# Books you reread over and over **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 8, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325 "2024-12-08T02:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/1 "2024-12-08T02:18:54Z")
I covered book series you reread over and over, such as the Nero Wolfe Mysteries for me. Now, standalone books, not really part of a series- For me it is Lord of the Rings- of course, but also’ American Gods and The Hounds of the Morrigan. what is yours? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/2 "2024-12-08T02:30:46Z")
Paul Bowles, Collected Short Stories George Orwell, Collected Essays Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment Krishnamurti, any and all titles. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/3 "2024-12-08T02:35:31Z")
First two that come to mind are _“Cross Country”_ by Robert Sullivan and _“Confederates In The Attic”_ by Tony Horwitz. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/4 "2024-12-08T02:40:25Z")
Everything by Miss Manners Uncle Johns Bathroom Readers Modesty by Wendy Shalit Manners for nice people who sometimes say F\*ck by Amy Alkon ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/5 "2024-12-08T02:41:38Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > _Confederates In The Attic”_ by Tony Horwitz. That was interesting. > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Uncle Johns Bathroom Readers Kind of a series, but I enjoy them also. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/6 "2024-12-08T02:51:05Z")
‘A River Sutra’, by Gita Mehta (It’s been a long time, though. Thinking on it, I might read it again very soon. It might well suit just now…) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/7 "2024-12-08T06:31:37Z")
I’ve read Herman Wouk’s “main work” (as he himself referred to it) — “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” — several times. I’ve read the most popular books by Arthur Hailey — “Hotel “, “Airport”, “Wheels”, and “The Moneychangers” — many times ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/8 "2024-12-08T06:36:40Z")
Lois McMaster Bujold, Ken Follett, Robert Heinlein, and S.M. Stirling. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/9 "2024-12-08T06:42:52Z")
The Famished Road, by Ben Okri. It’s not an easy book - most people I recommend it to recoil in horror after a few pages. But if you stick with it, it’s most amazing, and the last sentence always make me weep. Every time I read it, it seems beautiful in a new way. (And not only do I keep reading it, I keep buying it. Optimist that I am, I give the book away to people who I hope against hope will appreciate it. Then I have to buy a new copy. I think I’ve bought it 3-4 times now.) ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/10 "2024-12-08T07:44:43Z")
_Three Men in a Boat_ by Jerome K. Jerome. _The Prisoner of Zenda_ by Anthonty Hopkins _The Witches of Karres_ by James H. Schmitz ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/11 "2024-12-08T07:51:15Z")
Everything by Matthew Reilly, several by Wilbur Smith. I’m currently re-reading the whole Harry Potter series. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/12 "2024-12-08T08:13:42Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’ve read the most popular books by Arthur Hailey — “Hotel “, “Airport”, “Wheels”, and “The Moneychangers” — many times Same here. Arthur Haileys never get old to me; they’re always fun and interesting, no matter how many times I’ve read them. Another one would be Bel Kaufman’s _Up the Down Staircase_. I don’t know why, but I return to it every few years. I’m assuming we’re talking fiction books here. I have a number of non-fiction books, to which I refer frequently. But no matter how much I refer to them, they’re still non-fiction reference books. ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/13 "2024-12-08T09:40:48Z")
Proust’s _Recherche_. The gospels with the commentary compiled by Aquinas in his _Catena aurea_. Vergil, especially his _Georgics_. Homer. Pound’s _Cantos_. There are some works/books that never seem to get old to me, so every number of years I come back to those mentioned above, among others. Kafka (all), Horace (all), and Seneca. Augustine. I’d rather re-read any of the above authors than “work through,” for example, the NYT compilation of best selling books. For me, life’s too short to fritter away on inferior literature. > [@Spoons](#): > > I’m assuming we’re talking fiction books here. Yeah, that’s the assumption I made as well. Reference books are another thing altogether: I would not be without them, but I cannot say I read them in the same way as other texts. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/14 "2024-12-08T12:01:09Z")
Is Strong Medicine by Arthur Hailey a good novel? It’s actually his only novel at my library. The summary looks good yet the other ones mentioned sound intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/15 "2024-12-08T12:37:21Z")
Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe. C.S. Forester’s Hornblower. George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. And of course Lord of the Rings. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/16 "2024-12-08T12:38:33Z")
Five books that I pick up and re-read every few years are **On the Beach** by Nevil Shute; **Slaughterhouse Five** by Kurt Vonnegut; **The Great Escape** by Paul Brickhill; **The Human Comedy** by William Saroyan; and Richard Matheson’s novella **I Am Legend**. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/17 "2024-12-08T12:47:12Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > _The Prisoner of Zenda_ by Anthonty Hopkins Anthony Hope. I read _Ulysses_ every couple of years. Also, books I read every five years or so: Graham Greene’s _The Power and the Glory_, Pat Barker’s _Regeneration_, Barry Unsworth’s _Sacred Hunger_, George Eliot’s _Middlemarch_. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/18 "2024-12-08T13:17:17Z")
The Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne Maccafrey The Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling - Currently re-reading at the moment ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/19 "2024-12-08T14:30:36Z")
_Different Seasons_ by Stephen King _The Stand_ by Stephen King _Catch 22_ by Joseph Heller ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/20 "2024-12-08T15:11:24Z")
J.R.R. Tolkien’s _Lord of the Rings_ Robert Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ and _The Rolling Stones_ Roger Zelazny’s _Lord of Light_ Several of Larry Niven’s short story collections. Frank Herbert’s _Dune_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325.md?page=2)