One can’t read a book. One can only reread it
– Vladimir Nabokov
Ever since I got back to reading book religiously, the above realization has been more than evident. Most books don’t offer much new. And the Pareto is massive.
A few books offer disproportionately high value.
And each time I go back to such books, it is amazing how much my current circumstance makes me see the same thing in a different light.
Or my new frame of reference makes me understand an abstract from before.
You realize, life is exactly the same.
Like books.
People, their stories, their experiences – are books.
And in one’s life – choosing the right books/people and retreading them, makes all the difference.
This means graduating from kindergarten books / school friends – to books of meaning / mentors.
And that means reading a lot of books / meeting a lot of people – before settling in on the ones you wish to reread.
In life, a library is the best place to chose. Not the best place to spend all your time.
Spend it with the few books that were written for you.
Spend it with the few people you can reread from.