits to re-reading that she shares include improved comprehension, better absorption of vocabulary, and the ability to catch subtle nuances of the plot once you already know the answer to “what happens next?”

These are all benefits that both children and adults can access, but as an adult we also have the opportunity to re-read favorite books and see how the book does not change, but we do! Each season of life brings a new perspective and you will not read a book in your forties the same way that you read it in your thirties, or your twenties. I can’t wait to come back to my old favorites twenty years from now and see what new insights are revealed!

So please, don’t be afraid to revisit your favorite books (what better time to do so than summer?), don’t discourage your child from reading the same chapter book over and over, and the next time your littlest one begs you to read Blueberries For Sal for the 457th time this week, take a brief moment to remember the benefits of all that excellent language structure and vocabulary that they are absorbing — before you hurl it through the window, screaming, “NEVER AGAIN, ROBERT MCCLOSKEY!”

Not that I would ever contemplate such a thing. My patience is infinite, our house is one of continual peace, and all my socks are ironed. My children are always smiling, scrupulously clean, and their voices are invariably gentle and harmonious. Their favorite pastime is reading classic novels in Latin, or perhaps, if they are feeling lazy, to play a peaceful game of chess (in Latin). Our bookshelves are sorted by color and it never smells like poo in here.

Ahem. My imagination may have run away with me just a bit. Back to reality: I would like to share a few more books that I have been enjoying this spring and summer. Perhaps one will spark your interest – and if you have recommendations for me, please leave a comment and let me know!

I don’t know if “good book recommendations” can be a love language, but I sure do enjoy them.

Books I’ve Been Loving Lately

And There Was Light by Jon Meacham

I try to read one biography a year, and I originally purchased this one as a Christmas gift for my Dear Husband, which may or may not have been a selfish choice. As of three weeks ago he still had not begun reading it so I grabbed my chance and dove in. I am only about a third of the way through but so far it’s excellent.

“For many Americans, to see Lincoln whole is to glimpse ourselves in part – our hours of triumph and of grace, and our centuries of failures and of derelictions. This is why his story is neither too old nor too familiar. For so long as we are buffeted by the demands of democracy, for so long as we struggle to become what we say we already are – the world’s last, best hope, in Lincoln’s phrase – we will fall short of the ideal more often than we meet the mark. It is a fact of American history that we are not always good, but that goodness is possible. Not universal, not ubiquitous, not inevitable – but possible.”

Raising Boys Who Respect Girls by Dave Willis

I did actually finish this one, and I would strongly recommend it to any parent of boys. He covers so many topics that are both awkward and critically important – sex and pornography and “locker room mentality” and lust and much more. I also appreciate that his message is not all “doom and gloom” – though there’s an honest, slightly terrifying, description of our American culture (as of his writing in 2019) – but overall I left the book feeling encouraged and empowered to help my boys along in this battle.

“Women deserve better. Men deserve better as well. Both men and women lose when half the human race is objectified, mistreated, and devalued simply because of their gender. We must collectively rise up and do more. We must teach our sons a better way…. The truth is that there is hope. We have more power than we realize to make the needed changes.”

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I’m on a bit of a Dickens kick this year, as I shared briefly before, and this one was so much fun! He was a wise and witty man and his books are definitely the kind that you can get more out of each time you read them.

“We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did.”

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

This book needs no explanation but I still will share one of my favorite quotes for your enjoyment.

“‘Always, after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.’ ‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'”

Happy summer, and happy reading to you all!

If you are still not convinced that re-reading old favorites is worth your time, I will leave you with a quote which should settle the issue once and for all, because who can argue with C. S. Lewis? Not I.

“I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” ~ C. S. Lewis