The Power of Re-Reading

There is a lot of information out there and the key in this information age is who do you listen to. Once you figure that out I agree it helps to read and read books as long as they are the right ones that will help you become successful. I think a success secret is to master the book and keeping reading them until the information is fully integrated. What books are you reading? I am reading Think and Grow Rich and have read it multiple times.

This post and the comments are so interesting to me because I’m currently re-reading a book called “Buffalo for the Broken Heart” by Dan O’Brien. He’s a buffalo rancher and writer of fiction and non-fiction. I haven’t re-read many books, but I enjoy going back to a book that’s so well-researched and important and well-written.

How true, Jeff. I am currently re-reading Blue Ocean Strategy. One thing I love about my Kindle is that I have many of my previously read books on hand to reread when I’m traveling! I need to remind myself to more often click on a book already there instead of downloading a new one…and to use the highlights and annotation feature more so that I can at least review those once in a while.

I like that 3-to-1 ratio. Although I think I may have it flipped the other way: 3 old books re-read for every new book purchased. I’ve certainly done with with books like Tim Ferriss’ “The Four Hour Work Week” and “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.

I’m still constantly amazed at how I learn new things by re-reading the same books over and over again. Funny how the mind can take the same information and understand it differently at different times.

I just finished re-reading James Joyce’s “The Dead.” It was as good a short story as I remembered it being some 15 years ago when I first read it, but, like you said, I was amazed at what I had forgotten–or at least wasn’t able to readily recall. But, on the other hand, I was struck too by what I had retained–for example, the use of “literally” in the opening sentence (despite the description not really being literal). The mind is funny and fickle. It seems we both forget and remember with wild abandon.

For me, the power of rereading is a bit different, though just as important. Each time I reread the same information, especially on a subject I am trying to learn, I am at a different place in my understanding, so I assimilate different pieces of it or see different pices as important than I did the last time.

Jeff,

The books that I read over and over again are the books that have had a profound impact on my life. One such book is Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth. I have read that book over 10 times and every time I read it I see something that appears new to me, or perhaps I am just understand the material better. I know someone who has read How to Win Friends and Influence People every year for about 17 years and that’s the one book that had a profound impact on her life.

In 2002, I made a commitment to read a book a week and when I became comfortable with that I increased the number. I have a table which I have created in Microsoft Word, and for each year, I record the name of the book, author, the month in which I read it, and about three years ago I added another column and I record a one paragraph summary of the book. It’s a numbered list so I can easily see if I am on track with my reading goal.

As I am writing this comment, I am thinking that I will add a rating for the book.

I do book reviews on my blog The Invisible Mentor https://theinvisiblementor.com and as I am reading the book I take notes. In my book review, I usually have five great ideas which is one of my signatures and I have a notation for the page number whenever I flag a great idea. If certain words resonate with me I record the page number and I have another file called Quotes That I Like and I record those words there. Also for the books reviews, depending on the mood that I am in, I will have a section called application, where I suggest possible ways to apply the content of the book. This mere act forces me to remember the content. And I often go back and read the book reviews.

If you have time, read Tim Sanders’ book Love is the Killer App and in it he has a system similar to the one I use to help you to remember what you’ve read.

Also, if you read something neat write about it on the blog, that is teach it to others because this is an educational blog.

I am going to purchase a copy of PhotoReading, a system to help you remember more of what you read. It came highly recommended. Perhaps if you practiced some of these tips, remembering what you read will become a habit.

Thank you for blogging about this. Avil Beckford

Repetition is a great way to learn, to help you remember something, and that’s just what rereading is. I confess, though, I don’t reread much, either. Oh sure, a good novel I read years ago will get a reread (I’ve read “1984” and Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood series several times), but not so much things I wish to actually learn. I like your idea of rereading something for every 3 books you read.