The Joy Of Re-Reading
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
-Jane Austen
I agree with Jane Austen, wholeheartedly! My own excellent library has taken many years to grow. In it you’ll find children’s books, Christian fiction, historical fiction, poetry, parenting and education books, classics, and of course, Jane Austen. If you were to ask my daughters, they would tell you I can often be found sitting in front of my bookshelf visiting with my books.
I love to look at them, browse through them, and even move one to my nightstand where I can reach for it before bed. As we approach autumn and winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the perfect time to get cozy and practice the joy of re-reading the books in our own excellent libraries.
C.S. Lewis said, “I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” A book is a living thing. The more we interact with it, the more we gain. There are books I read as a young adult that I’ve re-read as a married-with-children woman in my forties that have spoken to me in new and exciting ways.
“A book is a living thing. The more we interact with it, the more we gain.”
A good example of this is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. When I first encountered Little Women, I was drawn to Jo because she was a writer and close to my age. I could feel her angst and share in her fun with Laurie and her sisters. Now when I re-read Little Women, it’s Marmee I relate to and want to emulate. Having three daughters of my own to raise, Marmee offers me much insight on how to do this with grace. Had I not re-read it, I would have missed out on so much of that motherly wisdom.
Another quote by C.S. Lewis says, “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.” I have found this to be a good practice in my own reading life. After reading a new book, I will return to a favorite author such as L.M. Montgomery or Maud Hart Lovelace before selecting my next new read. It reminds me of the song which says, “make new friends but keep the old.” This is as important with books as it is with people.
A quote by E.B. White is perfect as we think about the people we encounter in books. He says, “Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.”
“It reminds me of the song which says, ‘make new friends but keep the old.’ This is as important with books as it is with people.”
As you plan out your reading schedule for fall and winter, will you join me in the joy of re-reading the books that are already part of our own excellent libraries? The people on our shelves are just waiting for us to grab a cup of tea and meet with them again!
