Most books have little to say and you can, in fact, get most of what it has to offer in one reading. It’s worth your while to find the books that reveal more to you on each reread, especially rereads at different points in your life. The books that do this for a lot of people over a few generations are, to a first approximation, what we call “classics”
Of course there’s still the challenge of identifying which books are classics. And of course there’s value in reading non-classics——whether you’re reading for entertainment or for wisdom.
Still, we’ve got limited time and I’ll more often gamble my reading hour on a classic than something new.
I’ve just been reading some of Vernor Vinge’s books and they’ve certainly hit different the second time around (A Deepness in the Sky, A Fire Upon the Deep).
I think it really is mostly that I’ve changed. It’s been a slow change that has been hard to notice from the inside, but one that becomes quite stark when re-experiencing a fixed point such as a book.
Corollary: If you're reading books that divulge all on first reading, or don't reward re-reading, try finding a better class of books (and/or authors, genres, topics, etc.).
Of course there’s still the challenge of identifying which books are classics. And of course there’s value in reading non-classics——whether you’re reading for entertainment or for wisdom. Still, we’ve got limited time and I’ll more often gamble my reading hour on a classic than something new.