# which books do you read again and again.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563 "2008-02-21T14:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/41 "2008-02-21T21:04:40Z")
[QUOTE=indian] **what makes you read them again??** [/QUOTE] I’d really like to hear all y’all’s answer to this part of the OP. That’s what makes it more interesting. The books I come back to over and over are ones where the characters are so richly drawn – so human – that re-reading books about them is like visiting old friends (and enemies). ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/42 "2008-02-21T21:05:43Z")
_Rebecca_ _The King’s General_ _Anne of Green Gables_ (series) _Pride and Prejudice_ _Emma_ Are all books I’ve re-read from time to time. I’m not much for re-reading anymore, though. Less time to read, basically, so I want to move on and conquer new material. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/43 "2008-02-21T21:28:32Z")
[QUOTE=susan] Darwinia–Wilson [/QUOTE] I tried to reread that one, but it just isn’t the same now that I know the Big Reveal. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/44 "2008-02-21T22:10:25Z")
History of Western Philosophy Russel Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance Persig ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/45 "2008-02-22T01:39:50Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] I’d really like to hear all y’all’s answer to this part of the OP. That’s what makes it more interesting. The books I come back to over and over are ones where the characters are so richly drawn – so human – that re-reading books about them is like visiting old friends (and enemies). [/QUOTE] What makes me read them again? The two Alice books which I have read once or twice a year for more than 50 years are such perfect realizations of a fantasy world and are so full of sub-text (See Gardiner’s\*\* Annotated Alice\*\*) that they are enjoyable each time I read them. Also, I must admit, reading them now brings me back to a long lost innocence in a time a long. long time ago. I’ve read H.P. Lovecraft’s stories dozens of times because I love old books, I love old houses, and I love horror stories, three elements in almost all of his stories. **The Dunwich Horror** , his first story I read, which I read when I was 14, undoubtedly had a greater impact on my life than any other book I have ever read. It got me interested in old books resulting in my lifelong book-collecting hobby, it got me interested in architecture which has greatly enriched my life, and it got me hooked on horror stories which I have been reading ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/46 "2008-02-22T03:32:33Z")
I’ve been re-reading Bujold (the Vorkosigan series) a lot the past few years. I always seem to start at the end and work backwards. Mostly it’s the charaters, and the language. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/47 "2008-02-22T03:51:41Z")
My rereads are J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Anson Heinlein , E.E. Doc Smith & Llyod Alexander. I’ll be starting in on the Hobbit again next week. I will then rip through the Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion & Unfinished Tales. I also want to read the Adventures of Tom Bombadil & Farmer Giles again. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/48 "2008-02-22T06:17:51Z")
I’m a fan of the **Belgariad/Mallorean** series, by **David Eddings**. I agree with the way my brother described re-reading it: it’s like getting together with old friends you haven’t seen in a while, just to catch up on old times. S^G ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/49 "2008-02-22T08:31:03Z")
**Trinity Les Miserables Rebecca Green Mansions Forever Amber Cheri The Last of Cheri** ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/50 "2008-02-22T11:28:09Z")
I rarely reread any more. I used to back when I had more time and less money and my supply of fantasy novels came from a small-town Waldens. Now I have more money, less time and there are so many great books out on Amazon that I don’t reread too often. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/51 "2008-02-22T12:59:22Z")
I’m fascinated by how many of my favourites have already been mentioned! I’d second (or third or fourth): Heinlein - definitely The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (to me the best) but all his other novels - including the late work. Dorothy L Sayers - particularly Gaudy Night and Busman’s Honeymoon Herbert’s Dune - but I never got into the later books Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books (okay, not great literature but enormously readable :dubious: ) S M Stirling’s Island in the Sea of Time series and the Peshawar Lancers (in fact any of his stuff) I would also add: Ngaio Marsh’s Inspector Alleyn mysteries - like Sayers an echo from times past. Niven’s Ringworld and its sequels Most of the Niven and Pournelle sci fi - Mote in God’s Eye, Lucifer’s Hammer, Footfall etc Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey and Maturin books Lindsey Davis’ Falco mysteries … Duugghh! Maybe that’s enough for now… As to why I reread, I guess the main answer is relaxation. I’ll leap on a new book and - if I like it - I will be desparate to get through it to see how it works out. With an old friend I can sit back and enjoy the whole thing much more, take my time and absorb more of the nuances. I also won’t be so grumpy if I’m interupted 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/52 "2008-02-22T13:03:55Z")
Glad to see _Watership Down_ got top billing in the first reply to the OP! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/53 "2008-02-22T13:23:42Z")
just about all of Heinlein Bujold’s Vorkosigan books John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee books these are the ones I’m most likely to pick up when for whatever reason I don’t feel like anything on my “books I haven’t read yet” bookcases ---
**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:** [February 22, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/54 "2008-02-22T13:50:53Z")
In answer to the question “Why do you reread these?” there are a couple of answers The humor books I reread if in need of something quick and easy to read that I can dip into anywhere (like when I’m in bed, and don’t want to start on the long-term bedside reading). So I read Barry or Lileks or Weller for a few pages. The Hornblower books and the Forsyth books I read because they are extremely well-written, easy to get into fiction, with an eye for detail and a flair for description. It’s easy to get hooked on them. I’ve often tucked a copy of one into my pocket when I know I;m going to be waiting at the doctor’s, or at the auto repair place. ---
**Author:** ![TripleTee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@TripleTee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TripleTee)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/55 "2008-02-22T13:57:09Z")
These have already been mentioned by others, but my list: Atlas Shrugged Lord of the Rings The Hobbit Chronicles of Narnia Into Thin Air The Complete Sherlock Holmes Various stuff by Stephen King I would say that I re-read these books either because they have some truth in them that I relate to, or they have characters that I am strongly drawn to, or they contain a world/place that I would like to visit. Or, I re-read them simply because I find them hugely entertaining. It is fun to get lost in some world and completely forget about where you are. I have read a book from cover to cover in one sitting many, many times, and when you finish, it is almost like waking up from a dream. It is immensely satisfying. Also, I am not fond of being disappointed; that sinking feeling you get when you realize, “Hey, that really sucked! I can’t believe I wasted hours of my life reading that crap!” When you re-read a book, there is no chance of that happening. That is not to say I am averse to reading new books, but it does explain why I will re-read old ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/56 "2008-02-22T14:20:22Z")
I have to limit this to my absolute favorites, otherwise I’d make everyone’s eyes glaze over. Light, for fun re-reads: _Fire Rose_ by Mercedes Lackey _Dragonsinger_ by Anne McCaffrey Any of my Dave Barry books _Movies in Fifteen Minutes_ by Cleolinda Jones Pretty much any of the X-Wing series, but particularly _Starfighters of Adumar_. Others: _Sense and Sensibility_ and _Pride and Prejudice_ _Spock’s World_. This may be my absolute favorite book of all time, actually. _Our Mutual Friend_ by Charles Dickens, and _A Christmas Carol_ when seasonal. _The Devil in the White City_ _Elizabeth’s London, An Elegant Madness, Inside the Victorian Home_ which are all looks at everyday life/culture of Elizabethan, Regency, and Victorian England. I find them soothing. Why do I re-read them? For the same reason people enjoy talking to old friends, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/57 "2008-02-22T14:52:46Z")
Re-reading Sherlock Holmes right now. I’m not the first to mention Watership Down, but it bears repeating, as does LOTR. Stranger in a Strange Land, which did a lot to influence (warp?) my young mind when first I read it is a perennial favorite. I run through Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos and Phoenix Guards novels occasionally. They’re easy, fun, and I feel like I know the characters better than my closest friends. There’s another category of books that I haven’t re-read, but expect I will: The Nero Wolfe novels, if I ever get through them all in the first place. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. The Outpost, by Mike Resnick–all about tall tales that’re then juxtaposed against reality. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/58 "2008-02-22T15:09:05Z")
The one I’ll re-read at least once a year is _To Kill a Mockingbird_. It restores my faith in humanity, I guess. I’ll re-read most anything I enjoyed the first time, really. I always find something I missed, a plot point, a bit of foreshadowing, a well turned phrase I didn’t appreciate the first time, there’s always something. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/59 "2008-02-22T16:44:22Z")
**LOTR** , of course. **The Face in the Frost** by John Bellairs Most of Pratchett’s _Discworld_ series All of Dave Barry’s stuff Gene Wolfe’s **Book of the New Sun** Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey & Maturin books Narnia As to why, I think it has to do a lot with affection for and interest in the characters, along with – for Barry and Pratchett, anyway – humor done well. RR ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563/60 "2008-02-22T19:20:37Z")
At the moment, I’m almost done with my umpteenth reading of _Enigma_ by Thomas Harris. It’s simply one of the smartest and most evocative thrillers I’ve ever come across. Once I’m done, it’ll probably be toss of the coin to determine whether I re-read _Masters of Rome_ to prep for _Antony and Cleopatra_, or dive back into Aubrey /Maturin. So many books, so little time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-do-you-read-again-and-again/438563.md?page=4)