Into the Wardrobe

I found that one, but I don't think that was it. That one was about the value of classic books vs. modern, I think. The one I'm thinking of was more about what you could get out of a second or third reading of a book.

I'm getting frustrated. Maybe it wasn't Lewis: maybe it was Tolkien or Chesterton?

Thanks for your help!

Try Experiment in Criticsm and the essay On Stories (can't remember what book it is in off the top of my head). I believe he also talks (in a letter or some such -- could it be the three-way interview about science fiction? not sure) about not knowing if he liked a certain book because he hadn't read it enough times yet. It is a subject he mentioned often enough in letters since he certainly recognized its truth. And he suggests it at least implicitly in various places. It's the type of subject that is so pervasive in his thinking and practice that it might be hard to find a definitive passage.

--Stanley

I'm pretty sure there's something along those lines in the book Of Other Worlds, a collection of essays by C.S. Lewis on writing. The essay "On Stories" that Stanley mentioned is in this collection. I would probably start with that essay, since it rings a bell for me, too. (I'm posting at work and don't have a copy handy to check myself.)

Hope this helps