A Case for Rereading Nonfiction
I was chatting with a customer in the bookshop recently, she pointed at a new Adam Grant title and said, “I understand why people buy hardback fiction but not why you'd invest in hardback nonfiction. You'll never read it again.”
A smile and a nod seemed like the right reaction rather than pressing for more details, but I believe she was expressing the idea that when you read nonfiction you learn something and then you move forward with that new knowledge. That there's nothing new you'll get out of rereading the same material again.
As a dedicated nonfiction reader it seemed instinctively incorrect to me so I decided to look into it. Do we really carry the knowledge we gleaned from that first pass forward forever? And are there new insights to be had from a second (or third, or fourth) pass?
Turns out, we don’t remember nearly as much as we think
In an article for The Atlantic, Faria Sana, an assistant professor of psychology at Athabasca University in Canada says, “when we read, there’s a false ‘feeling of fluency.’ The information is flowing in, we’re understanding it [...] ‘But it actually doesn’t stick unless you put effort into it and concentrate and engage in certain strategies that will help you remember.’”
Studies show this is true for both fiction and nonfiction. In fact, one study found that people who binge watch a TV show in one sitting — as opposed to watching one episode each week — remembered less about the show over time, and the same seems to be true when you binge an entire book in one sitting, like on an airplane or at the beach.
Now, as Sana suggests, if we mark up the text of a nonfiction book, take notes, and really study the material, we’re more likely to remember it — to me, that’s a clear argument for purchasing my own hardback copy of the book.
We aren’t the same person each time we reread
One of my personal favourite nonfiction authors, James Clear, wrote on his website about the benefits of rereading books. He says, “revisiting great books is helpful because the problems you deal with change over time. Sure, when you read a book twice maybe you'll catch some stuff you missed the first time around, but it's more likely that new passages and ideas will be relevant to you. [...] You read the same book, but you never read it the same way.”
I find this particularly true with nonfiction books about leadership, growth, and self-development. It’s likely that I’ve internalised the passage that initially drew me to the book and put its recommendations into practice — but that doesn’t mean I’m done growing and improving. On a subsequent read, I might discover entirely different passages that resonate with me and where I’m at now.
Sure, this might not ring true if you’re reading a calculus textbook, but even histories and biographies may have sections that stand out differently to a particular reader at a particular time.
What type of rereader are you?
Perhaps the disconnect for the person who would invest in a hardback fiction book but not a non-fiction book doesn’t lie in their ability to retain knowledge or gain insight, but in the type of reading they like to do. Lots of people have a book or books they return to over and over again as “comfort” reading, and I suspect the majority of those books would be fiction.
And I see how this makes sense, the same way we are more likely to revisit a fictional movie or TV show multiple times than we are to rewatch the same documentary. Or for that matter, the way we essentially remake the same story over and over into movies and TV shows, every rom com and every Marvel movie being more or less the same story that we're happy to revisit.
While this is an older article, I agree with the author’s point about the seductive nature of one chapter not being enough — but I feel the same when I pick up Atomic Habits once a year to revisit one part of it. I always end up rereading the whole thing.
Further down the same article, he says, "Suspense is the first thing to die on a reread, and the experience is better for it. Familiar with the story, the plot on rails, the rereader can relax, look around and whistle at the scenery." I think the same applies for a lot of nonfiction. The weight of all the insight has been lifted in the reread; you can reread it all with calmer, more advanced or more "grown up" eyes.
Reread for pleasure and insight
Whether this has convinced you of the value of investing in hardback copies of nonfiction books or not, I hope it has inspired you to revisit an old favourite or two and see what new insights you might glean. And if you’re short on nonfiction favourites, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourites below.
Mrs Blackwell's Top 10 Non-Fiction Rereads
Let My People Go Surfing - Yvon Chouinard
Essentialism - Greg McKeown
Atomic Habits - James Clear
On Writing - Stephen King
Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport
If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons On Your Pigtails - Barbara Corcoran
Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck
Grit - Angela Duckworth
The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
You're Not Listening - Kate Murphey
