Books you read over and over (and over) again

3 men in a boat by Jerome K Jerome

It still makes me laugh after at least 10 times Ive read it through... it isnt exactly deep but its something I read when I dont want to think, just want to unwind.

 

Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland
Douglas Adams - A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

I've read Lord of the Rings probably 5 or 6 times since middle school. To be honest though, if I like the author, I probably cycle through the books every couple years. I don't watch much tv, so re-reading a book is my equivalent to re-runs. Robert Parker, David Eddings, W. E. B.Griffin, L. E. Modesit, Tom Clancy, C.S. Forester; I've read most of the books by these authors at least a couple times. Plenty more authors in my library that I read regularly.

Most of my non-fiction reading though are read onces. Biographies, military history, general history etc.

 

This is the order they've done the movies in (so far).

 

Its wierd, I hated the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe series which was read to me at 8 or 9 at school. I hated the morality and found Aslan to be a pompous hypocrite.

I know that isnt a normal response I guess.

 

I have a lot of issues in a similar vein SF. I find the whole Christian allegory too much for my tastes.

I am much bigger fan of Pullman's His Dark Materials because it, pretty much, does the opposite of what the Narnia series does.

 

Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig

 

Never heard of it, but it looks interesting. I'll try to find it.

 

If you have a kindle you can get it free I think

Otherwise, its cheap, cos its out of copyright

Its basically about three upper class young english guys (not to mention a dog) going on a boat trip... its probably the most good natured book I have ever read and a lot of the observations about human personalities still ring true.

 

Agreed (the Christian allegory is a bit too much for me as well). I am looking forward to reading Pullman's His Dark Materials again. I read it for the first time a couple of years ago. I don't know why it took me so long to get to it. I would like to read them again, but I'm waiting until my daughter is old enough so that I can read them with her.

 

I'm lucky that Bachman put all his greats...

Rage
The Long Walk
Roadwork
The Running Man

...into a single book.

 

The first time I read Lion... I wasn't even aware of the Christian undertones. The nice thing is, you can enjoy the story and completely ignore the allegory...or at least, I can.

I really like His Dark Materials as well. I first heard it described as the "anti-Narnia," but again, I just like the story.

 

The Stand, the full uncut take from 1990.
The Narnia Series. The last battle has an excellent portrayal of heaven within our own grotesquely limited view, and the allegory is a big reason I enjoy them so much.
I also like to revisit Days of Vengeance by the late David Chilton. It as an excellent exposition of the Book of Revelation from a Preterist viewpoint which fits much better than the Pre-mil/rapture horse s**t.

 

I thought I was weird for re-reading my books, but apparently I stand corrected. (Why have a collection if you're not going to re-read it anyway?)

Edgar Rice Burrough's "Barsoom" series (aka John Carter of Mars)
Frank Herbert's "Dune" (all six plus the two book sequels by his son)
Jack London (I have a compilation of all his works)
Jules Verne "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"
I also have a small pile of novelizations from the old Doctor Who TV show (most of them by Terrance Dicks) but too many to bother listing.

 

There are several books that seem to draw me back on a yearly basis. Some are just fun, some are emotional, others are like meeting an old friend you had nearly forgotten about. These are some of the books I can think that I read on a regular basis (though, I'll usually read any book I like multiple times).

Night - Elie Wiesel
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
Harry Potter (the whole series) - JK Rowling
Ma and Pa Dracula - Ann M. Martin - This was my favorite book when I was a kid, and even though it's kind of silly, I just love to read it every few years and let it remind me of who I was when I was young. It's just a happy and carefree reminder, I really like it.

 

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch/illustrated by Sheila McGraw

 

my kids like that book

 

I had no idea they'd started selling the books re-ordered. I don't think there's any question that they ought to be read in the order in which they were published. Reading them chronologically does the series a disservice, I think, by pulling back too much of the curtain too early. I have re-read the first four a number of times, but the last three (and espeically the Last Battle) get a little too symbolic for me and lack the simple fantasy adventure of the earlier books.

I'm also a HUGE fan of the original BBC miniseries versions of the first four books. They're cheesy as all get out, British to the max, but they hold a special place in my heart.

The only series I really re-read compulsively is the Lord of the Rings. I don't reread it once a year like I used to but I try to get through it not too infrequently.

 

Starship Troopers
The Hobbit (like two dozen times)

 

Jane Eyre
The Thornbirds
I'm Just Here for the Food -- Alton Brown
Bodymind -- Ken Dychtwald... it's literally falling apart, I've read it so many times
The Alchemist
Gone with the Wind
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition. Seriously. More than any other book in my library.