The Secret to Finding New Great Books
The best novels and movies are deep enough to enjoy over and over
A few months ago I was going through a bad stretch of books. I was trying to find new sci-fi and fantasy books and my favorite authors like Brandon Sanderson and Andy Weir were all between series or between novels.
Frustrated with some of my recent choices, I decided to re-read an old favorite, the Kingkiller Chronicle series from Patrick Rothfuss. The final book in the series hasn’t been written, and perhaps never will be, but I remember enjoying the first two books when I read them 15 years ago, and there was a rumor the final book might be ready later this year.
Two sentences into the first book I was hooked and had the most amazing few weeks of reading on my Kindle before going to sleep. Much to my surprise, I remembered only the broad swath of the plot and the memorable final paragraph, and the rest was like reading it for the first time.
When I was a kid, I read a LOT. I would often find myself without a new book to read, but there were a lot of them lying around the house so I would re-read books I had enjoyed previously. Before downloadable content came along, I think I read every physical book I had (that I liked) two or three times.
I must have re-read my favourite novel, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card five or six times by the time I was 30. It’s been almost another 30 years now, maybe time for a re-read!
I read almost exclusively digital books now, either audiobooks from Audiobooks.com or ebooks for my Kindle. It has become so easy to buy new books that I’ve gotten into the habit of doing a quick search on Amazon for a new read every time I finish a book. It’s just as easy to buy something new as to scan my library and read something old for the second or third time. But which of those results in a better outcome?
I believe that a great book is more than a little bit better than a good book. I’ve now recently re-read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I learned massive lessons from both books when I read them originally, so they weren’t quite as surprising on re-read as Rothfuss’ books, but I was completely engrossed in them and did come out with some new insights.
Heraclitus said that no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. I’m saying the same is true for a timeless book that has depth and beauty. You’ll have changed by the time you read it again, and so will the world and the book’s place in the world.
Reading the latest thriller from Blake Crouch or James Patterson is a fun way to pass the time, but that book is completely gone from my head a week later. Re-reading an old favorite is just as engaging, but a lot more meaningful.
Imagine if every time you wanted to have a conversation, you had to make a new friend and then find the right words. It’s so much easier and more fulfilling to deepen the relationships you already have. I guarantee you your favorite books have much more depth to them, just like your favorite people do.
I’ve decided now that I’m going to make half of my reads repeats, and half will be new material. If I’m lucky, my favorite authors will come out with new stuff often enough to keep me fully occupied.
I haven’t tried this yet with audiobooks. The very first audiobook I listened to after founding Audiobooks.com was Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Since it was made into quite a good movie, it lessened my interest in re-listening, but I’m going to give it a try. Ender’s Game was made into a movie I didn’t like much at all, but that’s no reason not to reread the book or its sequel Speaker for the Dead which taught me some amazing lessons about loving your enemy.
As I think about it, I’m realizing that I used to rewatch a lot of movies I liked, because as I surfed cable channels, there they were. But now with Netflix and movies on demand, it’s so damn easy to find new content that I’m not rewatching as much as I used to, and I’m worse off for it. I’ve seen Notting Hill a half dozen times and enjoyed the hell out of every screening. That’s a lot better than watching the latest Marvel films, most of which feel like you’re rewatching the same movie over and over anyway.
Don’t fall prey to the ease of acquiring new content and spend some quality time with old favorites. Take a look through your reading history, especially of books from decades ago. I promise you you’ll enjoy revisiting those relationships more than trying to make new friends.
