# What is your favorite book to read again, and again, and again... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803 "2004-04-30T04:39:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/21 "2004-04-30T14:32:03Z")
**Reaper Man** and **Thief of Time** by Pratchett. **Hunt for Red October** by Tom Clancy. Any Douglas Adams. I’m sure there’s more, but my bookshelf is at home. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/22 "2004-04-30T14:35:57Z")
**Illuminatus! Trilogy** -Robert Anton Wilson **Schroedinger’s Cat Trilogy** -Robert Anton Wilson \*\*Bird By Bird \*\* - Anne Lamot ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/23 "2004-04-30T14:38:37Z")
_Red Storm Rising_ by Clancy (or anything else of his) _Exodus_ by Leon Uris (worn out 2 copies of this 'un) any Douglas Adams currently rereading the entire Harry Potter series ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/24 "2004-04-30T15:17:15Z")
Have Space Suit-Will Travel by Robert Heinlein also Citizen of the Galaxy I know they’re ‘juveniles’, but they are so darned good. “Your world will be rotated” “I would protect you with my body, as you did me.” “You were a mess! I saw! I still have nightmares!” “We will make our own sun” I also reread the end of Footfall by Niven and Pournelle: “Accelerating… find a target.” WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Satch ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/25 "2004-04-30T15:47:53Z")
Not particularly in this order… Stephen King’s THE STAND, Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, Ayn Rand’s ATLAS SHRUGGED, C.S. Lewis’s THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH occasionally, there will be others (such as Owen Meany, Narnia, Frankenstein) but those four are nigh perrenial (sp?) for me. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/26 "2004-04-30T16:04:37Z")
_The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman_ Jeffrey Robins, Ed., Richard P. Feynman, Intro. by Freeman Dyson. I especially like “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” and “Los Alamos from Below”. This is something I pretty much keep on my nightstand year-round, and skip about in as I drift off to sleep. Hopefully a smidgen of Feynman’s wit and intuitive brilliance will seep in and lodge somewhere while I’m in dreamland. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/27 "2004-04-30T16:20:46Z")
I’m on board with **The Stand** (at least a dozen times), **King Rat** (also a Great Movie), and **To Kill A Mockingbird** (another Great Movie). I have re-read many King books, especially **The Dead Zone** , and many Clavell books, including **Shogun** , **Noble House** and **Tai-Pan**. I re-read a couple of the early Dirk Pitt books - **Raise the Titanic!** and **Vixen '03** - a bunch of times. Clive Cussler was an entertaining author, but he overplayed his hand and ceased to entertain me after his first 6 books or so. Another book I can’t seem to put down for more than 6 months at a time is **Watership Down** , which gets better every time I read it. Also, I must have read **Another Roadside Attraction** by Tom Robbins a dozen times; it’s still my favorite book of his. There are many many more; I spent at least one hour a day reading novels from the time I was 10 to about age 35, and I read fast (about 60 pages an hour), so that’s at least 500k pages, and I almost always re-read the ones I like. I guess there’s about 300 books I’ve re-rad, and about 100 I’ve re-read more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/28 "2004-04-30T16:20:47Z")
When I’m tired, I’ll pick up one of L. E. Modessitt’s Recluce novels, and mostly read the bits about food and woodworking. I’ve probably memorised some of the _Little House_ books. I reread almost everything. It’s hard to pick. The ones I’ve probably read the most often are _Deerskin_ and _Spindle’s End_- Robin McKinley, LOTR, _Outlaw Cook_- John Thorne, _Two-Part Invention_- Madeleine L’Engle, and the _Anne_ series. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/29 "2004-04-30T16:39:17Z")
_Slaughterhouse Five_ is one I reread every year. _A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_ is one I’ll hafta reread soon. _Echoes of the Great Song_ by David Gemmell is a book that wows me over and over and over. _Night Watch_ by Pratchett is one I need to reread soon and I can’t wait. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/30 "2004-04-30T16:51:23Z")
Most of my favorite rereadable books are series: All the Discworld books The original Sherlock Holmes stories Nero Wolfe books Lord of the Rings Ender’s Game (but not the sequels) Occasionally reread Heinlein Anne MacAffrey’s Dragon books (particulalry the early ones) Stephen King (early works only) Dean Koontz (earlier books only) Most of my favorite rereads tend to be adventure stories that are not difficult reads with strong main characters I’m fond of. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/31 "2004-04-30T17:13:51Z")
I used to reread a lot of Stephen King’s books – _The Stand_ in particular – but I haven’t been motivated to do that for quite a while. Maybe 10 years… But I do reread Norton Juster’s **The Phantom Tollbooth** at least once a year. Not only is it my co-favorite book, it’s short! ---
**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:** [April 30, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/32 "2004-04-30T17:16:24Z")
I also re-read everything. If I had answered this as a teenager, the answer would have been Gone With the Wind. I could actually recite long stretches of it. Now, I re-read lots of my King novels. Probably the book I have re-read the most often in the last ten years would be Jane Eyre. Watership Down would be next. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/33 "2004-04-30T17:20:19Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > Anything by Terry Pratchett and/or Neal Gaiman. I was going to say the same thing about both of those authors. I heard about Terry Pratchett on these boards, and I’ve read almost all of them now. Some of them several times. ---
**Author:** ![jellytoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@jellytoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellytoes)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/34 "2004-04-30T17:30:33Z")
I’ve read \*Stanger in a Strange Land \* by Heinlein more times than I can remember (I keep giving away my copy too darnnit!). About every year since I was 12, I have read _Wuthering Heights_. **I don’t know why!!** Somebody really has to stop me, it’s so beautiful and dark and depressing. I can’t resist. And no matter how many times I read it, Catherine never comes back. But I don’t stop hoping 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/35 "2004-04-30T17:41:26Z")
**Jitterbug Perfume** by **Tom Robbins** , I love this book, but I can’t for the life of me tell you why. Also, any **Terry Pratchett** , **Douglas Adams** , **Toni Morrison** and **Alice Walker** I can get my hands on will be devoured. I’ve re-read **The Hobbit** and **Lord of the Rings** every Christmas for about 6 years. 3 books I take everywhere with me are **The Art of War by Sun Tzu Strength to Love by Martin Luther King The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran** My tastes are a little bit eclectic. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/36 "2004-04-30T17:42:35Z")
9o% of my reading is science fiction, but whenever I have a gap in my reading schedule the one book I can read and read is Catch 22. It’s like an old friend, I first read it in the 60s and still have the same copy. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/37 "2004-04-30T17:53:52Z")
I’ve re-read the Jeeves and Wooster stories several times, and Wodehouse’s golf stories. There were books I re-read a lot as a kid, like **Catcher in the Rye** , but I tend not to re-read as much now as I used to, since there’s so much new reading I am trying to catch up on. Wodehouse is the exception. The familiarity is part of the coziness of reading his stories at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/38 "2004-04-30T17:54:08Z")
I tend to revisit Jane Austen quite a bit, especially _Pride and Prejudice_. Other favourites: _Jane Eyre_ (Charlotte Brontë) _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and _The Three Muskateers_ (Alexandre Dumas) I just reread Bill Bryson’s _In a Sunburned Country_ and laughed as much as I did the first time around. I love that guy. Also like to reread Dorothy L. Sayers (Idlewild, may I say you have impeccable taste?) Otherwise, I try to keep rereading to a minimum. I’m trying to read more of my piles of unread books at home. I’m such an optimist. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/39 "2004-04-30T19:52:18Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > 9o% of my reading is science fiction, but whenever I have a gap in my reading schedule the one book I can read and read is Catch 22. It’s like an old friend, I first read it in the 60s and still have the same copy. This is what I was going to say. Well, not the part about the 60s, since I wasn’t around then, but _Catch-22_, definitely. I’ll also pick up _The Milagro Beanfield War_, by John Nichols, anytime I don’t have anything to do. I’ve never really gotten into the other books in this series, but I think this one is amazing. Harry Crews wrote an autobiographical… essay? Longer than that, but shorter than a full book called _Childhood: The Biography of a Place_ that I love to read over and over again. It’s in a book with an essay called _Fathers, Sons and Blood_ that I’ve never been able to read without crying. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803/40 "2004-04-30T20:03:52Z")
_The Stand_ by Stephen King _Doomsday Book_ by Connie Willis _Outlander_ by Diana Gabaldon _The Firm_ by John Grisham. I don’t know what it is about this book–I think I enjoy reading the very detailed descriptions of the inner workings of a law office. I don’t even like John Grisham all that much. And I know these aren’t novels but I do reread them a good bit: _Gallery of Regretable Foods_ by James Lieks and all of my Calvin and Hobbes collections. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book-to-read-again-and-again-and-again/242803.md?page=3)