Rereading...

I don't get to reread books very often. There are so many books out there and so much to read that I generally reach for something new over an old favorite. The one exception are the texts that I teach. I've read Hamlet something like 20 times, for instance. Because how teaching curriculums work, I don't get to add new texts to that rarified list very often. This year though, I'm adding a new book to my freshman class namely The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater. In preparation for this, I'm rereading the book.

Rereading is a very different experience than discovering a book for the first time. There's no thrill of discovery here. There is no urgency to find out what happens next, yet the reading often goes faster. When rereading is when I start to notice, really notice, how the language fits together. I spend more time looking for hints and foreshadowing. Over time, and multiple rereads I can see how authors build character investment.

It is, in its own way, just as satisfying as reading a book for the first time. I should do more rereads.