Read it twice

I used to set reading goals for myself. In 2018 I read 31 books. Then roughly 25 the following year. 

I’m glad I did it. The challenge helped me get back into a daily reading habit and it rekindled my love for literature.

But this year I’m trying something new. Instead of racing to get through two new books every month, I decided to spend more time revisiting and summarizing some of the best books that I’ve already read. 

As of today, I’ve published my notes on 38 books that I had previously enjoyed once, but had been collecting dust on my bookshelf ever since.

Rereading these books has turned out to be a great decision. When I skim through the chapters, I always stumble across new passages to underline that I had overlooked.

Great ideas that were hiding in plain sight. Motivation to start a new project that I didn’t care for previously.

The philosopher Karl Popper explains the value of rereading nicely in this quote.

Anything worth reading is not only worth reading twice, but worth reading again and again. If a book is worthwhile, then you will always be able to make new discoveries in it and find things in it that you didn’t notice before, even though you have read it many times.

I’ve turned a corner this year in my pursuit to become a better reader. I’m trying to be more intentional. Reading for breadth shouldn’t come at the expense of depth.

Because good books can’t be mined thoroughly in a single pass. Time and again, they’re always worth going back and having another look.

A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third. Any book not worth rereading isn’t worth reading.

Nassim Taleb