"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all"

Oscar Wilde’s assertion about the value of books challenges the common notion that reading is worthwhile simply for information or entertainment. Instead, he proposes a higher standard: a truly valuable book should offer riches that endure across repeated readings. Enjoyment in this context does not merely refer to fleeting pleasure but to a deeper sense of satisfaction, inspiration, or growth that emerges every time one revisits the text. The utility of reading, therefore, lies less in the immediate consumption of content and more in the ongoing relationship between reader and book.

Wilde’s insight points toward the idea that great literature is inexhaustible. Each reading opens new vistas, reveals further subtleties, or resonates differently with the reader’s changing experience and knowledge. Books that can be read and enjoyed only once, perhaps because they are overly simplistic or reliant on surprise, ultimately pale in comparison to those works that continue to offer meaning and delight long after the first encounter. In other words, when a book’s worth lies only in novelty or shock value, there is little incentive to return to it. The truest pleasures of reading come from works that grow alongside the reader, supporting reflection and reinterpretation through the years.

Wilde’s observation is both a challenge and an invitation: as readers, we might seek out books that promise enduring engagement rather than settling for those that quickly exhaust their appeal. It becomes a call for literary discernment, awareness of quality, and discernment as to what we invest our time and attention in. Reading, then, should not be a disposable act, but a meaningful pursuit that continues to enrich us with each encounter, shaping our inner landscapes and intellectual lives in ways that only the finest books can accomplish. Perhaps Wilde’s real message is to cherish and seek out literature that becomes a lifelong companion rather than a fleeting distraction.