The Topography of It's Blots

I don't understand how people can read a book once. I was e-mailing my friend Melissa the other day and she says that she never reads something over again. I started thinking about that and thought, "How is that possible?" To me, this is like finding something that you adore and then never stopping to admire it again.

Every time I read a book again, I discover something new. The characters are more vivid, I'll catch a plot point that I missed before, or re-discover a wonderful part that I had forgottten about. I've been re-reading Harry Potter in the last few days and Chamber of Secrets has a whole new meaning AFTER you've read Half-Blood Prince! Knowing what's going to happen four books later makes it much more interesting.

Also, as Charles Lamb says, "A book reads better which is our own, and has been so long known to us, that we know the topography of it's blots. and dog's ears, and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins."

Now, if you'll excuse me, Harry's almost to the first task in the Triwizard Tournament.