30 years ago, in Orlando, there was a Hu Hot restaurant nearby. Great concept. You start with a bowl, fill it with meats, veggies, noodles or rice, the move to the sauce bar. There, you have 24 sauces arranged from mild to hot. Hand it to the grill masters and they cook it on a Mongolian grill. Then I got a new job and Hu Hot wasn’t around.

We moved to Colorado, and Colorado Springs is an hour and a half away, but in one of our forays. I saw a Hu Hot! After 4 years, my wife finally decided to humor me, and we went today.

Wow! My first bowl I stuck to the mild/sweet sauces. Sublime. My second trip up, some Szechwan Sunburn sauce and a couple of other mollifying sauces. Simply amazing. I may even get my wife to go back with me some time.

What does this have to do with reading?

Sometimes going back to a favorite book or play is a whole new experience. The second time through, you may pick up a completely different vibe.

I reread Our Town by Thornton Wilder recently. I’d been in the play 45 years ago, found it interesting, but didn’t understand why it won awards. This time I completely understood. For one thing, I have a different maturity level now, a lot more theatrical training, and a refined love of language.

I reread Moby Dick not too long ago, the novel hailed as the first “modern” novel. Far richer than my first read through. Not an easy read even now, but a great book nonetheless.

In the other direction, I reread Dune on a long flight. It did not hold up to my teenage assessment of it. It’d be great with a very deep edit…

I have a passion for new reads, but don’t be afraid to dust off an old favorite. You may find new wonder in it.