Absolutely. My recurring list primarily consists of:
1984
Brave New World (poor thing’s worn ragged)
Lord of the Rings series
Harry Potter series
Tao Te Ching
Rousseau’s Discourses
and a few academic books that I often reread for new quotes on papers:
Bowling Alone
An Economic Theory of Democracy
I usually don’t buy a book until after reading it once from a library borrow. It is only when I know I will want to read it again that I actually support the publishing industry.
I was discussing this question with a confirmed read-oncer. He claimed that if he knows how a book is going to come out, he doesn’t get any pleasure out of reading it.
I responded that every time he has sex he always knows how it is going to come out…
The Screwtape Letters gets better every time I read it. In fact most CS Lewis stands repeated readings extraordinarily well.
Ray Bradbury too. It’s a different experience rereading a book, but no less worthhile.
Enid Blyton’s The Folk of the Faraway Tree is brilliant, even twenty-two years after I first read it.
I enjoy re-reading books more than I enjoy reading books for the first time. I’m a voracious reader–5 or so books a week would be about right. I make sure one at least is non-fiction. On new books I get very eager to find out what happens, so I read very fast, almost skimming. Or even (gasp!) skipping ahead to find out the end. It’s almost as if I feel the action is really occuring, so that if I stop reading or slow down, I’ll miss something. Re-reading, on the other hand, is a chance to savor the language as well as the plot. Re-re-reading is relaxing–like taking a walk down a familiar lane, where you already know every tree and bush and flower, so you can spot the subtle changes of the season or notice a new bird’s nest. New book, re-read, or old friend re-read so many times you can pick out a favorite paragraph–all different experiences.
My shelves are full of books I’ve “read to death”–Nero Wolfe, Peter Wimsey, Dune, Secret Garden, Pride and Prejudice, Stand on Zanzibar, Alice in Wonderland…and…and…and…
One of the very best parts of being a parent is re-reading your favorites with a fresh audience.
I’ve reread some of my books so often, I started leaving notes in them. I’ll usually write the date I finished reading the book, and will be surprised sometimes how close to a schedule I’m on. After a recent reread of one book, I realized it had been 2 years to the day, since I last read it. Looking through the other entries, I found that most of them were in the same month. I’m waffling between thinking, “how cool!” and “what a weirdo!” heh
I also write thoughts I had on the book along with the date. My copy of Rebecca, has me realizing only at the 2nd reading Manderley burned at the end. It wasn’t until an even later reading, I realized the second Mrs. de Winter never had a first name. Some of the stuff I looked up, to better help me understand a book, is pretty cool to reread again, too. I have a ton of notes about atmospheric pressure, gauge pressure, and diving, etc. from the first reading of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
I think that’s kinda weird. A lot of times I enjoy a book more if I know how it’s gonna turn out. In fact, if a plot is really absorbing, I’ll flip to the end to see how it al comes out, otherwise I just speed through the pages and miss the writing.
The books I can read over and over again:
Lord of the Rings
Ender’s Game
Terry Pratchett
The Nero Wolfe stories
Sherlock Holmes
I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can thin of right now…
What obvious reasons? Is eastern Oregon home to sand worms?
Dune is a book that I have read about 20 times. I’ve read the other books in the series (not the prequels) about a dozen times each.
I often re-read books, and I usually bring along one new book and one “old favorite” for long trips. I don’t want to get stuck on a multi-hour train/plane/automobile ride with nothing but an unfamiliar book that turns out to be lousy!
I reread books all the time. I just reread Bimbos of the Death Sun. When my life gets too stressful, I will often reach for a comfort book.
Absolutely; though I do feel a complulsion to “read new” as much as possible, sometimes you’re just drawn back to books you dearly love. Be it consciously or unconsciously.
Someone mentioned Slaughterhouse Five- Vonnegut was pretty much made to be re-read! Generally I think writers with a warm and endearing authorial voice tend to be the ones we return to. Like people. William Goldman is an “old friend” in that regard, and I’ve gone back to re-read The Princess Bride many times, but his lesser known novels hold up for me, too- Father’s Day, The Thing of It Is, Boys and Girls Together. (This last one is kind of forgotten today, but I think it was a pretty big seller when it came out.)