# What books have you re-read the most? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946 "2017-06-02T17:38:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/41 "2017-06-03T14:49:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > and **The Milagro Beanfield War** , by John Nichols, possibly the funniest book I’ve ever read. I’ll have to read this. It’s one of those movies I love that nobody else has heard of. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/42 "2017-06-03T14:53:08Z")
John MacDonald’s Travis McGee series: > [@](#): > > Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. Unlike most detectives in mystery/detective fiction, McGee is neither a police officer nor a private investigator; instead, he is a self-described “salvage consultant” who recovers others’ property for a fee of 50%. McGee appeared in 21 novels, from The Deep Blue Good-by in 1964 to The Lonely Silver Rain in 1984. > **[Travis McGee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee)** > > Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. McGee is neither a police officer nor a private investigator; instead, he is a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers others' property for a fee of 50 percent. McGee appeared in 21 novels, from The Deep Blue Good-by, first published in 1964, to The Lonely Silver Rain in 1984. In 1980, the McGee novel The Green Ripper won a National Book Award in a one-year Mystery category. All 21 books have the... ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/43 "2017-06-03T15:00:21Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > John MacDonald’s Travis McGee series: > > [Travis McGee - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee) Yup, that’s what I came in to say. Over and over. Oh, and Owen Meany. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/44 "2017-06-03T16:29:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Nearly all of Dick Francis novels. > > I keep them in a box. Pull them out every few years and reread every book. . . . My first Dick Francis was “Reflex.” I’ve re-read it maybe four times (for five readings total.) I’ve also given copies to many friends, to get them hooked. (“First hit is free, kiddo!”) Dick Francis and Roger Zelazny are the only two authors I’ve read who have mastered the first-person style. I don’t like first-person narration from just about anyone else, but they know (knew) how to do it right. What’s your opinion of Felix Francis? ---
**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:** [June 3, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/45 "2017-06-03T16:35:04Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ll have to read this. It’s one of those movies I love that nobody else has heard of. As with most movies, it departs quite a bit from the book, but I enjoyed it, as well. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/46 "2017-06-03T17:24:53Z")
_The Fountainhead_. I have all the really good parts underlined in my copy. I think it was read #3 when I did that. If anyone wants to borrow it, just PM me. I’m kinda bummed I didn’t think to color code the underlining. Roark’s cool parts would be underlined in orange (get it???) and Dominique’s would be in ice blue. How cool would that be!? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/47 "2017-06-03T17:59:10Z")
The Stand. Not sure how many times but I would say around eight or nine times. For several years I would read it every June to correspond with the dates in the novel. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/48 "2017-06-03T20:47:54Z")
I forgot to mention The Belgariad series by David Eddings. I must have read every book in the series five times between the ages of 13 and 20. When I tried to read them again in my late twenties I realized they were no longer to my taste and I never tried them again. I still like lots of fantasy and young-adult novels I enjoyed as an adolescent, just not those ones. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/49 "2017-06-04T01:55:27Z")
Like lots of people, I reread fantasy series obsessively as a teenager. In my case, it was **The Dragonriders of Pern** by Anne McCaffrey. I also reread the **Well of Souls** series by Jack L Chalker repeatedly. As an adult, I’ve read **The Eye of the World** (book 1 of the Wheel of Time) 5ish times. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/50 "2017-06-04T03:22:17Z")
**Replay** , several times. Also **HHGG**. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/51 "2017-06-04T08:43:24Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > My first Dick Francis was “Reflex.” I’ve re-read it maybe four times (for five readings total.) I’ve also given copies to many friends, to get them hooked. (“First hit is free, kiddo!”) > > Dick Francis and Roger Zelazny are the only two authors I’ve read who have mastered the first-person style. I don’t like first-person narration from just about anyone else, but they know (knew) how to do it right. > > What’s your opinion of Felix Francis? I liked the books Dick and Felix wrote together. Felix is getting better. I always look forward to each new book. I may not reread them multiple times like I did Dick’s best books. Decider and To the Hilt are really good Dick Francis books. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/52 "2017-06-05T06:09:09Z")
The Travis McGee series is worth re-read. John D. MacDonald is quite unique in his approach to the mystery genre. I’ve read 9 of the 21 book series. I keep trying to find the time to read the others. His books are slower reads than Dick Francis. MacDonald has more imagery to think about and absorb. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/53 "2017-06-05T11:24:06Z")
This duplicates another thread, but why not? Arthur Conan Doyle’s _Sherlock Holmes_ books C.S. Forester’s _Horatio Hornblower_ series J.R. R. Tolkien’s _Lord of the Rings_ – more times than I can recall …and, of course, the Harvard Lampoon parody _Bored of the Rings_ Frederick Forsyth’s _Day of the Jackal_ and _The Odessa File_ most of Dave Barry’s books – good bedside reading Tom Weller’s **Science Made Stupid** and **Cvltvre Made Stupid** James Lileks’ \*\*The Gallery of Regrettable Food, Gastroanomalies, \* and _Interior Desecration_ _The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste_ Most of the Paradox Press (DC Comics) _The Big Book of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\__ series Mark Twain’s _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court_ Voltaire’s _Philosophical Dictionary_ (really!) Until this site existed, I used to re-read Cecil Adams’ _Straight Dope_ collections a _lot_ ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/54 "2017-06-05T11:53:08Z")
Most of the _Discworld_ novels. The earlier ones I’ve probably read about five or six times each, though due to time running short and more books coming out, that has happened less often as time has gone on. Also I think I’ve read _Memory Sorrow and Thorn_ by Tad Williams four times. I guess that’s not too many times, really. ---
**Author:** ![Modesty\_Blaise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Modesty\_Blaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modesty_Blaise)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/55 "2017-06-05T13:28:52Z")
Hotel New Hampshire World According to Garp The Water-Method Man A Prayer for Owen Meany Cider House Rules Son of the Circus A Widow for One Year In my younger years, I read several Stephen King novels several times: The Stand The Shining The Dead Zone It Fire Starter Delores Claybourn The Body - from Different Seasons And: 1984 To Kill a Mockingbird What’s Eating Gilbert Grape ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/56 "2017-06-05T13:30:35Z")
I re-read Maugham’s **The Razor’s Edge** every year, and I’ve re-read **Of Human Bondage** quite a few times as well. I’ve read Ready Player One a few times already, and I’ve got a collection of Jeeves short stories ( **The World Of Jeeves** ) that I dip into fairly often, and I crack up every time. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/57 "2017-06-05T16:24:29Z")
I don’t often re-read books (or re-watch movies or tv shows or replay video games!) but I never get tired of Alice Munro’s short stories. She has a startling economy of words that just crackles off the page and brings her characters, in all their flawed glory, to life. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/58 "2017-06-05T16:32:00Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever re-read a book (and seldom watch a movie more than once). I’m not sure what that says about me. However, as I’m getting old, some of the books I read 30 or 40 years ago might benefit from a new examination. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/59 "2017-06-05T18:14:12Z")
Unless I missed it, I can’t believe my two favorite books haven’t been mentioned yet: The Godfather The Princess Bride. Both excellent books. The Princess Bride book is especially awesome; in that William Goldman interrupts the story (much like they also did in the movie) so that he can interject his thoughts. It’s comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946/60 "2017-06-05T18:17:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > However, as I’m getting old, some of the books I read 30 or 40 years ago might benefit from a new examination. As Dung Beetle observed - > [@](#): > > The book is the same; I am different! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-re-read-the-most/787946.md?page=4)