--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from…" description: "\"“Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/nicola-yoon-2072_backward_sometimes-i-reread-my-favorite-books-fro_2330716.jpg" --- # Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from back to front. I… ![“Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read this way, characters go from hope to despair, from self-knowledge to doubt. In love stories, couples start out as lovers and end as strangers…” quote by Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/nicola-yoon-2072_backward_sometimes-i-reread-my-favorite-books-fro_2330716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/nicola-yoon-2072_backward_sometimes-i-reread-my-favorite-books-fro_2330716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/nicola-yoon-2072_backward_sometimes-i-reread-my-favorite-books-fro_2330716.jpg) > ““Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read this way, characters go from hope to despair, from self-knowledge to doubt. In love stories, couples start out as lovers and end as strangers. Coming-of-age books become stories of losing your way. Your favorite characters come back to life. If my life were a book and you read it backward, nothing would change.”” [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading a story backward flips hope to despair, showing how perspective reshapes meaning and outcomes. **In simple terms:** Reversing narrative order changes emotional impact. Key Takeaway Explore stories from different angles to gain insight. Themes narrative perspective hope despair character development storytelling Mood thoughtful introspective inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - book clubs - personal journaling - therapy sessions Key Concepts reverse chronology emotional arcs literary technique self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does changing order affect your empathy for characters? - What can this reveal about your own life narrative? A Different Perspective Reading backward may distort original intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“It turns out that you can't predict the past either. Time moves in both directions -forward and backward- and what happens here and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/it-turns-out-that-you-can-t-predict-the-past-either-time-moves-in/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“I probably reread novels more often than I read new ones. The novel form is made for rereading. Novels are by their nature too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-hadley/i-probably-reread-novels-more-often-than-i-read-new-ones-the-novel/) [Tessa Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-hadley/) > [“I reread? A lie! I don’t dare reread. I can’t reread. What good would it do me to reread? The person in the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-reread-a-lie-i-don-t-dare-reread-i-can-t-reread-what-good-would-it/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The ultimate luxury is to reread: to revisit a book to see how time has treated it, how memory has distorted it, or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-upchurch/the-ultimate-luxury-is-to-reread-to-revisit-a-book-to-see-how-time/) Michael Upchurch > [“With "The Thousand and One Nights", I learned and never forgot that we should read only those books that force us to reread them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/with-the-thousand-and-one-nights-i-learned-and-never-forgot-that-we/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I went back and reread the Dinosaur chapter in 'Our Band Could Be Your Life,' and it was so depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-barlow/i-went-back-and-reread-the-dinosaur-chapter-in-our-band-could-be-your/) [Lou Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-barlow/) > [When I go back and reread the stuff, I'm always floored by how deeply personal and revealing it actually is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-go-back-and-reread-the-stuff-i-m-always-floored-by-how-deeply/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [“A book--the book that was, for some reason, THE book--can be reread, unchanged. Only we have changed. And that makes all the difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-book-the-book-that-was-for-some-reason-the-book-can-be-reread/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Clip your year-end column and put it away for 10 years. See if you don’t feel like an idiot when you reread it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-albini/clip-your-year-end-column-and-put-it-away-for-10-years-see-if-you-don/) [Steve Albini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-albini/) > [Usually when I put together a book like this Death-Ray hardcover or that Ghost World special edition, then I have to reread it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/usually-when-i-put-together-a-book-like-this-death-ray-hardcover-or/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [“The New Testament does not need to be rewritten, but it needs to reread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-lizorkin-eyzenberg/the-new-testament-does-not-need-to-be-rewritten-but-it-needs-to-reread/) Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg > [Ever since 'Strange Heaven,' I haven't really reread my old work. Not so much because I don't like the writer I was, or because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/ever-since-strange-heaven-i-haven-t-really-reread-my-old-work-not-so/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn't work, throw it away. It's a nice feeling, and you don't want to be cluttered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/reread-rewrite-reread-rewrite-if-it-still-doesn-t-work-throw-it-away/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I've reread 'The Secret Garden' every year as an adult. I have a battered copy on my bookshelf - it's really quite a mess!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-potter/i-ve-reread-the-secret-garden-every-year-as-an-adult-i-have-a/) [Ellen Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-potter/) ## More by Nicola Yoon > [“I’m desperate to prevent her tears, but not because I’m noble or anything. I’m kind of a contagion cryer. You know how when one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/i-m-desperate-to-prevent-her-tears-but-not-because-i-m-noble-or/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“What did you get?' I lean my head back against his chest. 'Seashell necklace for my mom. Pineapple ashtray for Kara.' 'Why do people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/what-did-you-get-i-lean-my-head-back-against-his-chest-seashell/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Listening to the magnified sound of my own breath is peaceful and strangely euphoric. I'm being reassured with every breath that I'm more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/listening-to-the-magnified-sound-of-my-own-breath-is-peaceful-and/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Human beings are not reasonable creatures. Instead of being ruled by logic, we are ruled by emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/human-beings-are-not-reasonable-creatures-instead-of-being-ruled-by/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Maybe he (or she-but who are we kidding? God's definitely a guy. How else to explain war, pestilence, and morning wood?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/maybe-he-or-she-but-who-are-we-kidding-god-s-definitely-a-guy-how/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“I didn't think you were real". "That's OK. Some day's I'm not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/i-didn-t-think-you-were-real-that-s-ok-some-day-s-i-m-not/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Almost everything in the night sky gives off light. Even if we can't see it, the light is still there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/almost-everything-in-the-night-sky-gives-off-light-even-if-we-can-t/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Once you become part of the world, the world becomes a part of you, too”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/once-you-become-part-of-the-world-the-world-becomes-a-part-of-you-too/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“love: a chemical history. ...The second stage, attraction, is governed by dopamine and serotonin. When, for example, couples report feeling indescribably happy in each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/love-a-chemical-history-the-second-stage-attraction-is-governed-by/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“If the person who's meant to love you forever can suddenly stop, then what is there to believe in?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/if-the-person-who-s-meant-to-love-you-forever-can-suddenly-stop-then/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“How can he not share his newfound joy with his fellow man? And it is joy. There’s a pure kind of joy in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/how-can-he-not-share-his-newfound-joy-with-his-fellow-man-and-it-is/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“America’s not really a melting pot. It’s more like one of those divided metal plates with separate sections for starch, meat, and veggies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/america-s-not-really-a-melting-pot-it-s-more-like-one-of-those/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“And now my life doesn’t make sense anymore. I almost wish I hadn’t met him. How am I supposed to go back to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/and-now-my-life-doesn-t-make-sense-anymore-i-almost-wish-i-hadn-t-met/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“As if there were no last time And there is no next time And this time is the time that counts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/as-if-there-were-no-last-time-and-there-is-no-next-time-and-this-time/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“All love ends," she says. "Maybe," I say. "But it has to start somewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/all-love-ends-she-says-maybe-i-say-but-it-has-to-start-somewhere/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) [Explore all 161 Nicola Yoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) Browse all 340 Backward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes I Reread my favorite books from back to front. I start with the last chapter and read backward until I get to the beginning. When you read this way, characters go from hope to despair, from self-knowledge to doubt. In love stories, couples start out as lovers and end as strangers. Coming-of-age books become stories of losing your way. Your favorite characters come back to life. 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