Re-reading Books

Guess who finally remembered the password to his blog! That’s right, I’m back with a post—about books this time. Gasp. Who knew this blog was about books?

Minus the dramatic flair, the last book-related post on this blog was 474 days ago, which, according to my extensive math skills, is a bit over a month. But hear me out—I actually have a good reason this time. After wrapping up my college admissions a few months back, I thought, “I finally have time to read, why not get back into the habit by revisiting a few of my old reads?” Turns out, my “old reads” were books I devoured as a young teenager, sooooooo… bad idea. However, a certain wave of nostalgia hit me and reminded me: I have a blog for when I want to pretend to be intelligent! So here we gooo!

Re-reading has sparked debates on forums like Reddit over the past few years. Some argue that reading is all about learning, and revisiting the same book again and again is a waste of time—you aren’t learning anything new. Others say that life isn’t just about constant hustle; re-affirming old ideas regularly is valuable. Now, from my completely unbiased perspective, I think everyone is wrong and I’m right. Because as an 18-year-old, the world revolves around me, and “gray” is just a diplomatic way of saying black or white. Huh, look at that—three paragraphs in after being MIA for over a year, and I’m still a 9th grader at heart. Who knew?

Personally, the beauty of reading lies in the freedom. The freedom to learn whatever I want, whenever I want. No school dictating what I should know. The ability to explore worlds unheard of and live through experiences of people who walked this earth long before I was even born. This freedom is what has drawn so many of us into the habit of reading.

As a kid, I remember re-reading my books over and over until my mom finally caved and got me new ones. I knew some of those books like the back of my hand, having read them 20 times or more. But lately, with the switch to e-books, I lost that habit. Instead, I found myself endlessly scrolling through the Kindle Unlimited store, devouring trilogies like my life depended on it.

But when I finally decided to re-read those old books, I realized what I’d been missing. We often forget the immense ‘repeat value’ every book holds. The little details you missed, the subtle character traits, the tiny clues the author wove into the narrative. Even with non-fiction, there’s so much to gain from revisiting ideas and reinforcing knowledge. It offers a unique perspective on your growth—parts of a novel that resonated with you years ago might not be as relevant now.

There’s also an undeniable comfort in those old reads. They remind me of simpler days back at my parents’ home, when weekends meant sinking into an armchair with a book for hours. But the key takeaway is that reading is personal—read whatever you feel like reading. I’ve always been an advocate for not finishing books (or “DNF” as BookTok calls it). If a book doesn’t grip me in the first 50 pages, it’s probably not worth my time. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a flexible rule in my world.

So, what I’m saying is, there’s no need to constantly be productive when reading. It’s okay to enjoy those comfort novels; it’s fine to further yellow those pages. So go on—buy that paperback, light that candle, and tuck yourself into a warm blanket with a hot chocolate by your side. There’s no shame in enjoying the old, reminiscing, and soaking in the good ol’ days.

With that said, I’ll be back next- nope. not completing that sentence. You know better than to trust me on that. No way I’m making promises again. I’ll be back when I feel like it and hopefully, you guys will be here. Until then…