Forgetting Books

I hate when I click to purchase a book only to have Amazon (nicely) tell me I already purchased the book. Meaning I’d already read it & don’t remember. This happens to me way more than I’d care to admit. Sure, it looks like it happens to lots of people, but it’s still always a blow. What other things are there that I can’t remember I forgot?

I never re-read books, there’s just too many new books I want to read out there. But knowing how much I/we forget, perhaps I should re-read the great ones.

Example: One of my favorite books/series ever, and the book/series I’ve probably recommended the most is The Three Body Problem. I first read it ~5 years ago, but decided to read it again in preparation for the Netflix series. I was quite happy after reading the first few pages & chapters — the words were fresh & surprising. I was not happy, however, getting halfway through the book & realizing I HARDLY REMEMBERED ANYTHING AT ALL. I mean, it was great to read my favorite book for the first time again, but this was pathetic. There were major major plot points & characters I didn’t remember!

I ended up reading the whole trilogy again, continued to remember nothing, and continued to have a blast because of it. So, I still highly recommend reading it, but can now also recommend re-reading it.