Lifelong Florilegium

I heard this conversation on the latest episode of the wonderful and uplifting Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast.

Casper ter Kuile: In some ways you might get more out of reading the same thing 100 times, than out of reading 100 things once. […]

Stephanie Paulsell: Absolutely. I mean, I think having some things that we reread means that we know those books really well, in the sense of, “I know how to think with this book.” Like, I’ve been thinking with this book, I know how that works. I think that transfers over into other kinds of reading we do, even if we don’t read everything many, many times.

I feel like having at least a few texts that you know how to think with and that are really hardwired into us, that helps us create our lifelong florilegium[*]. It helps you hear how other texts stick to it, how other texts intersect with it, and that’s where the generativity comes in, I think. I do think it matters which books we hardwire into us.

Every musician I know has a lifelong list of albums they wore out on cassette, or LP, or that topped their yearly playlists. I think that this conversation gets at the heart of why this is so valuable.


* Florilegium needs a definition. They’re using it in reference to a specific spiritual practice of scholars collecting religious writings in a sort of anthology or scrapbook. I know I have a musical florilegium of the recording I have listened to so often that they seem to form a part of my musical soul.