Re-readability--What books do you re-read?

Any of the discworld books by Terry Pratchett, anything by Stephen King (especially The Stand), the Spenser novels by Robert Parker, a few others. I never get tired of Pterry's writing; his social commentary is absolutely wonderful.

Every few years, I will pick up Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and read it again. The children's tale never gets too old for me. Also, in my late teens and early twenties (eons ago), I read Anya Seton's Green Darkness maybe about eleven times; I learned more about Tudor England from that saga than I have anywhere else (makes me good for Jeopardy trivia). Nowadays, I tend not to re-read books except Wrinkle, but I keep them around just in case.

There are only a few books I read over and over again (both fiction and non-fiction). They're like great movies (I just watched the Incredibles DVD for the fifth time -- call me obsessive, but that movie is GREAT), even though you know the plot and everything, you still want to read it again because it puts you in that moment, takes you away, touches you again and again -- never fails. You get to relive those moments again, and with the characters you love and care about. It's like seeing old friends and taking a trip together again. It doesn't matter if you have been on vacation with each other six, seven times already, it's still wonderful, and you take something different from the experience everytime.

One such book is "Conversation with God." I read that at least 3 times a year. It just pumps me up about life and such.

I've read "Cold Mountain" twice. It's just very well-written and it always inspires me to write better.

Several of Anne McAffrey's books, Pratchett, King...others. I have shelves of books that I've owned for 20-30 years or more that I reread every couple of years.

I also love Member of the Wedding and To Kill a Mockingbird. Love the way the words flow in those books!

Re-reads happen when I find real interesting characters starting off with some kind of farce or physical comedy. Even if it's sci-fi.

Joeseph Wambaugh--The Black Marble, The Onion Field.
Poul Anderson's Virgin Planet (for characterization)
Allan Dean Foster--Ice Rigger
Pete Benchley--The Island (serious, but halarious)
Spielberg--Close Encounters of the Third Kind

These are very strange, indeed, I know. But they were "no put down" reads to me and actually inpired me to write in the first place.

Triceratops

Comfort reading. For sure. Humor works-- Good Omens, the Hitchhiker's Guide series.
About 95% of the novels on my shelves are books I've only read once; I'm not a big re-reader, but I do tend to re-read books when I need reassurance and comfort.

I can re-read just about anything by Stephen King. I think I've read The Stand about eight times. (I also seem to catch a cold every time...talk about the power of suggestion!)

I re-read books about writing, and some other non-fic as well, but I don't re-read mysteries or thrillers. I think with those, once I know who dunnit, I lose interest.

I will also watch favorite movies over and over, but my husband absolutely will not watch a movie twice, which I find to be really odd...

I tend to re-read a lot of non-fiction, but usually not all the way through the second time. I just skip through to the parts I have found most useful.

I have so many fiction books still to read that I haven't gotten to many of them a second time, though there are many that I would love to re-read.

Movies I watch over and over until I can just have it on in the background without really watching it and still know exactly what is happening.

A couple of my rereads are books based on movies I had already seen before reading the book. Planet of the Apes and First Blood. Apes is much more a satire than the movie, and an almost completely different story. First Blood is nonstop action, but I think it's David Morrell's writing more than anything that makes it rereadable.

I've reread the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series about three times, although I'll probably never read the fifth book, Mostly Harmless, more than once.

Woody Allen's three humor books are very rereadable too.

I reread the Bible regularly as well as books by Philip Yancey (especially Disappointment with God and Where Is God When It Hurts?), Elisabeth Elliott, and Madeleine L'Engle (her adult N-F books), for spiritual input.

I reread any writing book that I liked enough to buy (or keep, if I reviewed it) several times a year for career inspiration and reminders. (Special favorites include Jenna's Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer and Outwitting Writer's Block, Marcia Yudkin's Writing Articles About the World Around You, and Moira Allen's The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches, and Proposals. I also love Eats Shoots and Leaves, although I don't own it yet.)

As for fiction, I reread a lot of Robin McKinley's books. I love almost everything she's written. (OK, not Deerskin or Sunshine...) She has a real way with words. My favorite is Beauty; I own it in hardcover (which never leaves the house) and paperback (for loaning out and taking on trips).

I reread A Little Princess from time to time (my childhood comfort book).

I'll reread almost anything by Rex Stout (just finished one of his books on tape, in fact - love the interaction between Archie and Nero Wolfe) and anything at all by Dee Henderson (especially like her O'Malley series).

I own and will reread a few of Agatha Christie's books (I love Ten Little Indians, even though I know whodunit, as well as the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot books) and I adore the urban bard series by Mercedes Lackey.

One of my all-time favorites is the Amelia Peabody series, by Elizabeth Peters (which I have read in book form about 4 times and listened to on tape about six - love the sly humor, the characters, and the descriptions of Egyptian art, culture, and religion, as well as the acting ability of Barbara Rosenblat, who narrates them.)

I adore Mary Laswell's series about the ladies in The Ark, but only own one (Suds In Your Eye) and worry that the library will get rid of their copies of the others, since they're so old and seldom read.

I'm a sucker for well-written Regency romances and will reread anything by Georgette Heyer, Clare Darcy, or Elisabeth Mansfield. (In fact, I own most of their books...) And I like the Suzanne Brockmann SEAL Team 6 and Troubleshooters series', despite the steamy parts, because she does such a great job with character development, military fact-handling, and writing page-turning adventure.

Actually, I seldom keep a book I don't plan on rereading, unless it is for research. My house would drown under books otherwise. (And it's a close call as it is...)

I can't believe I forgot these - the Mrs. Pollifax series! I love them and have both read them and listened to them on tape. I want to be her when I grow up.

I've reread most of my Stephen King novels. And though it's not a novel, I've read his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft eleven times now. The man can make the most interesting characters and storylines, and that's why I trouble myself to go through roughly seven thousand pages per novel.

Also, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. The first time was for leisure, the second time was to memorize how to make napalm, dynamite, and assorted household bombs. >=)

Hmmm, lets see:

Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. It's like a new novel every time I read it.

Both of Dharma Bums and On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I usually do this before one of my many trips to San Francisco (for the Java One software development conference). Kerouac' prose sings a song I love to hear. And of course, San Fran screams beat, beat, beat. The beat.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson was a crazed story teller of the highest order, showing us like it was and wasn't and slapping us in the face to make sure we were paying attention. He's damn funny too - this is the only novel I have read that made me laugh out loud while reading it.

Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick. Or any of his short stories, like Paycheck or The Short Happy Life of Oxford Brown. Dick is one of my favourites authors and I could read his stuff forever. He's one of my inspirations to be a writer.

And, oddly enough, The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. He is a great storyteller and can make strange, biological science familiar and terrifying all at the same time. No matter what you think of the subject matter or his writting, I couldn't put this book down. No matter how many times I read it.

Mike

Can we generalize that folks re-read for characters, dialog, and beautiful writing, but not for plot?

James D. Macdonald said:

Can we generalize that folks re-read for characters, dialog, and beautiful writing, but not for plot?

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Nope Well we could, but I'd be I'd be the exception

Beautiful writing: Meh. I shouldn't be noticing how good the writing is. I shouldn't think "wow, what a wonderful chapter that was, I wish I could write as well as that."

Dialog: Make your dialog not-bad and that'll do

Characters: I have to love your characters. Because no matter how interesting the plot is (Harry Potter series), if I hate your characters (Harry Potter series) I won't be able to finish the book once let alone a second time. However I have had plenty of books where I didn't like certain main characters and whenever the book concentrated on them, I'd want to skip them (after a few re-readings they grew on me though). However if you kill a character I love you can expect me to stop reading that page

Plot: Most important thing. No matter how much I like your character, it's the plot I'll remember and that will make me think "I really want to read that again! I can't believe what happened, that was just so amazing! It's been a year now, I'm gunna re-read it"

For me, the most important thing is plot with characters a close second. It's the plot that will make me want to re-read your book. The better the plot, the more likely I am to want to re-read it.

James D. Macdonald said:

Can we generalize that folks re-read for characters, dialog, and beautiful writing, but not for plot?

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Nope. I've re-read Clancy novels. That's an exception to my usual habits, though.

James D. Macdonald said:

Can we generalize that folks re-read for characters, dialog, and beautiful writing, but not for plot?

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Yes, though I wasn't smart enough to notice that--but, yes, we can.

James D. Macdonald said:

Can we generalize that folks re-read for characters, dialog, and beautiful writing, but not for plot?

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Nope. I re-read for plot as well. But sure, a book is not re-read worthy for me if the characters, dialogue, and writer are not outstanding to begin with... Plot-wise, there's no suprise element anymore, of course, but if a plot is good, it will always be good. There's a lot of enjoyment in reading the story again.

HConn said:

I pretty much never reread anything. There are a few rare exceptions, but there are so many books out there I haven't read, that I don't like to revisit old territory.

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Same here. Also I've once too often had the experience of returning to a book that bowled me over and discovering that my taste has changed or my interests moved on. I'd rather retain the wonderful memory of the original reading than spoil it by re-reading and discovering that it wasn't as good as I remembered.

I think it was the horrible disappointment of re-reading Samuel Delany's Dhalgren that really turned me off re-reading for good. That book was like a religious experience when I read it as a teenager, but as an adult it just seemed self-indulgent and obscure.

- Victoria