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Why read a book more than once

Why read a book more than once
Photo by Thought Catalog / Unsplash

There are 700,000 to 1,000,000 new books published every year.

Even if I read one book a day till I'm 90, I'm only going to be able to read another 19,710 books. It almost feels like a waste to not try and read as many unique books as I can.

Instead, I choose to read the same books again and again.

Here's why I do it.

Books resonate differently at each pass

I believe it was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who once said:

A man cannot step into a river twice. For it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.

Books tend to have a similar effect on me.

Every time I re-read a book, I learn and notice new things. There are parts that resonate more with a second read, and again after a third.

Lessons take time to sink in

In marketing, there is a Rule of Seven.

It's the idea that people need to see a marketing message on average seven times before they take action.

I feel the same way about books.

I may not re-read them that many times, but if I'm trying to learn the concepts that it teaches, I don't just stop at one.

I even have a couple of titles I revisit every year or so.

Do you reread books too? Share the titles with a fellow book nerd!