I have a friend who says he never re-reads a book because there are too many books out there he's never read.
I understand his thinking, but i believe he's missing something. There are only a handful of books I re-read regularly, but with those I discover something new every time. It's not that the books are different, it's that I'm different. The things that are on my mind now are different from the ones on my mind the last time I read that book. If the book is profound, it will have different things to say to you each time you read it.
One of my choices is the sayings of Seneca. They are pithy but worth giving some extended thought.
For instance, "A happy life is one which is in accordance with its own nature."
My interpretation of that is that we waste a lot of time trying to be what we're not. When we are young, we do that to fit in. When we are a bit older, we do it because we think it might earn us money and security. If we live long enough, maybe we get over the impulse.
From a writing standpoint, we may be tempted to write what we think will sell--it's vampire time! It almost never turns out well, unless we're the vampire-writing type to start with. In terms of pitching, we may try to turn into a extroverts when we're not.
From my current re-reading of Seneca and that saying, it's about enjoying what is, while still striving for what might be.
Is there a favorite work you'd like to re-read? Maybe it's worth the time!
(My other re-reads include The Courage to Create (Rollo May), No More Second-Hand Art (Peter London), The Art of Possibility (Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander). If you'd like to share some of yours, please use the comments section or email them to me at [email protected].)
