Books You've Reread the Most Times

[Extollager]

Here is a thread for commenting on books that you have reread repeatedly -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, &c.

Please: To start with, let's just hear about books that have been read at least four times.

After a while it might be OK to write about books one has read two or three times, but to keep this initial flurry (?) of messages focused on heavy rereadings, I ask that we stick to books read at least four times. Let's wait to comment on books read three times, or even just twice, until August 15, 2018.

I'm going to ask, to start with, that Bible readers include only the entire Bible (whether the number of books is a Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox count). This means even that, if you are sure you've read the whole New Testament many times, you won't post that. Okay?

Use your own judgment, though, about books with appendices. For example, I, personally, would list all of my readings of the main narrative of The Lord of the Rings even though, for several of those readings, I didn't reread the appendices. Someone else might count only complete cover-to-cover readings including the appendices.

Thanks.

 

[WarriorMouse]

I'll start with these.

David Weber
- Mutineers Moon
- The Armageddon Inheritance
- Heirs Of Empire
- In Fury Born (Both versions)

Louis McMaster Bujold
- A Civil Campaign
- Captain VorPatril's Alliance

L.Neil Smith
- The Probability Broach

To be continued .....

 

[Pyan]

LotR, of course - about 30-35 times.

All the Lensman books - EE 'Doc' Smith
Dune - Frank Herbert
Ringworld - Larry Niven
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein

 

[Rodders]

Generally, I don't reread books too often, which is a shame, because I have thoroughly enjoyed so many.

The book I have read most is Iain M. Bank's "The Player of Games". Something about this novel just grabs me. I love the changes that Gurgeh goes through during his time in the empire of Azad. It's funny, subtle and brutal at the same time. I reread it every year for about 8 years. To this day, it remains my favourite book.

Others include The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear. Again, I just love this pair and the ending to TFOG is my favourite ending to any book I have ever read. Well written and shocking but it does leave you with a glimmer of hope that carries you into Anvil of Stars. I've read them maybe four times.

Stephen King's The Stand and IT are two incredible novels that I always find to be more of an experience than a good read. I've only read them twice, but at over 1, 000 pages each, it is a commitment.

 

[Onyx]

All the Dune books.
Armor by John Steakley.
Snow Crash.
Quicksilver.
Diamond Age.
Use of Weapons.
Player of Games.
Feersum Endjinn.
The Crow Road.

There's a bunch I'd swear to three time reads, but those are the only ones I know went to four or five. Gibson and Watts are likely to join the 4x club soon.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

The Stand, It and Salem's Lot by Stephen King
The Passage by Justin Cronin
I am Legend by Richard Matheson

All when I was younger and had more time. These days I don't seem to have time to read the ones waiting on the shelf, never mind re-read!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Loads, I love re-reading:

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres, many many times
The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey Niffennegger, ditto
The middle Vorkosigan books: Brothers in Arms through to A Civil Campaign, lots and lots
The Snow Goose, Paul Gallico
All the Narnia books, loads of times
King: The Stand, Salem's Lot, Deadzone, Firestarter, Under the Dome, all well loved
Some MZB stuff that I have buried forever
Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame silly series
V - Yes, yes, I know, but I used to like it a lot.

Many, many, many more.

 

[ChrisVH]

Legend David Gemmell

 

[picklematrix]

When I was a kid I read 'Omblibombliator" by Roald Dahl about a dozen times. Only took an afternoon or so!

 

[Vince W]

Dune series by Frank Herbert.
Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Conan stories by Robert E. Howard
Starship Troopers, Space Cadet, Starman Jones by Robert A. Heinlein
Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven
Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams

 

[Extollager]

As mentioned above, my reading of adult-level books goes back about 52 years. Here's a review of some findings I came up with when I reviewed my book log.

My rereading heavily favors books by Inklings Tolkien, Lewis, Williams, and Barfield -- there are many books by them that I have read four or more times. I won't list everything. The book by any author that I have read the most times is Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet, with 16 readings. I've read LotR twelve times, and most of Williams's novels four or five times or so. I've read three of Owen Barfield's nonfiction books, such as Saving the Appearances, at least four times. Authors associated with the Inklings, but coming before them, include George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. I've read Chesterton's The Man Who was Thursday eight times and MacDonald's weird classic Lilith seven times. I was able to include quite a few of the books indicated here in various courses.

I've read Arthur Machen's autobiographical Far-Off Things six times.

I've read Haggard's She six times, and Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles and The Lost World at least four times each, it seems.

In the realm of sf, Wells's War of the Worlds and Hodgson's The House on the Borderland (but is that sf?) have four or more readings. I seem to have read Budrys's Rogue Moon six times, but though that has been published as a stand-alone paperback novel, several of my readings are of the story as presented in a Novella volume of the SF Hall of Fame.

Many of my multiple rereads reflect my teaching, with a dozen Shakespeare plays read at least four times (Macbeth the most often, at nine), & several classic British novels making the four-or-more readings cut, including Pilgrim's Progress (what was later called Part One, i.e. Christian's story), Gulliver's Travels, two by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, Conrad's Secret Agent and Heart of Darkness, and from the 20th century Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas and Waugh's A Handful of Dust. Book One of Spenser's Faerie Queene has been published separately and I've read it multiple times, also Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Non-British books, also reflecting my teaching, with four or more reads include Wu Ch'eng-En's Monkey (Arthur Waley's translation and condensation of The Journey to the West), Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks, and Huckleberry Finn. Also Mah's Chinese Cinderella and Kherdian's The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl, young adult-level books I used in freshman composition courses because most of the students could manage them & they are good books. Also Krakauer's Into the Wild and Farasiotis's The Gurus, the Young Man, and Elder Paisios.

Russian classics with four or more readings include Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Demons (aka The Possessed), and Gogol's Dead Souls (i.e. Dead Souls Part One; Gogol started, but didn't finish, a second part). These were all books I included in college courses.

I read the Saga of the Volsungs several times and it was included in a couple of courses I taught.

 

[nixie]

The ones I can remember,

Raymond E Feist- Magician, my comfort blanket that I go too when I need a pick me up.

C S Lewis- Narnia books, my escape back too childhood.

Dennis Wheatley - The Devil Rides Out, one of the few books to ever truly terrify me.

James Herbert - Fluke, I love this book reminds me of a dog we once owned.

James Herbert- The Magic Cottage, nice mixture of reality, magic and horror.

JK Rowlings- Harry Potter series, it's sheer escapism .

There are others can't remember at moment, a large number I've reread and will again in future. I've only read my all time favourite series twice but that will change.

 

[WarriorMouse]

James Bamford
- The Puzzle Palace
Anthony Price
- A New Kind Of War
Andre Dumas
- The Count Of Monte Cristo
Dick Francis
- To the Hilt
Louis L'Amor
- A Man Called Noon
Travis S Taylor
-Warp Speed
James Schmitz
- The Witches Of Karres

 

[Extollager]

LotR, of course - about 30-35 times.

My hat's off to you!

 

[kythe]

I feel like I have spent my life reading, but I'm hard pressed to think of many books I've read *4* times. There is the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, both of which I was introduced to in childhood. I've had a longer time for re-reads of these books than some others. But give me a few more years and there will be several other works on my "read 4 times" list.

 

[Parson]

The Bible ..... 42? times

David Weber (4 times and I'm seriously considering going here again)
On Basilisk Station
For the Honor of the Queen
The Short and Glorious War
On the Field of Dishonor
Flag in Exile

 

[Anthoney]

While I always reread books I like I rarely read them more them 3 times. The first 9 books of the Wheel of Time series all 7 times because I would reread the series before each of the later books came out. This is the only series I did this with.

The first 5 books of the Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny, 4 times each.

Lord of the Rings either 4 or 5 times. I can't remember if I read it 2 or 3 times in school.

 

[Pyan]

While I always reread books I like I rarely read them more them 3 times. The first 9 books of the Wheel of Time series all 7 times because I would reread the series before each of the later books came out. This is the only series I did this with.

Yes! I did something similar with David Weber's Safehold and Honorverse series. I didn't read all of the previous books, though, but always the one before the new one, and occasionally the two previous. Teaches you self-control, as well as ensuring that you're fully up to speed...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The Weathermonger, Peter Dickinson
The Hobbit (of course!)
Lord Of The Rings (of course also!)
Helliconia trilogy, Brian Aldiss
The Book Of The New Sun, Gene Wolfe

I find that the books I go back to in order to re-read are those which "soothe" me in some way. Often this just means taking me away into another world...

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Neuromancer,

Me too.