We all have those favourite books that make us smile and tingle with nostalgia every time we remember them. We wish we could capture that feeling of enjoyment we had when we first read the book. We wish we had known how special the book was going to be for us so we would have read it slowly, spent more time savouring every juicy part of it.
Well, there is a way you can recapture that heady feeling of wonder you felt when you first read a book. Yes, people think that re-reading a book reduces the feeling of satisfaction you get from it. No way. But it is tricky and you have to be careful.
Don't just jump into that old special book anyhow and any time you feel like it. Special books are to be savoured and revered so they don't lose that special touch and become ordinary in our eyes.
How then do you recapture the thrill you felt when you read it first?
Simple!
1. Take some time off
I mean this. You read it, it was mindblowing, you want it to feel special every time you read it, then take a break from it. A long break. Dump the book in one corner and forget about it for months, at least, at the very least three months, though I would recommend five months. Then come back to after those months and read it again with fresh eyes. Yes, you may know how the story would end but the time apart will make everything new to you and you will discover parts of the book that probably did not register the previous times you read it. This has worked for me every time, every single time.
2. Read it when you are emotionally down/drained/spent
So you are feeling stressed at work, family, etc and you seem to have lost your glow. Everything has become stale and boring and you struggle to be happy. Maybe there is something big that you are bothered about and your mind is stretched so thin that you can scream. Relax. Take a day off, a Saturday. Don't get busy with work, washing or cleaning or cooking or visiting or events. Take a day off where the only thing you do is wake up, eat, bathe, and sleep.
Now make sure you sleep in and wake up later than usual so your body registers that today is a slow day. Then lie on your bed, sit on your favorite comfortable chair, pick up that book and read it. Boom! Instant therapy. See at this point eh, your mind will suck you into the world between the pages. Why? Because your mind needs that escape and that special book will help.
I am not a lazy person but I know how to treat myself to a day off with good books lined up in my library. Be like me.
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