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Books you've read again and again and again...

TraneWreck said:
I'm a fan. Is the third book of the new series out yet?
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Nope. It comes out on the 19th, though - which happens to be my birthday.

Man, I cannot wait. Fallout: New Vegas AND Against All Things Ending in one day? Gonna be frikkin' sweet.
 
JerryGarcia said:
I took a seminar on it college and have loved it ever since.

Mrs Jerry and I even got married on Bloomsday : June 16th

There are some sections that REALLY bog down, I will admit, but Molly Bloom's solliloquy at the end makes it worth slogging through.

Did I mention I was book nerd which also helps??

ETA : FWIW I though Gravity's Rainbow was a much more difficult read
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Ulysses is one of those books that I would really like to devlop the stamina to get through. I've gotten maybe a hundred or so pages into it before I just run out of steam.

In any case, my list of multi-read books are
Illuminatus! Trilogy by Wislon and Shea - at least four times, although I may have lost a read or two in there
Phantoms of the Mind by Ramachandran - three times
Several Discworld books I've read four times or more, I think I've read all of them at least once - which is a feat in itself
The Incarnations of Immortality series
Amber series
Time Enough for Love, Stranger in a Strange Land, Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Cat who walks through walls all at least three times
Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5 - Twice for Cat's and I've lost count for Slaughterhouse
HP Lovecraft - I'd say that I've read them all, but everytime I think that, I find a new collection that has one that I've not read yet. My favorite, and most read, is Statement of Randolph Carter with Mountains of Madness coming in a close second. A friend just lent me a Clark Ashton Smith collection, I'm sure I'll end up re-re-re-reading at least parts of it.
Cryptnomicon - Twice (personally, I think that reading that twice is worth at least three reads of some lesser books, just for a volume discount)
H2G2 - the first five of the trilogy I've read many, many times and I've just started Eon Colfler's book.
 
My short list:


Fiction:
  • A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Borroughs.
  • M.A.R. Barker's Tekumel novels.
  • The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.
  • The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith (Smith's anarcho-libertarian screeds disguised as science fiction are a guilty pleasure of mine. His polititics are insane and his plots are recycled, but he can write witty and readable prose.).
  • The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
  • Anything by H.P. Lovecraft.
  • The Complete Hammer's Slammers by David Drake.
  • At Basilisk Station by David Weber.
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
Nonfiction:
  • The Faith Healers by James Randi
  • Flim Flam by the same.
  • The Deamon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
  • Why People Believe Werid Things by Michael Shermer
  • Medieval Europe: A Short History by C. Warren Hollister and Judith Bennett
 
My short list:

Fiction:
  • A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Borroughs.
  • M.A.R. Barker's Tekumel novels.
  • The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.
  • The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith (Smith's anarcho-libertarian screeds disguised as science fiction are a guilty pleasure of mine. His polititics are insane and his plots are recycled, but he can write witty and readable prose.).
  • The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
  • Anything by H.P. Lovecraft.
  • The Complete Hammer's Slammers by David Drake.
  • At Basilisk Station by David Weber.
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
Nonfiction:
  • The Faith Healers by James Randi
  • Flim Flam by the same.
  • The Deamon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
  • Why People Believe Werid Things by Michael Shermer
  • Medieval Europe: A Short History by C. Warren Hollister and Judith Bennett
 
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn
 
I usually don't read books more than once, but there was just something about John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" that made me want to revisit it.
 
Lord of the Rings
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Huck Finn By Mark Twain
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ken Kesey.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and many others by Dr. Seuss
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Lady in the lake By Raymond Chandler
 
Dracula by Bram Stoker
I used to read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy constantly, now I just listen to the radio series.
 
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
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You know, I really enjoy the other books I've ready by Heinlein (and only don't include Starship Troopers because one of my shieldbrothers hasn't given it back yet, so I CAN'T re-read it), but this one just annoys me for some reason. I mean, I've read it a few times, but it just agravates me, and I eventually put it down and walk away.
 
Dinwar said:
You know, I really enjoy the other books I've ready by Heinlein (and only don't include Starship Troopers because one of my shieldbrothers hasn't given it back yet, so I CAN'T re-read it), but this one just annoys me for some reason. I mean, I've read it a few times, but it just agravates me, and I eventually put it down and walk away.
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Well I read it back in the early seventies and not sense, back then I read it over and over, possibly if I read it now I would have a "what was I thinking" moment.

I just downloaded a copy of catch 22 last night, and was listening to it on the way to work, very dangerous, I'll have to remember not to drink while I am listening to this book, very hard to drive with coffee coming out your nose.
 
That Hideous Strength An absolutely amazing book.

(Book 3 of Lewis's trilogy... You do NOT have to have read the first two books, though they are all great writing.)
 
As a kid I used to read L.M. Montgomery's 'Emily' books over and over (and the 'Anne' books too, but I preferred Emily; Anne was just too darn cheery all the time). They're amongst the few books I read (obsessively) as a kid and still feel compelled to read as an adult. Another book I re-read pretty regularly is Judy Budnitz' "If I Told You Once''. She creates this crazy surreal world I feel like I have to visit every now and again (it makes me feel normal).

Generally I re-read all my books to one extent or another, but there are a certain few I almost get a craving to re-read on a regular basis...
 
The Death's Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Love the story and the main characters. It's a 7 book series and I like all 7 of the books equally. I'm dying to see someone make this series into a set of movies.
 
rdaneel said:
My favorite book to reread is Good Omans by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman. Never fails to make me laugh.
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The title of the thread seemed to indicate I needed to have read a book at least 4 times to qualify, otherwise I would have mentioned Good Omens.

Read it for the first time a couple years ago, and have re-read it since (for a trivia contest). Then I read The Truth by Terry Pratchet (also for a trivia contest), and will probably read some more of Discworld before I re-read it.
 
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Lucian said:
Can I ask what you find particularly appealing about Mansfield Park? Austen's books are on my list, but not that one--too soppy.

*snip*
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That's actually an interesting question that I've been pondering. I've mentioned Mansfield Park amongst my favorites before and was asked why.

At first I thought it was because of my passion for ordered universes. That's also why I like the Peter Wimsey books and Agatha Christie. It's an escape from chaos. But when I thought more deeply about Mansfield Park, I realized that the other books by Austen also have ordered universes, but didn't have the deep appeal for me that it does.

I don't want to seem like I'm whining or pounding on a single issue in my life, but I really think it's because Fanny Price is bullied unmercifully and in many ways throughout the book, but still achieves everything in life she wants. She's a victim who manages to survive.

Yes, she's a bit passive aggressive, and certainly self-righteous, both of which I hope I'm not, but it does strike me that I have a bond with her and that's why the book appeals to me.
 
jakesteele said:
I'm laughing at the fact that LOTR is far and away the one most listed here; count me in, too.

My favorites are:

Another roadside attraction
Tom Robbins (and all his other books. He has a distinctive, unique and knee-slapping, belly laughing, outrageous and way over the top satire and wit that has reoccurring subjects of religion and spirituality that he mocks and takes seriously at the same time.
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Twice for me, but 3 times for Jitterbug Perfume.


jakesteele said:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert Heinlein
I highly recommend this book to all my friends. This is a superb, humorous and insightful look at social issues and religion from "...Within the framework of his science fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly integrated recognizable social themes: The importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress non-conformist thought. He also examined the relationship between physical and emotional love, explored various unorthodox family structures, and speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices."
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Read that one 4 times, but probably never will again. Twice for The Door into Summer - once as a child and a couple of years ago as a senior.

The Black March - Peter Neumann 3 times. I'm aware of the controversy.

Candide at least 4 times and more.

A Confederacy of Dunces - 3 times

Many books read only 2 times, too numerous to list.

I never considered the Holy Bible to be a "book to read". I thought of it as a work to be studied. In the course of study, one may eventually "read" the entire thing but not in the sequence of cover to cover. On that note, I can say I have read it in its entirety at least once, but have read and studied many passages so earnestly that I once (40 years ago) had memorized over 2000 verses, including the entire book of John and the book of James, all for a very different and utterly stupid reason other than entertainment, until the day I finally saw the light while I was on the road to Dumbass-cus.
 
In addition to my dear friends Bukowski, Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, and Pratchett, I also re-read my favorite books from childhood. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Narnia series, Alcott's Little Women series, anything by Dickens, almost anything by Jane Austen or some random Swinburne.

But when things seem completely out of whack,then it's time for Zinsser's Rats, Lice and History or any book from the Durant's Story of Civilization set. (Usually Caesar and Christ) Just pulling the Zinsser off the shelf, or admiring jackets on the Durants can fix a bad day.
 
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