# The Endless Repetition of Reading about Room 101 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042 "2007-11-02T19:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/21 "2007-11-05T00:47:54Z")
Frank Herbert’s _Dune._ I never get tired of that book. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/22 "2007-11-05T01:02:29Z")
Anne of Green Gables, all eight actually. Jane Austen’s four most popular books are also commonly read around here. (of course.) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/23 "2007-11-05T01:07:37Z")
I’m not much of a rereader. There are so many great books I haven’t read yet that when I do get around to reading one, I feel like I can’t waste time rereading. I may make an exception soon for 1984, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dosipede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dosipede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dosipede)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/24 "2007-11-05T01:13:44Z")
It may be a kid’s book, but I still find relevance in Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli. I read it three or four times as a kid, and a couple of times in my adult life. Still a great read. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/25 "2007-11-05T02:02:20Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Woodhouse] Anne of Green Gables, all eight actually. [/QUOTE] I reread this set from time to time. I always look forward to the end, because Rilla is my favorite one. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/26 "2007-11-05T05:25:09Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] I love all Salinger, absolutely. I’d like to be a mother like BooBoo. [/QUOTE] Same here; I also read The Great Gatsby and the Stand once a year. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/27 "2007-11-05T08:24:10Z")
[QUOTE=Paladud] Clavell’s “King Rat,” usually twice a year. [/QUOTE] Same here, but just once a year. And The Stand. And The Secret History. And Memoirs of a Sword Swallower, by Dan Mannix, which has been a favourite since I was about 7. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/28 "2007-11-05T13:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Woodhouse] Jane Austen’s four most popular books are also commonly read around here. (of course.) [/QUOTE] I must admit that Emma has sat on my lap more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/29 "2007-11-05T17:50:31Z")
I’ve re-read parts of _The Thurber Carnival_, a collection of stories and essays by James Thurber, since I was about 8 or 9 years old. That makes it about 45 years now that it’s been on my nightstand. I also read _The Stand_ every couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/30 "2007-11-05T18:34:53Z")
I read Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series every 2 years or so. I just finished _Desolation Island_ in fact. ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/31 "2007-11-05T19:02:51Z")
Grendel by John Gardner > **[Grendel (novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel_%28novel%29)** > > Grendel is a 1971 novel by the American author John Gardner. It is a retelling of part of the Old English poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. In the novel, Grendel is portrayed as an antihero. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil. > In a 1973 interview, Gardner said, "In Grendel I wanted to go through the main ideas of Western civilization – which seemed to me to be about ... twelve? – and go ... also Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco every couple years > **[Foucault's Pendulum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault%27s_Pendulum_%28book%29)** > > Foucault's Pendulum (original title: Il pendolo di Foucault \[il ˈpɛndolo di fuˈko\]) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, and an English translation by William Weaver appeared a year later. > Foucault's Pendulum is divided into ten segments represented by the ten Sefiroth. The satirical novel is full of esoteric references to Kabbalah, alchemy, and conspiracy theory—so many that critic and novelist Anthony Burgess suggested that it needed an i... ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/32 "2007-11-05T21:02:02Z")
I’ve re-read Gone With The Wind more than any other book, possibly over a hundred times since age ten. As **fessie** said, it’s pretty interesting how my views about the characters and events have changed over time. I haven’t read it now in years because I can refer to most of it by memory. I’ve decided to use some of my audiobook time for re-reading things now, because I have such a flood of new stuff coming in all the time I don’t get to re-visit my old favorites as much as I’d like to. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/33 "2007-11-05T21:09:55Z")
Oddly enough, I’m more likely to reread genre fiction than I am to reread “great” literature. LotR many many times over the decades. All of the Anne of Green Gables books, especially when I’m down with the flu. Some of Montgomery’s other books, too, like The Story Girl and Blue Castle. Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series. Light reading, but hysterical spoofs of romantic adventure stories. I find more in them every time, and have developed a bit of interest in archeology through them. Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, Time Enough for Love, and The Number of the Beast Diana Wynne Jones’ Fire and Hemlock, Archer’s Goon, Howl’s Moving Castle The Sherlock Holmes stories maybe a dozen times or so, same with Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. I’ve greatly enjoyed many of the books mentioned above, but haven’t felt the urge to reread Salinger. But I think I will reread Eco’s In the Name of the Rose this winter, before reading The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. Oh, so many others, but this is enough for this post. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/34 "2007-11-05T21:41:43Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] 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.’’ [/QUOTE] Hinckley, is that you? 😉 I also read _Alice_ and _Looking Glass_ (I just started reading them to my 7 year old daughter) along with _The Hobbit_. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/35 "2007-11-06T02:21:50Z")
The novel I’ve read most often is _I Married A Communist_ by Phillip Roth, part of the Nathan Zuckerman cycle. It has its flaws but the issues it deals with and way in which it deals with them makes it endlessly appealing to me. For non-fiction Norman Davies’ \* Europe: A History\* gets an airing every few months and any of Bill Bryson’s makes good toilet reading or late-night zombie reading. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/36 "2007-11-06T16:04:29Z")
I never reread a book, but I just started Watership Down for the second time. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/37 "2007-11-06T16:13:12Z")
I re-read Watership Down from time to time. And I’ve re-read James Herriot’s books multiple times. It’s comfort reading. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/38 "2007-11-06T18:06:10Z")
If I had children, I would certainly get them a copy of Gnomes. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0810909650/](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0810909650/) ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/39 "2007-11-06T19:06:35Z")
Anything by Louis L’Amour. Quick reads that give you vivid descriptions, and make you forget about life for a little while. ETA: _Bowdrie_ and _Flint_ are probably the ones I have read the most. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042/40 "2007-11-06T19:24:46Z")
Every time I re-read “Her Savaged Rump” I find subtle nuances of plot and characterization that I missed on previous readings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-endless-repetition-of-reading-about-room-101/425042.md?page=3)