Why Good Books Should be Read Twice (or more)

I fell in love with reading when I was in first grade and have spent hours reading ever since. Whether I was on road trips, in my room, or later outside on the college quad, I always had a book with me, and I would usually read every chance I got. Some of my favorite books I’ve read over a dozen times. I went into English in undergrad and grad schools because I wanted to be a writer, and because I liked to read. I went on to teach writing and literature at the college level for eight years.

That said, I now realize that I never learned to read, at least not in an organized way.

When I was in junior high, I met a professor who had been born in Belgium, educated at the University of Chicago, and was now teaching at a college where my parents had gone to school. He challenged me to read Shakespeare when I was in 7^th grade. A few pages into The Merchant of Venice, I felt like I was reading a foreign language and quit. It would be another 3-4 years until I tackled Shakespeare again, and even then it would take seeing it on stage before I actually felt like I could gain entry into that world.

Over the years, though, I’ve bought a number of books this professor had previously read. I noticed the pages were thickly highlighted and theme words would be indexed at the back of the book with page numbers. I knew that he read differently, but it still didn’t connect that I could do so. It took a moment a few days ago, poring over a number of sample answers on a study guide website, to see how to read on a whole different level. Here’s what I learned:

The First Reading

Typically, when I’ve read a book in the past, I’ve let the story “wash over me.” I just want to enjoy the story, and I feel like I’m along for the ride. Sometimes I’m trying to figure out what’s happening, who the characters are, but that sometimes distracts me from the story itself. I am only focused on the characters and plot specifically when it’s complex, slow building, or poorly written. Some books I only read once, or don’t manage to get through. Some of them are poorly written, others either don’t grab my attention or I’m not ready for them yet. Regardless, they don’t stick.

The good books, however, stay with me for days, weeks, months, even years. I want to return to that world, think more about the characters, or imagine what other scenarios outside of the story would look like. I even find them making their way into my dreams. The “classics” and good books should be worth reading again. They say something significant about life or circumstances, or about the world that resonates and sticks with us. These are the books that should be read again.

The Second Reading

The second reading is the systematic read. Here’s where you highlight passages in the text and index them in the white spaces at the end of a book, or keep a notebook or journal, or separate pieces of paper that can go neatly inside the jacket of your book. If you’re reading a book (novel) for class, are teaching it, or want to go more in depth, here are some things to take note of:

1. Characters

First of all, the characters are the people or things that move the story. Characters don’t even have to be people (rabbits in Watership Down; Frog, Toad, etc. in The Wind in the Willows), but they are who the story is about. You have main characters who are with you for most of the story and supporting (minor) characters who only appear in a few scenes or quickly make an exit (sometimes as cannon fodder). You also have a main character whose eyes you’re often seeing the story through (the protagonist) who has a goal or desire he or she (or it) is wanting to accomplish. You also have a person, people, circumstances, or things (antagonists) that are trying to prevent your main character(s) from reaching the goal.

2. Setting

Setting is the where and when of the story. Why does the setting matter? Even though this is the “backdrop” to the events of the story, the setting still matters. It shapes or limits the possibilities of what can happen. For example, when a story begins in a small country village and then raiders come through, burning everything down, this communicates a sense of loss, that something good has been destroyed, far more deeply than if it took place in a war zone. A battle in a larger war, while no less devastating, is almost expected. A battle in a peaceful village that was unprepared is not expected and is therefore shocking.

3. Plot

Plot, in essence, is what drives the story forward, the what’s happening. The plot is driven by the goal or desire of the main character(s). What do they want to accomplish? How are they going to get there? This desire, while it moves the plot forward, also tells about the characters (and later themes) we’re following. For Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, after a tornado rips her from her home in Kansas, she embarks on a single-minded quest to get back; for Frodo in Lord of the Rings, he has to destroy the Ring of Power so Middle earth can be safe again; for Luke Skywalker, he longs for an adventure (significance) and gets caught up in saving a princess and fighting the Empire. For Oedipus, he wants to find out why a plague has fallen on Thebes.

4. Point of View (POV)

The point of view is important, because it creates our relationship as the reader with the characters in the story. If the point of view is first person, we essentially are inside the main character, intimately aware of their thoughts and feelings. What happens to them is vicariously happening to us. In a third person omniscient (all knowing) perspective, we’re above the story, looking down on the events unfolding, playing the role of “gods” who are observing an event unfold, but not taking part in it. One perspective is intimate and visceral, the other detached and (possibly) more cerebral. Different points of view fit different types of stories, but it’s important to recognize the kind of relationship being created.

5. Themes

Themes become the overall ideas of the book. Maybe the story is about growing up, coming of age, the problem of good and evil, a struggle for significance. These ideas are significant to the plot of the story and help drive the story forward, but they can also transcend the story and speak to our own situation as well. What does love look like in Romeo and Juliet? Is it truly romantic, self-sacrificing, impulsive and reckless, and how do these definitions of love play out? When Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, will it bring healing to himself and Denmark, or will he destroy everything around him? Is revenge worth the price? What role does friendship play in the quest to destroy the Ring? Or to defeat Voldemort?

6. Symbolism

For me, symbolism plays a more minor role, and can possibly be tied to the ideas of theme. However, symbols can also still be key pieces in a story. The three animals Dante confronts at the entrance to Hell are more than random animals, but represent stages of life and key temptations during those stages; the stolen silver in Les Miserables becomes a kind of “blood money” to redeem one man’s soul; the Ring in Lord of the Rings is not just jewelry but evil embodied.

7. Key Passages

Key passages are the significant scenes and conversations between characters that illustrate themes, plot, character, or major events in the book. Key passages are significant in that they help illustrate your idea. They’re the “sound bites” of the story that show rather than tell. They’re especially helpful when you’re writing a research paper, or want to illustrate an idea through an example you’re teaching through. This is where the key ideas move from generalities to specifics. While this takes some extra work and planning, identifying key passages in the text can really help communicate the overall idea.  One of my favorite passages that illustrates grace comes from The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf is recounting to Frodo Gollum’s finding of the ring and the problems he has created for Bilbo and the Shire. Frodo says, “‘What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!

                ‘Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo.’”

I still love reading just to get wrapped up in the story, but taking note of these key ideas in the second reading really helps organize my thoughts when it comes to research papers, teaching, or simply going more in-depth when talking about a book. Hopefully it will help your reading experiences as well!