# What books have you read at least three times? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579 "2009-09-18T12:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/41 "2009-09-18T21:31:16Z")
there’s a whole bunch - but the book that I probably read most often and that I feel sure I will read again is Catch 22, by Joseph Heller. And a lot of books by Dutch author [Gerard Reve](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Reve). ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/42 "2009-09-18T21:50:45Z")
The only one I can think of off the top of my head is _The Long Goodbye_ by Raymond Chandler. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/43 "2009-09-18T21:58:55Z")
Confederacy of Dunces Gone With the Wind Slaughterhouse 5 Cat’s Cradle I’m sure there others. If books of the Bible count there are several of those. (And of course TV Guide- if it counts I read it every week.;)) ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/44 "2009-09-18T22:36:58Z")
Almost zero - just never reread books for whatever reason. An exception can always be made, though, for _Cugels Saga_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/45 "2009-09-18T22:39:30Z")
> [@Nom\_de\_Plume](#): > > Just about all of the _Fletch_ books by Gregory McDonald. Amen. McDonald is a great writer. I’ve probably read Fletch Won a dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/46 "2009-09-18T22:39:37Z")
Ok, this might take a while… For me, my personal opinion is I’ll read anything once. If it’s good, it should be re-read often. If it sucks, I should read it at least once more to after a while to make sure it’s not a misunderstanding or immaturity on my part. And then, when I was young, our family was very poor. Therefore, I would often go to the public library to borrow books. When I had nothing to do, I’d read. When I had nothing new to read, I’d read the same thing again. Couple highlights: I have a library copy of Matheson’s “I am Legend” that I never returned and read it again and again and again, possibly over 200 times. I usually read Jordan’s entire Wheel of Time series (~5k pages?) once a year (usually ~7 days, ~12-15 hours/day,) just to keep up my reading skills (~150 pages/hour.) I’ve gone through all the books about 4-5 times so far, and re-read my favorites from the series more often than that. I have a few non-fiction books that I often use as references: Harrington on Hold em, \_\_\_\_\_ for Dummies, etc. My college, for whatever reason, kept making us read the same books every year (Eng. Lit major). Because of them, I had to read the Scarlet Letter like 4 times and various Shakespeare plays 5 or more times. I also did a movie criticism project in school where I read several novelizations and scripts of films multiple times: Alien, Star Wars, Terminator, etc. For Bladerunner, I read “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” a few times. Now the list: All of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire trilogy, 5X+. Tale of the Body Thief not included. It (Stephen King, 3X) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (only one in the entire series worth a re-read, imho. 3X) Congo (Critchton, 3X) The Natural (Malamud, 3X) Different Seasons (King. Actually, I think I only re-read 3 of the novellas, except Breathing Method, like 10+ times, and The Body the fewest. My favorites would be Apt Pupil and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.) Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series: the first 3 or so 3X, but it pretty much lost its focus after that. Piers Anthony’s Blue Adept series: same as above. Brin’s The Postman (3X) Robert R. McCammon’s books: Wikipedia is very thin on book summaries, so I don’t remember exactly which titles I read repeatedly. Definitely Wolf’s Hour, but I can’t remember the rest. I think he had a novel like the Postman as well. I remember borrowing both and comparing them, but it wasn’t Swan Song. Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes: Imho, one of the scariest novels ever written, 5X+. Maggin’s Miracle Monday: I have no idea how my family even got this book, but I found it around the house and read it over and over. 20+ Powers’ The Anubis Gates: 5X+ Edding’s The Belgariad Series: 3X. Brooks’ Magic Kingdom for Sale–Sold!: 3X Hardy’s Master of the 5 Magics series: 3X After some thought, the books I’ve read twice because of maturity or misunderstanding is also interesting: Asimov’s the Foundation Trilogy (2X): The first time it was incomprehensible, the second time it was great. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy: I still hated it the second time through, to this day and even when watching the film, I can’t stop yawning during the hours and hundreds of pages Pippen is riding on something or being carried by something. Bronte’s Wuthering Heights: In high school, I thought it was lame, in college, it became one of my favorite books. Frank’s The Diary of Anne Frank: I was trying to find the porno that caused it be banned in some states the first time, the second time it was for high school. 1984: Loved the torture the first time, loved the story the 2nd. Exceptions: Burrough’s John Carter, Warlord of Mars/Barsoom series: If you’ve ever any book in this series, you’ve reread his other books in this series. I read each one once, but reading three books in the series is just like reading one of them three times. Marvel’s Essentials series: I own Spiderman, X-men, and Captain America, many many rereadings. Various Calvin and Hobbes collections, same as above. Various Peanuts collections, same as above. Wow these are just off the top of my head. I looked at my paperback collection, and there’s tons more. Maybe I’ll make this list again later. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/47 "2009-09-18T22:39:50Z")
Shogun Armor - John Steakley (kind of a cult following for this, some love it others hate it) Dracula Twilight Eyes THHGTTG ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/48 "2009-09-18T22:40:05Z")
The ones I can think of immediately off the top of my head: -Richard Adams’ _Watership Down_ -Erik Larson’s _The Devil in the White City_ -All three _Lord of the Rings_ -The first four _Harry Potter_ books -A few of the Discworld books but most notably _The Fifth Elephant_ -Caleb Carr’s _Angel of Darkness_ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/49 "2009-09-19T01:35:54Z")
Atlas Shrugged The Fountainhead Lord of the Rings It The Manitou Little Fuzzy (and the rest of the Fuzzy series) Watchmen The Sherlock Holmes stories Good Omens Carrie The Hero from Otherwhere (children’s book by the author of the Danny Dunn series) The entire Harry Potter series (if audiobooks count–read once, listened probably about five times all the way through) Probably more, but that’s off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/50 "2009-09-19T03:42:03Z")
- All of the Lonesome Dove series- especially \*Lonesome Dove \*and my favorite, _Dead Man’s Walk_ - I read _English Passengers_ 3 times in a row!! Then I lent it to my boss, who laid me off and now I’ll have to buy another copy (among all the other things I have to do now that I’m unemployed). - _Jane Eyre_ - _Chronicles of Narnia_- except the first and last, both of which I don’t care for that much and only read twice. - _Answer as a Man_ (at least 5 times), \*Melissa _(at least 8-10 times over the last 20 years), and_ The Testimony of Two Men \*(4 times) by Taylor Caldwell - _Gone with the Wind_- 4 times I think, maybe 5 - _The Stand_, _The Green Mile_,_Misery_, and _It_. If we are counting the novellas- _Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption_ at least 10 times. - _The Godfather_ (don’t ask me how many times I’ve seen the first movie either!! too many to count!) -_Nop’s Trials_ by Donald MacCaig- the best dog story ever written for grown ups! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/51 "2009-09-19T04:58:26Z")
Fewer books than I thought, actually. The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion – have read the entire set probably 7 or 8 times (I’ve read them all the way through, every 3 to 5 years, since I was 12). David Eddings’ Belgariad / Malloreon series – three times. The novelization of the original Star Wars – probably read it a half-dozen times when I was about 13, totally mad for Star Wars, and watching it on TV wasn’t an option (this was '78 or so). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/52 "2009-09-19T05:45:12Z")
Huck Finn Jane Eyre Bunicula Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman (ironic given I’ve failed multiple attempts to get through Wuthering Heights) the first Harry Potter book A Wrinkle in Time & its sequels It The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub The Floating Dragon by Peter Straub When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Pennman What If? by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter I’m forgetting a bunch, but those are all the come to mind at the moment. Well, unless we count the hundred plus times I’ve read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give A Pig a Pancake, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and other books I read to tiny children over and over again at wic clinics 🙂 I hate all three of those books now, ftr. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/53 "2009-09-19T13:21:33Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > Watchmen Graphic novels didn’t occur to me, but now that you mention it … Watchmen (about 4 times) V for Vendetta (about 3 times) The Dark Knight Returns (about 3 times) [The Chuckling Whatsit](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Chuckling-Whatsit/Richard-Sala/e/9781560972815/?itm=1) by Richard Sala (about 4 times). ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/54 "2009-09-19T14:23:08Z")
I’m another one that re-reads, but the ones I’ve re-read the most often are Diary of Anne Frank and the American Bicentennial Series by John Jakes. I re-read that series every couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/55 "2009-09-20T02:40:25Z")
LOTR and _The Hobbit_ _Chronicles of Narnia_ _Hitchhiker’s Guide_ Trilogy (in four parts) _The Stand, Cujo, Eyes of the Dragon, Green Mile, Misery, The Shining_ _Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures_ by Walter Moers - so far I’m the only person I know who’s ever heard of this fantastic book. The 4th time I read it I read it aloud to my wife before she went to bed. _Almost Adam_ by Petru Popescu - I picked that one up in a rush through the airport. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/56 "2009-09-20T04:09:24Z")
[An Army at Dawn.](http://www.amazon.com/Army-Dawn-1942-1943-Liberation-Trilogy/dp/0805087249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253419686&sr=1-1)Fascinating narrative of the WW2 North Africa campaign. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/57 "2009-09-20T04:39:25Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > None, I think, but \*The Great Gatsby \*was assigned to me to read three times. Never assigned to me but I re-read it every few years because I think it is the perfect novel. Nothing else with the possible exceptions of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , _The Sun Also Rises_ and Dashiell Hammet’s novels which I know I have read twice and may have read a third time while travelling. I must admit I find this one of the most surprising threads I have seen here. I think since I was about 11 or 12 I have read on average about 150 books a year but I can’t conceive of re-reading on the scale of some Dopers, I thought most people would have one or two favorites and that would be it. In fact most books that I read I give away to friends on completion. If I had spent time re-reading a hundred books I would consider it 100 books that I didn’t read instead, I’m not going to live forever. ---
**Author:** ![LAV25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@LAV25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAV25)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/58 "2009-09-22T07:54:37Z")
3x is a little low for me also, so the biggies (more than 5 times?): Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (I’ve OWNED more than 5 copies of that book, it always seems to disappear) Anthony Swofford: Jarhead Herman Melville: Moby Dick (Read it probably 5 times in the first year I owned it, I had just moved to Japan and didn’t have access to a library, and English language books are expensive here. I still read it again every couple years, it’s one of those rare “great” books that are, IMO, also pretty good). Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars Christopher Moore: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Philip Gourevitch: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Killed With Our Families Anne Rice: The Vampire Lestat (and probably some of the other early Vampire books) I’ve always been a big re-reader, if I haven’t read something more than once and it’s been on my shelf for over a year or two, I generally give it away. -val ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/59 "2009-09-22T13:27:46Z")
- Both \*Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever \*by Stephen R. Donaldson. - _The Talisman_, _The Stand_, \*The Shining \*and \*Salem’s Lot \*by Stephen King - _Watchmen_ - The first two or three books of\* The Wheel of Time \*series, mainly because he went so long between books that I would re-read the earlier ones to remember what was happening. Then I dropped the series completely around book 7 or 8. - \*Of Mice and Men \*by Steinbeck - A couple of \*The Destroyer \*series by Sapir/Murphy. Easy reading for when I don’t want to think. - \*Harrington on Hold 'em \*and \*Harrington on Cash Games \*by Dan Harrington - \*The Theory of Poker \*by Sklansky ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579/60 "2009-09-22T13:50:52Z")
> [@Chum](#): > > But this is a nice way to find great new books to try. **PoorYorick** , I just requested _Not as a Stranger_ from the library. I hope I think it’s as good as you think it is. [QUOTE=I’m Not Dennis] I’m not familiar with Not As A Stranger, but I’ll take a look. [/QUOTE] Great, now the pressure’s on. If you don’t like the book, you’ll hate me and I’ll be exposed as the poser I am. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-have-you-read-at-least-three-times/510579.md?page=4)