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Regional: Brush the dust off your old books and read them again
Commentary by Caezer Ng
for Smoky River Express
At one point or another, everyone should pick up a book they disliked and start reading it again, particularly ones that have been collecting a lot of dust over the years. Re-reading helps catch content that were missed, analyse the book better, and serve as a reflective exercise.
It is no secret that going over anything twice helps a person understand content better, be it studying, reading, or even developing athletic habits.
Certain details in a book that once appeared minor becomes significant once it had been looked at again. It is an experience similar to watching a movie a second time.
For example, Mary Shelley, author of the original 1818 novel Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, went to great lengths describing the concept of loss of innocence through Victor Frankenstein’s creation; an Eden lost with the discovery of knowledge.
However, this reader (he was 18 when he first read Shelley’s novel) only remembered it as a book about vengeance, murder, and lamentations - they were unhealthy impressions.
Upon reading Frankenstein nine years later, Shelley’s vivid details return to life. The book’s allusions are making more sense with round two of reading, so it is becoming a more enjoyable and fulfilling read.
This is where self-reflection comes in. Is reading an old book like sifting through an old photo album of ‘oh-I-remember-this’ thoughts; filling him or her with pleasant nostalgia; looking back at an age of innocence?
When the book was brought down from its shelf, it was like meeting an old acquaintance. There were feelings of curiosity and wonder, but none of emotion; the book was not warmly received to begin with. Characters were once thought to be silly and extraordinary, and its science was bunk.
However, a story becomes more profound after years of experience. Its characters are still silly and extraordinary, and its science still bunk, but readers have a greater possibility of relating it to their lives.
What person spends years, with such devotion, create something and simply turn his or her back on it? Frankenstein does, and Shelley’s character has an exceptional gift for science. He perceives the creation as a failure, which depresses him enough to abandon his cause.
His or her personality does not change as they age, like leopards do not change their spots. However, circumstances do, like a fall from grace. Failures become hard lessons, and readers eventually relate to characters’ traits. They accept them for all their strengths and weaknesses.
In addition, Shelley’s allusions have deep insights to modern issues, such as the consequences of technology and Frankenstein’s reactions to his creation. A young person is able to grasp these concepts, but they relate more to them as they mature.
He or she can brush off the dust off any old movies, magazines, and music they feel indifferently about. Opinions on them will change, and he or she may grow to like them.
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