No one asked for this, yet I still deliver. Tips for reading Hermann Hesse:
1. Take your time with it; his books are way more enjoyable like that. Sometimes I space chapters out into little bite sizes a day.
2. Think, think, think, and don't always listen to others' opinions/explanations. Personally I found so many people having takes on his books that completely ruin it for me.
3. Be prepared for somebody to die. It might not happen, but just in case. It will save you from a lot of heartbreak. I bawled my eyes out reading Demian for the first time.
4. If you're at least a bit homoerotic in nature, you're probably going to start suspecting some things about the characters. Enjoy it! Don't let the straights ruin it for you.
5. Reread. They get even better the second time around.
6. I also recommend not flying through his collected works. I prefer spacing them out. While each of them has a unique perspective, some have a lot of similarities, and reading them one after the other can get monotonous.
