George Orwell’s 1984 was mentioned in a previous thread. I love this book that I first read when I was 13. I have reread it every year and will continue to do so. Does anyone else have a book that they are perpetually reading?
(Note- I read quickly and don’t sleep very much. I reread most books but this is the only one of novel lenght that I have reread so many times.)
I read the entire series of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster novels and stories each summer. They never grow old.
I rejoice when I read the first line of a Wodehouse and can’t recall the plot. That means it’s time for another go. The same applies for the complete Sherlock Holmes collection.
I reread Murakami all the time, esp his short stories and my favorite, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The best books to reread are the ones that are not just immensely enjoyable, but you find that you get something new out of every time. The other one that falls into that category is Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men.
realizes he hasn’t read that in forever, also realizes there isn’t a copy within 4000 miles and freaks out
I read and re-read all of Tom Wolfe’s novels constantly. Like, whenever I’m bored and have nothing to do, I’ll pick them up and just read from a random point in the book. Wolfe’s words are so ingenious that they entertain me even without any context (though I know the plots by heart anyway.)
Every now and then I’ll re-read one of them cover-to-cover, just to see if I can catch extra little subtleties.
I read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass at least once a year. I have the annotated version and it never gets old. I first read that book when I was about 7 – I feel like it has grown up with me.
I also read The Catcher in the Rye every year. I credit that book to helping me find my writer’s voice, and I love Holden Caulfield’s narration, so reading it is kind of like my way of saying ‘‘thanks for making me a better writer.’’
I’ve read Gone With the Wind at least 40 times over the last 30 years. At first I was a lot younger than Scarlett is at the beginning of the book (which covers 12 years in her life); now I’m the age Rhett is at the end. It’s been so interesting to experience the book differently as I’ve gained life experiences.
I read the Great Gatsby over and over.
I’ve read Rosemary’s Baby about a thousand times, and wrote an annotated version of it, which I am always adding to.
hoorah for the MPSIMs. Hard Boild and Rosemary’s have been ordered. I’ve read a couple of Wolfe’s but how about the preferred reread? I’ve never read Mitchell but I’ll get my mom’s copy. Nine stories is my constant Salinger. My dad has All the King’s Men so I’ll grab that on turkey day. I leafed through The Beautiful and The Damned earlier this year and was disappointed to find it less than I remembered it being 18 years ago. Mebbe I’ll try the Gats again.
Sometimes I think of when I will eventually become senile with a secret joy for I’ll be able to read everything as if it were the first time.
I love all Salinger, absolutely. I’d like to be a mother like BooBoo.
Clavell’s “King Rat,” usually twice a year.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I have had the same copy for 32 years. It has turned in a great psychological analysis of people. Every time I read it, I see more nuances to other people’s behavior.
But the plots of Wodehouse stories are all the same. You (or at least I) read them for the dialogue and descriptions, not the plots.
I have a fairly substantial collection of books and will frequently pull a random one off the shelf on a quiet night when there’s nothing better to do than sit in front of the fire and read. If I had to highlight books that I “regularly” reread, however, it would probably be Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, some of Patricia Highsmith’s better novels (The Cry of the Owl, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Edith’s Diary), Douglas Adams, James M. Cain, Graham Greene, and my junk food literature, Forester’s Hornblower series. I first read 1984 back in sixth grade and have probably read it at least a dozen times since, but I haven’t picked it up in years, though I do seem to read Animal Farm and A Homage to Catalonia with some regularity. The Grifters is also one that has been well-thumbed, and the ending never fails to feel like a slug of bad rye whiskey after being gutshot by a duplicitous moll with a gat.
Stranger
That’s true. It seems like at least half of them involve Bertie being pressed into service to steal something, usually from Sir Watkin Bassett.
I have read all of my Clavells to tatters, more than once. I read The Name of the Rose all the time. I memorized most of Stephen King’s early works, pretty much. What else? A number of Orson Scott Card’s books, Dan Simmons’ Hyperion & Fall of Hyperion… I’ll think of more.
Or getting engaged to a woman with “a great profile” and then remembering that marriage isn’t at all for him. Then Aunt Agatha ensues.
I used to re-read LotR once a year, but now I don’t get to read for pleasure, so I haven’t done it in a few years.
We read “A Christmas Carol” aloud at table every year at Christmastime. I am not sure that counts as Dearly Beloved does most of the reading – he is very talented at reading aloud. A thing I never thought of as a talent until I saw it in action.
I used to read “Three Men in a Boat” aloud for my FIL every year after he had a stroke because after that he had more difficulty reading in English (his native language was Dutch). Why it never occurred to us to record it I have no idea, now. But there was something about that book, I think. I did record myself reading a couple of other books for him but that one he wanted live.
I reread “The Phantom Tollbooth” for myself at least once a year, just because I love it.
Graham Greene is high on my list of mandatory rereading. It’s fun trading my parents’ well thumbed Penguins back and forth as we give them another go. Although they are still new and I don’t have the 20 years in as I do on many books, Iain M. Banks’ sci-fi catalog will be accompanying me for frequent revisits. Furthermore, as the cool weather begins to creep in, the tantalizing prospect of curling up on the couch with Crime and Punishment again makes me strangely giddy.
I wonder what life would be like if I had teh internets at home.
Same here, only the French version! I have three copies of the book (the first one I got about 12 years ago, I think. The other two were gifts). I carry one with me in my bag, and the other two are at home. I think I probably read it about once every 3-4 months.
I have also read Watership Down many times since I was in 5th grade, when it was read to us by our teacher. I had a copy that I bought around that time, and back in high school I had let my sister borrow it for a book report, and she gave it back to me months later with the cover ripped off, and it was all mangled and torn. Still readable, but not “the same” book, you know? I threw a fit (my sister and I really didn’t get along well to begin with back then). I didn’t get another copy, but it just always made me so sad that my sister could damage a book like that and not care. Just a few weeks ago, as my mom was going through some books that were being discarded by her school, she found another copy of it - same cover and everything - in perfect shape, and gave it to me. I was so happy! I haven’t had time to reread it yet, though, but I will soon!
Neil Gaiman’s books; I have read most of them more than once, and I’m sure I’ll reread them again eventually.
I love going back and reading books that I enjoyed, so I expect most books I own will end up being reread more than once!