Books that I have read more than twice.

[Ian Fortytwo]

Another book that I have read more than twice is Doors Open, by Ian Rankin.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

Another book I've read more than twice Thirty-Nine Steps, by John Buchan.

 

[William Delman]

So, so many...

Rendezvous with Rama
The entire Sprawl Trilogy
The entire Bridge Trilogy
The Crying of Lot 49
All of the Dresden Files books
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The entire Hitchhiker's Guide series
The Iliad
The Odyssey
The first four or five Wheel of Time books
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Ancillary Justice
The Trial
The Castle
The Indian Bride
Nine Stories
Cat's Cradle
Slaughterhouse Five
Breakfast of Champions
Murder on The Orient Express

And that doesn't include the non-fiction...

 

[The Bluestocking]

After a couple of readings I often will read favorite parts of favorite books, rather than the whole book again, although sometimes when I start out reading favorite scenes I'll find myself going back and reading the ones I skipped. So I may remember reading a book for a third, fourth, or fifth time and it wasn't the whole book, or remember skimming when I actually ended up reading the whole thing.

I have all sorts of reasons for rereading a book. To savor the words if the prose is exceptional. Because I find a story particularly moving. Because I want to be swept up in the world again. But most I will admit are comfort reading, books I can escape into (because they are just fun, I adore the character interactions, they have great dialogue, etc.) when I am feeling sick or depressed or tired or bored.

This. This is me.

Also, I'm a huge Urban Fantasy fan and UF fans - particularly in the online groups that I am in - love re-reading their favourites as comfort reads.

I re-read my favourites like Anne Bishop's COURTYARD OF THE OTHERS series, Faith Hunter's SOULWOOD series, Patricia Briggs' MERCY THOMPSON series etc from time to time. Mostly just my favourite scenes and chapters rather than cover-to-cover.

Beyond the reasons cited by Teresa (all of which also drive my re-reading of certain books and series), I also re-read books and series that strike a chord in me about themes and matters that I relate to.

And then there is that thing about spending time with my book boyfriends *ahem*

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

Thank you for your responses, it is very interesting finding out what people read more. However recently I have been wondering if I should read a book then pass on to another and not go back to ones that I have already read. Anyway thanks again everyone that partook in this discussion. Of course feel free to add further books. One book that I read forty years ago was A Fall of Moondust, by Arthur C. Clarke, which I recently read and thought it very out of date. So perhaps one reading of some books is enough, unless they do capture your heart.

 

[Parson]

@Ian Fortytwo ... Sigh! So often present day science can make a great story seem like A Fall of Moondust lame in only a generation or two. On the other hand some books can hang on quite well. I think things like Dune (which is only 4 years younger) and Ender's Game (short story published in 1978) have every chance of still being great reads for at least another generation.

 

[Grace_E]

It's been forever but these are the ones that have made the largest impression on me:

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien (honestly anything by him)
The Graceling trilogy: Kristin Cashore
Incarceron: Catherine Fisher
Enna Burning: Shannon Hale

 

[Brian G Turner]

It's been forever but these are the ones that have made the largest impression on me:

The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien (honestly anything by him)
The Graceling trilogy: Kristin Cashore
Incarceron: Catherine Fisher
Enna Burning: Shannon Hale

Hi @Grace_E and welcome to the chronicles forum.

 

[IanMH]

Hitchhiker's Guide series - many times.
Lord of the Rings (of course)
Thomas Covenant Chronicles
Saga of the Exiles Julian May

 

[Grace_E]

Hi @Grace_E and welcome to the chronicles forum.

Why thank you, can't wait to explore

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

A couple more books that I somehow had forgotten.
Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens.
David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens.

 

[picklematrix]

I read 'Holes' by Louise Sachar about three times. One of which was for English class in secondary school. Its a pretty good book overall.
I've read Jack Vances Cugel novels twice, though they were different editions with different titles, for some reason.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

One book I forgot that I have read several times is The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It's a brilliant read and recently discovered there are three more in the series. If you like books this is a must read.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

One book I forgot that I have read several times is The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It's a brilliant read and recently discovered there are three more in the series. If you like books this is a must read.

. It’s actually my least favourite in the series. Prisoner of Heaven is fabulous.

 

[Galactic Bus Driver]

I won't bore you all with the list of books I've read at least twice, because it encompasses nearly every book I own in physical format plus a whole lot more that I only own electronically. I read a lot. I know for a lot of people that means two or three books a week. Not here. I'f I'm only getting through a book every couple days, I'm either really distracted, or really slacking. I typically read between 200 and 300 titles each year, my best year so far being 402, and yes, I know that's more than a book each day. While some people listen to music all day; at work, during the commute, while exercising, doing yard work, what have you... I'm that guy, but with audio books. And, because even the best readers read wayyyyyy too slow, I typically kick the playback to somewhere between 1.5:1 and 2:1 with 1.7:1 seeming to be the sweet spot. Having said all that, I wind up re-reading a lot of titles. Sometimes because I've hit on three or four in a row that were so bad I couldn't finish and want something I know will be good. Other times it's because I've failed to keep up with a series and re-read the earlier books so I don't get lost in the new ones. Most often though, it's because "That Book" was such a great read.

So, the books I've read so many times I've lost count:
"Shadow of the Seventh Moon" by Nancy Varian Berberick. I've read this book to tatters, twice, and gifted it to others at least three times. If anyone knows where I can find a hardback copy (if it was ever printed in hardback) or a signed first would earn my undying gratitude.
"Voices of Dragons" by Carry Vaughn.
"The Faded Sun" trilogy by C. J. Cherryh. Honestly, I've read most of her works at least twice, but this one really struck a chord with me.
"Jumper" by Steven Gould.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis (of course)."The Dark Tower" series (including all the tie-in books) by Stephen King.
"Harry Potter" by J. K. Rowling.
"Steel" by Carry Vaughn.
The core books of the "Pern" series by Anne McCaffrey.
"Ender's Game" By Orson Scott Card.
The "Idlewild" trilogy by Nick (son of Carl) Sagan.
"Stardust" be Neil Gaiman.
Mary Stewart's "Arthur" trilogy.
"The Chronicles of Prydain" series by Lloyd Alexander.
The "League of Peoples" series by James Alan Gardner.
"Time Travelers Never Die" by Jack McDevitt.
"The Stand," (both original edition and the author's preferred edition) by Stephen King.
"The Supernaturalist" by Eoin Colfer.
"Artemis Fowl" be Eoin Colfer.
"The Chef's Apprentice (aka The Book of Unholy Mischief)" by Elle Newmark.
"Discord's Apple" by Carry Vaughn.
"The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien (of course).
"Forever" by Pete Hamill. If anyone knows where I can score an unabridged version of the audio book, I'd be much obliged. Those who abridge books should be drawn and quartered!

 

[Parson]

I typically read between 200 and 300 titles each year, my best year so far being 402

Unbelievable high numbers! Good for you! On my best years I top the century mark, but I can't imagine 4 times that number!

 

[Galactic Bus Driver]

Unbelievable high numbers! Good for you! On my best years I top the century mark, but I can't imagine 4 times that number!

It's only for the last fifteen years or so that I've been able to really dive into audiobooks. Before that it was hard to keep more than one or two on hand at a time and lugging the tapes/CDs around was a pain. With the advent of MP3 however...

As my user title says, I'm an unrepentant book junkie!

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

As I read through these fine lists again I realised I have forgotten one non genre writer that I read several times is Jack Higgins. I wonder if he is still around as I've noticed no new books for quite sometime. My favourite being The Eagle Has Landed.

 

[VegetalCrossing]

Neuromancer comes to mind. Because I didn't understand anything the first time

 

[Ethics_gradient]

I am a massive re-reader. I’ve about 700 books which isn’t a huge amount compared to many people here, but I’ve read most of them at least twice. I am always re-reading something alongside a new book. I don’t know why - it’s not something that feels like a duty at all. I love to revisit things, I guess.

off the top of my head, I’ve re-read the following at least five times:

All of Iain Banks and M. Banks
All of Banana Yoshimoto
All of Dostoyevsky apart from Brothers K. (It’s a spiritual undertaking!)
Lord of the Rings
Rendezvous with Rama
MacBeth
The first ten or so Redwall books
Some Tolstoy short stories (im in the middle of moving house and my books are packed so I can’t find out the title)
All of Gogol

edit: how could I forget the Red Dwarf books!? They were my mana at school.