On Reading and Re-reading

I’ve never been a fan of reading the classics for many reasons:

- Bad memories of such books being rammed down my throat in school (c’mon, system, kids are too young to appreciate or absorb anything from such books);

- The English of such books is so old and different from what is used today that it is a pain to make sense of it;

- Almost all those books are ambiguous (I know, I know: ambiguity allows you to interpret it in different ways across cultures and ages; but I prefer authors writing what they mean and meaning what they write).

Given my views on the subject, I didn’t see Arthur Schopenhauer’s point that we should read the classics because they are old:

“It is because people will only read what is the newest instead of what is the best of all ages, that writers remain in the narrow circle of prevailing ideas, and that the age sinks deeper and deeper in its own mire.”

Excellent point! Differing, even opposing views are so important to read up: after all, that’s what makes you step back and re-analyze what you believe.

Paul Graham points out the benefits of reading even if you don’t remember half the stuff you read:

“Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists.”

Schopenhauer also says we should re-read books partly because we don’t remember everything we’ve read but more importantly:

“Any kind of important book should immediately be read twice, partly because one grasps the matter in its entirety the second time, and only really understands the beginning when the end is known; and partly because in reading it the second time one’s temper and mood are different, so that one gets another impression; it may be that one sees the matter in another light.”

Graham too says the same thing:

“Reading and experience are usually "compiled" at the time they happen, using the state of your brain at that time. The same book would get compiled differently at different points in your life. Which means it is very much worth reading important books multiple times.”

And so, says Graham:

“The phrase "already read" seems almost ill-formed."