3 Books You Could Read More Than Once

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

CICERO

Even though I love to read, I will rarely read the same book more than once out of choice. I will sometimes read it again if it’s assigned for a class or it’s for of a book discussion. But there are a few books that I read every year or two that have been impactful and provide a good reminder.

If you need a dose of inspiration or a change in perspective, then grab one of these books.

1.Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the box
by The Arbinger Institute

I first read this book while on a backpacking trip in Alaska. My sister in law shared it with me. I loved the principles taught through the engaging story, but didn’t really get how to apply them. I read it again several years later and was reminded of the importance of being “out of the box”. I decided that it should be a book I read regularly so as to not forget that I need to see people as people and not as objects.

Leadership and Self-Deception opens your eyes to your own behavior and teaches you how to improve your connections with those around you. The authors do a great job of telling stories and giving examples so that you understand how to strengthen your relationships, improve your leadership skills, and increase your success in all areas.

2. The Giver
by Lois Lowry

This is a book I love to read aloud to my kids. Every time we read it we learn something different. It is a unique, dystopian story about a community of sameness, and what life would be like if we didn’t have choices and didn’t know we didn’t have choices.

The main character, Jonas, has just been given the assignment of being the new Receiver–a much honored job in the community.  His job is to receive the memories.  As a result, Jonas learns that having choices made for you isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  He and the Giver (the current holder of the memories) decide there has to  be a better way of doing things and come up with a plan to make a change.  

I love seeing the change in Jonas as he processes the new memories.  At one point he learns that there are more colors than just gray.  He wishes that he could choose a different colored tunic to wear.  Then the Giver says that he might make the wrong choice.  Jonas thinks about this.  He later says, “Oh, I see what you mean.  It wouldn’t matter for a newchild’s toy.  But later it does matter, doesn’t it?  We don’t dare to let people make choices of their own . . . What if they were allowed to choose their own mate?  And chose wrong? . . . We really have to protect people from wrong choices.”  Even as he says this he feels frustrated and doesn’t understand his feeling.  Probably he is recognizing the faultiness behind that idea.  It is Satan’s way of twisting God’s plan and making it look good.  Yes, we don’t want people to make bad choices, but making the choice for them is not the right answer.  Jonas now has a tough choice to make and I think he made the right one.  

3. Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card

It’s funny how each time you read a book, you learn something different. I can’t remember how old I was the first time I read Ender’s Game, but I remember being intrigued.  I enjoyed it, but didn’t really get it.  The second time I read it, I understood so much better the battle scenes.  Another time, the leadership qualities stood out to me–the way Ender watched others and learned how to be a good leader and how not to be a leader.  

Ender’s Game was a book I waited a long time to share with my kids. In fact, the first time I read it aloud to them was just last year. Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly) not all of them liked it as much as I do.

A majority of the story takes place in space where a school of young children are preparing to fight against a hostile alien race. All of the children are geniuses and have been bred and trained to be soldiers. Ender quickly becomes a leader but still suffers from peer rivalry, pressure from the adults, and loneliness. The reader can learn a lot from diving into the mind of Ender.

Have you read any of these? What book could you read over and over? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy Reading!

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