# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/41 "2024-12-09T13:56:42Z")
Some of my favorite standalones have already been mentioned Robert Heinlein novels L. Sprague de Camp’s _Lest Darkness Fall_ C.S. Forester wrote several standalone novels. I’ve read them, but not as often as the Hornblower novels, I admit. Frederick Forsyth’s thrillers, especially _Day of the Jackal_ – 've lost count of how many times I’ve re-read that one. _Bored of the Rings_ Arthur Conan Doyle’s _The Lost World_ – especially after I got the Annotated edition. Edwin Abbott’s _Flatland_ Several Arthur C. Clarke novels, especially _Rendezvous with Rama_ and _The Fountains of Paradise_. Ignore, at all costs, the sequels to Rama. Robert E. Howard’s _Almuric_ I’ve re-read _Dracula_ and _Frankenstein_ just a few times once I got the annotated editions. Several Jules Verne novels, including _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ I used to re-read plays many times over, but that seems like a separate topic, so i won’t go into those here. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/42 "2024-12-09T15:03:32Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > _Alas, Babylon_ – Pat Frank > _Metzger’s Dog_ – Thomas Perry > _Lest Darkness Fall_ – L Sprague de Camp > _Final Blackout_ – L Ron Hubbard > _Replay_ – Ken Grimwood > _Star Rangers_ – Andre Norton > _First Cycle_ – H Beam Piper and Michael Kurland > _Tunnel in the Sky_ – Robert A Heinlein Knew I was forgetting one! _Beyond Thirty_ (AKA _The Lost Continent_) – Edgar Rice Burroughs ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/43 "2024-12-09T15:32:28Z")
For me, it would be the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester. When I am running, I need something with action, and if I don’t have another book handy I’ll listen to any of the Hornblower books. I even have the fancy leatherbound set of them on the shelf–I’m not a “books on a shelf” kind of person, but I definitely made space for that set when I found it. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/44 "2024-12-09T15:41:40Z")
Some sci-fi classics from my youth The original _Foundation_ series by Isaac Asimov (the later sequels/prequels aren’t bad, but aren’t quite re-read worthy) _Dune_ and Hemingway - _The Sun Also Rises_ and _A Farewell to Arms_ > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Several Arthur C. Clarke novels, especially _Rendezvous with Rama_ and _The Fountains of Paradise_. Ignore, at all costs, the sequels to Rama. That is worth repeatting ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/45 "2024-12-09T16:00:39Z")
Well, I came here to say “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but I’m a runner-up. Some others: “Gone With the Wind”, yes. “National Velvet” and “Little Women” - I’ve had hardcovers of both since age 12. “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by Carla Emery (in case I find myself on a farm and have to learn to live off the land…very interesting and somehow comforting to read.) And anything by Bill Bryson, but especially “Home” - a history of …well, the house, room by room, and how each evolved over time. “Strangers in the Forest” by Carol Brink. Homesteaders in Teddy Roosevelts day. “The Awakening Land” a Pulitzer prize winning trilogy by Conrad Richter. (it was a made-for-tv movie some years ago.) “Dracula” - read it at an early age and loved it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/46 "2024-12-09T16:02:18Z")
More boooks: _Gulliver’s Travels_ by Jonathan Swift. I’ve been re-reading it since grammar school. As with other frequently-read books, there’s an Annotated edition. Isaac Asimov did the annotations. They’re generally pretty good, but he gets snarky when defending science. _Alice in Wonderland_ (Both the Alice books, considered as one). Again, read the annotated edition. Martin Gardner did three iterations, then another edition came out after his death. _The Iliad_ and _The Odyssey_ – there’s two of them, but don’t take it as a “series”. I’ve re-read the Fitzgerald translations of each many times over. After I got the audio editions of the Fagles translations, I’ve re-read them. I’m still annoyed that the audio edition of _The Iliad_ is only a highly abridged version. They put out the whole Odyssey, why not the Iliad? _Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and al-Medinah_ by Sir Richard Francis Burton. I’ve re-read this numerous times. I’ve also re-read a selections of his tales from the Arabian Nights more than once. I have the complete edition, but I haven’t read that all the way through, yet. _Philosophical Dictionary_ by Voltaire. Still subversive as ever. _Lies my Teacher Told Me_ by James Loewen. I’ve only re-read this on audio, but have done that many times. If you haven’t read this, you should. The way that different groups arrange to selectively teach American History was already pretty important, and it’s been getting more important with each passing year. With the Trumpistas coming into power, this is going to be one of the coming fights. _Lies Across America_ – since this is a collection of short pieces, this is easy to dip into and read short bits of. The theme here is that historical markers across the US aren’t regulated in any way, and people willing to get the money together have been able to slant history the way they want to. Again, this might become a live issue in the next four years. ---
**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 9, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/47 "2024-12-09T16:44:20Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > “Dracula” - read it at an early age and loved it. I read it when I was 10 or 11, when my brother brought it home from college. Scared the bejesus out of me. I have reread it a couple of times…it’s really a well-told story. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/48 "2024-12-09T16:59:17Z")
**The Milagro Beanfield War** by John Nichols. Laughed like a loon each and every time. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/49 "2024-12-09T18:52:13Z")
Replay by Ken Grimwood The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold Guns germs and Steel by Jared Diamond The Gods of Eden by William Bramley (a conspiracy book that speculates all religions on Earth were inspired by extraterrestrials–I don’t really believe it is true but he actually writes a fairly coherent consistent theory compared to others of the genre.) The Guinness Book of World Records (well not exactly because they release a new edition each year.) Also an obscure series of books written by Cecil Adams–the name of it eludes me at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/50 "2024-12-09T19:00:05Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Have you read _Island in the Sea of Time_ and its sequels, by S M Stirling? The same sort of thing, but instead of one person going back in time it’s the entire island of Nantucket, along with a passing ship. I like it much better than Eric Flint’s ‘1632’ series. I wanted to mention this, but with a little (\*) - much like Stirling’s “Dies the fire” (and for the record, they’re related series) the first trilogy is pretty contained, self-consistent, and works. The many, Many sequels after those first trilogies… well… the tightness and consistency leaves much to be desired. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/51 "2024-12-09T19:02:13Z")
_The Android’s Dream_ - John Scalzi _A Night of Blacker Darkness: Being the Memoir of Frederick Whithers As Edited by Cecil G. Bagsworth III_ - Dan Wells The second one is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/52 "2024-12-09T20:14:44Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Have you read _Island in the Sea of Time_ and its sequels, by S M Stirling? I have read some of it, including Dies the Fire for like 6 books, but I have given up on him. > [@minor7flat5](#): > > For me, it would be the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester. Love that series, but series were covered in the other thread. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > _Alice in Wonderland_ (Both the Alice books, considered as one). Again, read the annotated edition. Martin Gardner did three iterations, then another edition came out after his death. Yes, Anooted is best for those. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/53 "2024-12-09T20:21:25Z")
Oh, me, too. I was home alone for the weekend. Mesmerized! A lot of Victoriana is hard to get through, but I ‘got’ the gist of much (same with 'Little Women") ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/54 "2024-12-09T20:29:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Love that series, but series were covered in the other thread. Forgive me for my sin! I read the title without reading the fine print. (And others had included Hornblower in this thread). …and maybe I was overcome with the desire to brag about my leather bound set… How often do such opportunities arise? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/55 "2024-12-09T20:52:50Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I wanted to mention this, but with a little (\*) - much like Stirling’s “Dies the fire” (and for the record, they’re related series) the first trilogy is pretty contained, self-consistent, and works. The many, Many sequels after those first trilogies… well… the tightness and consistency leaves much to be desired. I love the Nantucket books and wish he’d write another book or two in that series. I liked the original _Dies the Fire_ trilogy, but gave up halfway through the fifth book (or maybe it was the fourth – can’t remember) and spent the next few years wishing he’d ignore the people who kept wanting more , and write something else instead. His new series looks really good, though, and he’s also finally written a third ‘Lords of Creation’ book. > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Have you read _Island in the Sea of Time_ and its sequels, by S M Stirling? > > I have read some of it, including Dies the Fire for like 6 books, but I have given up on him. Don’t give up completely yet – try his new series (the first book is _To Turn the Tide_). And _Conquistador_, which is my favourite book by him. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/56 "2024-12-09T20:58:59Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > And _Conquistador_, which is my favourite book by him. I’m not _sure_ I’d call it my favorite, but Conquistador is very good. I’d also vote for instead for their “The Peshwar Lancers” as another solid stand alone work. -steering us away from series- ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/57 "2024-12-09T21:03:33Z")
Innocents Abroad, Roughing it, and Life on the Mississippi, all the best from Mark Twain. Confederacy of Dunces Patrick O brien. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/58 "2024-12-09T21:25:54Z")
Easily more than half a dozen times: Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey) Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey) Not quite as often: Deliverance (James Dickey) Roughing It (Mark Twain) The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Tom Wolfe) Jitterbug Perfume (Tom Robbins) To Say Nothing Of The Dog (Connie Willis) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/59 "2024-12-09T22:12:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Several Jules Verne novels, including _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ I don’t reread a lot of novels, but Jules Verne may make up almost half of those that I have. I exhausted what was in the library by the 6th grade. 30 or so years later when I read that those translations were crap, I read the the new translations which was really fun. I was surprised at how much of the plots I’d forgotten. The only books I have read more than twice is the entire comic book run of _The Fantastic Four_ which I’ve done (appropriately) four times. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325/60 "2024-12-10T01:36:07Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Forgive me for my sin! I read the title without reading the fine print. > (And others had included Hornblower in this thread). > > …and maybe I was overcome with the desire to brag about my leather bound set… No problem at all, its fine, but maybe you might have another to suggest also? > [@sb1953](#): > > Innocents Abroad, Roughing it, and Life on the Mississippi, all the best from Mark Twain. Loved those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-reread-over-and-over/1011325.md?page=4)