I’m currently reading Siddhartha.
And according to my Goodreads profile (that I’ve been using to track my read and want to read books since December 2010), I read this book in March of 2015.
Yet, here I am, about halfway through Siddhartha with approximately 0% recollection of anything from what I’ve read so far. Like, nothing is ringing any bells. Not the plot; not the characters; not even the fact that it’s a fiction is something that I remember about it.
…This is the first time I can remember this ever happening.
I always remember at least something about a book I’ve read.
Part of me has been wondering if I even read it the first time around… As in, could I have just marked it as a book I read without actually having read it?
But, then there’s this detailed account of me having read it with page numbers completed and everything:
Can’t see the above image? Click here.
So, either I read it, but didn’t really read it (i.e. speed read or selected the wrong book on Goodreads). Or, I genuinely forgot everything I read from 2015.
Either way, the lesson is simple: don’t assume “read” as insight gained.
While the words in Siddhartha have remained unchanged, the mind through which those words are being absorbed, interpreted, and applied is completely different.
…And so will it be in another 9 years from now.
…And 9 days from now for that matter.
Don’t let “read” dissuade you from revisiting a book that’s calling to you.
Sometimes that “calling” is a nudge from a deeper understanding that extends far beyond your conscious thinking… and you just need to trust it.