Could you name the books that you've read at least twice and the reason/s why you re-read them.
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Could you name the books that you've read at least twice and the reason/s why you re-read them.
I don't read books twice mostly; the only books which I have read more than once are from Harry Potter series. I have read each of them about more than five times at least.
I read them so often because they are enjoyable and make me think about the clues for the next Harry Potter book which is about to arrive. :)
*The Picture of Dorian Gray: 3 times, because I like it
*The Catcher in the Rye: twice, I liked it and I forgot what it said, so I re-read it...
*Herzog (Saul Bellow): twice, because I had to give a presentation on it. the first time I read it, I didn't understand it but the second time round I liked it a lot.
* Julius Caesar (Shakey): 3 or 4 times, because I like it
I reread books a lot because I've got this great talent for forgetting what a book was about right after I finish reading it....
it's very annoying
First book I read more than twice that's coming to my mind is The Catcher In The Rye, too. I'm more than sure there's more though. I re-read books I liked. Oh, I also read Mrs Dalloway a couple of times, mostly for school purposes but I also liked it :p
I read Gone with the Wind and The Return of the Native twice. The same goes to Harry Potter and the Globet of Fire and Wuthering Heights but the latter in different languages each time :D
Most of them, actually. I like to get back to a book and rereading it. I always find something new. I compare it to watching a film more than once.Quote:
Originally Posted by bouquin
/Claes
I think that any good book would be worth re-reading, just as a piece of good music is worth listening to again and again, or a good painting worth seeing more than once.
That said, answering this question has made me realise that my brain must have shut down when I was about twelve, because the authors whose books I re-read most write a great deal for older children as well as adults - Peter Dickinson, Ursula le Guin, Joan Aiken, Kipling, Anthony Hope, Masefield...
Of course, I won't admit that secret vice in public, so I'll say:
books by John Barth, Arthur Koestler, Anthony Burgess - because, apart from being enjoyable first time round, they are sufficiently complex and intellectually demanding to warrant repeated readings.
I've read lots twice and some more. Like Whiff says any good book is worth re-reading. I would take it even further. Any good book requires re-reading if you really want to understand its structure and craft.
I've read many many books more than once, again like others say, if they're *good enough* they bear repeating :D but also because I'm a pretty slow reader I still actually miss stuff, or, take much time savoring the best parts.. off the top of my head.. as a kid I read C.S. Lewis's the Narnia series many times (and as an adult too.) The Anne of Green Gables books and Black Beauty.
Bronte's Wuthering Heights,
Henri Charrière's Papillon and Banco, fabulous history/memoirs.
The Catcher in the Rye because it's so wry and funny and 'cool',
Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers (because it's so complex, like poetry, every reading you see/feel something different), and
Maugham's Of Human Bondage because it's autobiographical and a classic bildungsroman coming-of-age, orphan turns success story and I love the time period, early 20th century western Europe and England.
.
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The Iliad
The Odyssey
The Bible
The Aeneid
The Divine Comedy
Hamlet
King Lear
A Midsummer Night's Dream
MacBeth
Othello
Don Quixote
Tristram Shandy
The Sorrows of Young Werther
Paradise Lost
Songs of Innocense and Experience
Flowers of Evil
Invisible Cities
almost everything by Kafka and J.L. Borges
A Tale of Two Cities
many more...
Why? Because they were all great. Because I loved them all. Because these works changed as I changed and were worth a second (3rd, 4th) perusal. I might also add... in many cases it was because there was a new acclaimed translation that would give me other insights into a work I was unable to read in the original.
Redeeming Love By Francine Rivers-because it changed my life
i've read all the books i've ever loved more then twice, but i've read Mary Stewarts Merlin Trilogy once or twice a year for about ten years now because i love them so much.
Also mush have read Persuasion about eight or nine times.
tolstoy, hemingway, Garcia-Marquez, Dostoevsky, dumas... I re-read books because maybe it was vague, or I liked the story so much. Sometimes a movie adaptation will come out and I will read it again. Actually if its a good story I will almost always read it again within 3 years.
Anna Karenina (the story touched me)
100 years of solitude (i didn't get it the first time)
Frenchman's creek (amazing novel!!)
those r theones i could think of right now:p
All the Harry Potter books- at least 5 times each
Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer- three times each
Romeo and Juliet- three so I could understand it for a test
Night by Elie Wiesel- four
1984- twice
Fahrenheit 451- twice
Sense and Sensibility & Pride and Prejudice- three each
The Odyssey- twice
A lot of Edgar Allen Poe- at least 3 times each for the ones I read, which is just a lot to list.
I read them over and over because they just change my mood. And it's cool to see things I missed in the first or even second reading and what now makes sense. All that I listed above are also really good books and plus, for a few of them I re-read them for tests at school.
There are a few more books that I've read more then twice but those are my favorite. :)
The Scarlet Pimpernel- Twice
Brave New World - Twice
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Twice
Excluding the books I teach (because I generally re-read them every year I teach them) here's a short list:
-The Sound and the Fury 4x - because it's ********* difficult! :eek:
-Mere Christianity 3x - because the subtleties of Lewis's arguments often get clearer with re-reading
-King Lear 4x - because I want to eventually teach it
-Song of Solomon 2x - because Morrison's writing is a lyrical marvel
-Lolita 3x - just to enjoy Nabokov's mastery of language
-Lord of the Rings 2x - because you can't absorb it all in one reading
-Catch-22 3x - because Heller's loopy irony and understatement is such a hoot
And yep: Virgil's right: "Any good book requires re-reading if you really want to understand its structure and craft."
1. In Our Time - Hemingway
2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
3. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery
4. Middlemarch - George Eliot
...some more, too. But these are recent (like over the last couple of years) re-reads.
I go through the same thing as you, I easily forget what's happened in a story not long after I've read it. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray for the first time about 10 yrs ago and then re-read it last month (for a book club discussion). Right about the only thing I had retained from my first perusal was that the picture deteriorated as time went on; I had quite forgotten all the other details!
Other books that I've read twice --
...In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I first read this book in high school and found it really very interesting especially since it was based on a true story. And then a couple of years ago I chanced upon it again at a bookstore; bought a copy and voilà...
...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. First read it in high school as well; re-read it last summer for a book club discussion.
... Anne Frank's diary - way back in high school again. And then 11 years ago my husband & I visited her house in Amsterdam. I purchased a copy of her diary, the updated edition.
... A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read it one winter a couple of years ago and thought it a good book to read for Christmas - so I did, last year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
Moonfleet - John Meade Faulkner
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
1984 - George Orwell
and various others which I can't be bothered to type.
i reread most evrything i liked from 2 or 3 years ago. So most of tolkien and shelock holmes, anne rice. reason, i read those but when i was younger, now i'm slightly older and have a deeper understanding of the world and myself, giveing each book new meaning. i have also reread the alchemist(which is rather short) like eight times in 6 months because its the onlhy english book i have other than reading on the lit net I doomed.and it gives me hope
I tend to read pulpish type books a couple of tinme or so. Off the top of the head: Reassons are for the entertainment value.
Captain Blood, Rafael Sabatini--at least five times--favorite non-fiction
The Bible--not sure but believe at least 5 times maybe six--King James version prefered
Most of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower books
The first 10 Matt Helm spy novels by Donald Hamilton--usually burn out by then--I need to start with 11 and move onward
Adam Hall's Quiller series--first for fun--second time to see how all the clues lined up because I never guessed how the plot starts one way then turns on its head
Lord of the Rings (with Hobbit)--once as a teenager, once as a parent
Many of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Doc Savage and Shadow novels have been reread
To name just a few
When I like a book, I read it at least twice; when I love it, I keep on reading it from time to time... The favourites (those I lost count of number of times read):
- Wuthering Heights
- East of Eden
- The Thorn Birds
- Little Women
- Harry Potter series
And the ones I read some times:
- Pride and Prejudice
- Exodus
- some Agatha Christie books
- Ordinary People
and so on...
100 Years of Solitude I read only once, it was hard to finish; but I intend to read it again, maybe now I´m in the right mood for it.
I re-read books if I read them a long time ago and suddenly they are assigned as "to-do" reading in one of my university classes, I do that so that if I don't remember a part it's refreshed in my mind when the day of the exam comes along. I also re-read if I feel like my mind has evolved a little since I last read a specific book, so if I read it again I might have a different perception of it when I finish it.
Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer is one of my favorite re-reads, along with Catch-22 and Mrs.Dalloway.
Usually I don't buy a book unless I know I'm going to read it more than once. I think almost every 5th book I read is one that I've read at least once before. Re-reading a good book is like meeting an old friend again.
Here is a of some books I've read and re-read many times, sometimes even more than ten times.
-C.S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven books)
-L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables -series (and many more of her books)
-L.M. Alcott - Little Women (and it's sequels), Eight Cousins
-J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter series (many times in Finnish, a couple of times in English and four of them in Swedish)
-F.H. Burnett - Little Princess
-Richard Adams - Watership Down
-Laura Ingalls Wilder's books
-Nevil Shute - A Town Like Alice
-Anya Seton - Katherine
-Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre
-The Holy Bible
I've read and re-read bits of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man more times than i can remember. More often than not because i simply have to in order to really feel what joyce is driving at.
A book i've really read quite a bit though is Lord of The Rings. I'm by no means a rabid tolkien fan - i only have a hazy understanding of events prior to the war of the ring, but for some reason, this book just keeps getting read and reread. I first picked it up when i was 9. I grinded through the books, understanding very little. But looking back, i realise that certain bits have stuck with me since then, eerily enough, the drums in moria "doom-doom-doom" is something i can remember from all the way back then.
As i grew older, i picked up the book again at 12, and read through them again. And again at 16. Just when the moveis were annouced, i read it once more, and this time i really fell into the book. And of course, when the movies did come out, i took it as an excuse to read somemore.
Right now, i haven't read it for some time actually, so this seems like a great excuse to pick it up again. So yes - whilst i have reread many books, i think none to the extent of Lord of the Rings.
I almost always read the books I love more than once. I've read Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings countless times. Other favourites are 1984, Fahrenheit 451, The Giver by Lois Lowry ( it's great!), The Handmaid's Tale the language is so wonderful, you discover new things each time), and many others.
Hmm, I have read several much more than twice.
Jorney to the Center of the Earth- My favorite novel as an adolescent, I read it countless times.
Lolita-Such a good book, Nabokov's style impresses me every time I read it.
House of Leaves-My favorite book ever, I love Danielewski for this book, it has intrigued me and I always pick up something new each go around.
Those are just the most prominent that I can recall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alhara
I've also read some of Sherlock Holmes more than once.
Any of my favorite books i've read at least twice, most more than that. I've read the Foundation series twice (which is hard, those are some high-level books!), The Harry Potter series about 6 times (I average about once per year =P)...
Oh, and Inkheart, my favoritest book ever, i've read four times. Also the Bartimeaus Trilogy, you have to read that twice to catch all that wonderful detail.
It can be hard for me to find books I like, so I've read most of the books I own at least twice ^_^
That was a book series??? I've seen the movies, they are really good, the books should be even better ^_^Quote:
Originally Posted by mtpspur
I usually read books until they fall apart. I have like 6 bookshelves in my house, just to give you a hint. I have re-read the following at least 5 times; The Lord of the Rings, Dracula, 1984, The Hobbit, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Predjudice, Braveheart, Jurassic Park, the Harry Potter series. I really could go on and on.
1.Niezsche's "Thus said Zarathustra" required a second reading; without neglecting the fact that I first tried to read it at the age of 15, I was particularly impeded in understanding some points in the philosophy itself. Its technical brilliance was absorbing and not quite assisting my efforts to understand the work...
2.Crime and punishment - 3x...this was a mania
3.The Golden Bowl-2x- after all I am a foreigner...This work of Henry James was just my Cerberus in my study process for the SAT, not to mention how it caused me a depression for a week, for I had to read every sentence twice...
I've read most of Angela Carter's novels more than once, The Magic Toyshop is my favourite and I can read and re-read it as it has a kind of timeless quality to it. Captain Correlli's Mandolin because it has a bit of everything, drama, love, comedy, death and war; The Time Travellers Wife which is a top-notch albeit slightly obscure love story and makes me cry more each time I read it; Mr Golightly's Holiday, because it is so gentle and timeless.
I find that I re-read things less now than I did when I was a child, perhaps because there are more books available to me as an adult. I definitely read and re-read all the Chronicles of Narnia books until they became dog-eared when I was younger. Now I like more variety but that being said there are some stories which are as profound and touching every time you read them.
Strongly agrees.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Well, I've read all the Harry Potter series innumerable times already.
Goosebumps too, 3 years ago.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - twice
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - twice
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde - twice
I've got to read LOTR again. (I just read the whole series once because they were just borrowed.) It takes a rereading for you to be able to comprehend and memorize the characters. Man, they are confusing! I once assumed Celebrant was Elven. Idril told me it was a darn river. :eek:
I've still got to go through lots of books but there are still more new ones waiting on my (and Toni's) shelves.
I would love to read the book by Elie Wiesel (it's one of Oprah's favorite) and John Steinbeck's too. Also that ever-famous 1984. I feel like I don't belong because I still hadn't read this.
Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac - It always makes me feel so good
Neuromancer - William Gibson - Each read is a new experience
Guns of Navarone - Allistair Maclean - I've reread this every 5 years or so since I was about 15
Am I only supposed to name works by folks featured on this site? If Jules Verne is here I can put several of his books in this category. Oh, and The Nick Adams Stories by Hemingway--close to perfect imo.
Maybe im the only one on the forum who has never re-read a book :eek:
I usually don't re-read books because I find that the feeling you get when reading it for the first time is gone the second time around. I think the only books I have read more than once is Pride and Prejudice and The Catcher in the Rye.
Pride and Prejudice because I love it and Catcher in the Rye because I feel that I have to read that book every so often at different stages of my life...I might learn something new from it...
To Brainstrain--I was going to PM you but the computer would not allow so here's the lowdown on Hornblower by C.S. Forester:
Chronological order:
1. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Published 1950
2. Lieutenant Hornblower 1952
3. Hornblower and the Hotspur 1962
4. Hornblower and the Atropos 1953
5. Beat to Quarters (USA title) 1937
6. Ship of the Line 1938
7. Flying Colors 1938
8. Commodore Hornblower 1945
9. Lord Hornblower 1946
10 . Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies 1958
11. Hornblower During the Crisis (unfinished due to Forester's death) and also contains 2 short stories: Hornblower's Temptation and The Last Encounter (which is the last Hornblower story in chronological order and a fitting epilogue to the series 1966/67
I discovered Hornblower by way of the Gregory Peck movie and (on TV) as a pre-teen and devoured the series. I currently own the books in the Pinnacle editions (paperbacks from the 70s with superb covers, Bantam did some great ones too)
Forester also published the Hornblower Companion giving insights to his writing/creation of the characters--excellent reference for would be writers to study for writing tips alone but the creative process. Publsihed 1964.
Happy reading --most libraries should have the series. Bernard Cornwell is reputed to have created Richard Sharpe to help fill the loss of good historical adventure novels.
One final note I have read somewhere that a Naval expert read the series with the idea of checking for naval inaccuracies in the ship/sea battles and could find none.
Rich