re-reading

[Muzzlehatch]

Do you re-read very much? I find that I re-read a very small, select group of books, some many times -- I suppose it's nostalgia, mostly -- though when I'm intellectualizing about my reading, I think I'd rather re-read a broader canvas of stuff, and perhaps skip the xxth reading of "The Hobbit" or "The Time Machine", the two books I've read the most (each at least 25 times).

Other books I've read several times:

The Lord of the Rings (5)

The Chronicles of Narnia (4 complete but I've read the first three at least 10 times)

The War of the Worlds (4)

A Voyage to Arcturus (4)

The Chronicles of Amber (4 times for the first 5 books)

Absalom, Absalom (3)

Notes from the Underground (3)

And I've re-read a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs' stuff countless times, particularly the Mars series.

[Claude S]

The Lord of the Rings (5)

The Chronicles of Narnia (probably 5 complete)

Moviegoers (2)

All the Kings Men (2)

Go Down Moses (2)

Light in August (2)


there have to be a ton of others...

[Nate]

I've read most of my Edgar Rice Burroughs books at least 3 times; most of Clancy's stuff 2-3 times, Stephen King's stuff a few times (the Stand and Night Shift probably 5x each).

There is something comforting about opening up a book you've read before and enjoyed ... I guess for me it's analogous to meeting people. Sometimes you want to meet someone new and interesting, other times you just want to chill out with friends.

[Probiere]

Tolkien's are the only fun books I've read repeatedly. I read some non-fiction a couple times over when trying to really learn from it.

[Claude S]

ha... reading non-fiction over. I read Elegant Universe probably ten times if you factor in how many times I had to re-read each line to understand it.

[Frank]

I've probably read Catch-22 eight times at this point. We read it in my senior English class in high school and I'd already read it three times at that point. I just reread it again not three months ago. I am honestly finally getting to the point where I'm getting sick of it.

There are not too many more books that I've read more than twice but lately I've been making a concerted effort to visit some books I remember liking a lot but have lost familiarity w/ over the years. Franny and Zooey and Sometimes A Great Notion are next on the list. I've read Franny and Zooey at least a couple times but Sometimes A Great Notion only once.

I almost always like books better the second time around but, then again, I normally only reread ones I really loved to begin w/.

[Ragallachmc]

I re-read alot. I read alot of sci-fi/fantasy which tends to come in trilogys or longer. Whenever a new book in a series comes out I usually go back and reread all the books.

[William]

I re-read a few.

Salem's lot - Steven King 5-6X
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson 10+ times
The Choir Boys - Joseph Wambaugh 4-5X
Night Shift - Steven King 10X
Firestarter - Steven King 2-3X

Probably some others

[Tom]

Alice in Wonderland 5 or 6
Huckleberry Finn about the same
A River Runs Through It 10
Lord of the Rings 3
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4

[Jacob]

I never reread, except the books I have to teach in class. I'm obsessed with novelty. I won't even watch a rerun on television, much less invest the time to go through a movie or book I've already read.