How many times have we watched our favorite film until we know it by heart? We probably don’t count them anymore. The same thing doesn’t happen as often with the books we like. Because even the most passionate about reading prefer to be surprised every time by a book they do not know, and thus pass from one reading to another. However, all books, especially the classics or cult books, at first reading do not allow us to understand even half of the meanings and emotions they can convey.
There are then those who argue that rereading books more than once is very good and that, in some cases, it is the only way to really say that you have read and understood a book.
One of the major proponents of the theory that a book should always be re-read is the writer, journalist and literary critic Giorgio Manganelli, who has taken up the concept several times in his works. In his essay The subtle noise of prose Manganelli says that “A literary civilization is not made up of readings, it is made up of rereading. There are generations who have achieved lasting dignity by reading and rereading just one book, the Bible. They did not read anything else, but that was enough to make them educated individuals, sometimes artists, men of letters, writers ».
Rereading a book brings with it various benefits, which concern the cognitive, but also the psychological and emotional aspects of the reader. Let’s see the main benefits that are drawn from rereading the books.
1. TEACH THE ART OF DEEPENING
Reading a book for the first time means finding yourself in front of something entirely new. A first reading does not allow to distinguish everything that can be found inside, it is an overall reading, where the plot is completely unknown, as well as the characters. Manganelli himself said in fact that: «This immediate rereading reveals folds, implications, allusions that escape a first reading; in truth at first reading almost everything escapes. Rereading is this discordant alliance: together rediscover, recognize and discover; find what the previous reading, or even more readings, had not revealed to us ».
2.Train your memory
Also from a cognitive point of view, re-reading books brings benefits. In fact, the photographic memory that is activated by reading is exhausted after a very short time, and only half memories remain of the things that have remained etched in the mind. Rereading several times also means training your memory, so that you can focus more on details that, at first reading, escape.
Professors and literary critics argue that every book has its own time. That is, to enjoy a book to the fullest, you should read it at the right time during your life. Since it is not always possible to guess when this moment is, rereading the books means finding the ideal period in which to draw the best teaching or the greatest emotions from them.
3.RETURN MEMORIES
Re-reading a book that we liked when we read it, moreover, it creates feelings of warmth and nostalgia, such as those experienced for example when returning to a place where one went on holiday as a child. Even the characters themselves are like people, old friends who have accompanied us in a specific period of growth or life.
4. TRANSMITS NEW EMOTIONS
A book is not always the same for those who read it. Depending on what moment of life a person is in, a book reread in separate moments can leave different feelings, emotions and even moods. Italo Calvino wrote in If a winter night a traveler: “I feel the need to reread the books I’ve already read, […] but with each rereading it seems to me that I am reading a new book for the first time. Will I be the one who keeps changing and seeing new things that I didn’t notice before? “
5.WITNESS OUR INNER CHANGES
It’s still, rereading a book years later than the first time can show us how we have changed. We can learn to discover how we feel differently with each reading, and in this way, get more in touch with our personality and its changes over time.
6. IT CAN MAKE US CHANGE YOUR IDEA
Likewise, as the years go by, it can also change the idea we had of a book, as well as the opinion about some characters and their choices. Favorite characters can change, or you discover characters that you like the most at the time of rereading. Indeed, a book that we have loved in the past can stop liking it.
7. INFLUENCES THE PLEASURE OF SLOWNESS
The curiosity to know how it ends, the voracity to move forward with the pages, especially when a book arouses great interest, do not allow you to see everything that the plot and the text contain. Rereading a book a second time means doing it more calmly, because you already know the ending, and you can better savor the nuances, the intertwining and the meanings..
8. OFFERS NEW ANSWERS ABOUT THIS
Finally, an important benefit derives from re-reading the great classics, which refer to certain historical periods. If they are really classics, they are always adaptable to any age and age, but even more, they allow us to see the present from the perspective of the past.
In the gallery, 10 titles of classic and cult books whose rereading after some time can always reserve new surprises!
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
