Some books are worth reading more than once. One book with a lot of reread value is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and there are five copies in my home. Although all are the same story, each book is different and makes me remember different things.
The first book is a 45 year old Le Petit Prince in the original French. I believe I stole it from my parents’ home and it most likely was previously claimed by my mother or sister. I remember as a kid reading an English translation (which my parents probably still have along with another French copy) and enjoying the story while marveling that my parents and sister could read it. Later when I was studying French I read portions of the text and experienced the story in new ways because I was forced to slow down (and often read it aloud).
小王子 was purchased for me by a good friend on a trip to China that I didn’t get to take. My Chinese is lousy and I can only pick out words here and there, but since it has English on the left page and Chinese on right, I can read the English and appear like I’m capable in Chinese. This book reminds me of what I gave up and what I gained by not going on the trip.
The English copy of The Little Prince was a gift from my sister-in-law and it was accompanied by doll in the picture above. It’s a different translation from the one I grew up on (suggesting another book for my library) and so provides the opportunity to see the familiar tale in another way. Because of the doll, the book was often packed separately from other books as we moved several times. Being separate, I remember various times pausing from my packing or unpacking and reading various snippets.
In general, I don’t like shopping in stores, but I do like bookstores and also enjoy Japanese stores so browsing in Japanese bookstores is particularly fun. I purchased 星の王子さま on a trip to Tokyo with the family in 2008. When I peek at the book, I remember that trip, my other times in Japan, and the many hours I spent reading Japanese novels and stories in grad school.
Finally there is Il Piccolo Principe which I purchased as a Valentine’s Day gift for my wife this year. It doesn’t remind me of any trip to Italy, but rather makes me think about my wife. It makes me think about what she gave up and what she gained in joining me on an adventure. Along with the book, I also gave her a wooden card with a favorite quote (in the English translation I knew as a child) laser engraved on it.
If you haven’t read The Little Prince, I recommend it. If you have read it, it doesn’t take long to read it again and it usually seems better than you remembered it. You definitely want to read it more than once.
