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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.