Books to Read More Than Once for A Different Experience

Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Have you ever reread a book, particularly after a sizeable amount of time had passed, and discovered it seemed like a totally different book? Sometimes that happens and it’s an amazing, eye-opening experience. It can even happen many times in your life with the same book.

Maybe it’s been a year or two, or ten. Maybe you read the book in school or when you were a young adult and now you’re older. Either way, you could read the book again and notice new details, identify with or like different characters, or grasp new concepts.

Here’s a small selection of books to read more than once based on my experiences.

The Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

There are so many characters, representing and doing so many amazing and touching things, that you could read this book over and over and probably have a unique experience each time. I’ve had certain characters particularly interest me, noticed new scenes and new details, and felt new things about the story on various readings.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This book is such a powerful tale of conflict; the emotions are so impactful. I’ve read it three times, and it’s been a completely different book each time. I feel like I missed whole very important facets of the book and would have been sorely lacking if I hadn’t read it again.

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

This one is a dark but immensely fascinating and impactful read. There are many characters to love, hate, or be mystified by, a lot to take in which can lead us to sometimes not notice everything, and countless moments for food for thought. If you are willing to visit that dark place again, it’s definitely worthwhile to reread it.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

This beautiful and fascinating book also contains several conflicting characters to love or be mystified by. Its main premise of self-growth and spiritual concepts makes it natural fodder for different perspectives throughout our own lives. As we experience new things and come to feel different ways, our impressions of this book could be vastly changed.

Has this happened to you? With which books?