I used to hate reading books twice, until my friend at the library changed my mind

I was at the Denver Public Library last month complaining to Sarah, the librarian, about rereading books. She said, 'You don't read a book twice to find something new in it. You read it twice to find something new in yourself.' That hit me hard. I went home and picked up 'The Road' again, and man, I saw the whole story differently the second time around. Has anyone else had a book hit them completely different on a second read?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.anna14d ago

The Road hit me different on a second read too. First time I was just gutted by the bleakness, but the second time I noticed this tiny thread of hope in how the father kept going for his son. It made me go back and reread a few other books I thought I had figured out already. Your librarian friend put it perfectly though, that's exactly what happened to me.

drew96514d agoMost Upvoted

That tiny thread of hope you mentioned, yeah I totally missed it the first time too. Guess I was too busy ugly crying into my pillow to notice. Maybe I should try reading more books not slumped over on my couch, but then again that's where I do my best emotional processing.

the_piper12d ago

The "ugly crying into my pillow" part got me. I've been there. What actually worked for me was switching to audiobooks during my commute. I'd listen to a chapter on the way to work, then sit in my car for like ten extra minutes just thinking about it before going inside. It's still emotional processing, just with less pillow snot involved.