What Books Can You Read Over and Over Again?

We all have books that we just love and have read over and over again.

I’ll start with a few of mine:

The Great Gatsby
Grapes of Wrath
Old Man and the Sea
Undaunted Courage
Band of Brothers
Angela’s Ashes
Oliver Twist
Great Expectations
Call of the Wild
Robinson Caruso
Treasure Island
Moby Dick

I’ll stop there...

What books are on your list?

The Great Gatsby
The Old Man and the Sea
Siddhartha
Dune

Montaigne’s Essays
Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations
Book of Job
Melville’s “Moby Dick“ and “Bartleby the Scrivener”
Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” with Gustave Dore illustrations
The Grapes of Wrath
Hound of the Baskervilles
Robin Hood’s adventures (any author)
Poe’s short stories and “The Raven”
Mark Twain’s “Roughing It”
Stephen King’s “Misery”

When I’m angry with someone, I like to pull out one of my trusty Mickey Spillanes (any will do) and fantasize about Mike Hammer beating up my target. I feel so much better afterward! :)

Love seeing others lists.

Mine ...

Twain ... Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer/Connecticut Yankee

Dickens ... Copperfield/Oliver Twist

Chabon ... Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Goldman ... Princess Bride

>4 thisGuy33: oh yes Princess Bride! My wife and I are reading it together. First time for both of us. Have only watched the movie like 100 x’s lol.

Been married for 25 yrs and watched it when we were dating for the first time.

>5 GOBOGIE: The book is sooooo much better then the movie. And the movie was amazing!!! There are parts of the book that are a bit different ... a little more drawn out. The movie was a pretty good 1 to 1 translation.

But the book is just so fun to read. And I've read it about 5 times.

Can't wait to hear what you both think of the book when you finish!

Arthur Ransomeʻs ʻSwallows and Amazonsʻ series of books
Pretty much any Jane Austen novel
Anna Karenina

Cannot imagine a novel I would read over and over. But here are novels worth reading at least a few times.

1. Lord of The Rings & The Hobbit (Tolkien)
2. Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas)
3. Les Miserables (Hugo)
4. Starmaker (Stapledon)
5. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
6. La Dame de Monsoreau (Dumas)
7. Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky)
8. Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky)
9. Three Musketeers (Dumas)
10. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

No one has mentioned

Heart of Darkness

>9 astropi:
That’s a good psychological re-read, and so is Henry James’s “Beast in the Jungle.”

The Bible.

It is the recipe for truly understanding life and our reason for existence.

>11 robbieac: Agree completely. Love Exodus story

>11 robbieac: Shame on me for forgetting to mention that

>13 GOBOGIE: I interpreted your post to mean novels. Few people read any novel over and over; I suspect few even read any novel 3 or more times.

But they do continuously read and consult spiritual texts or life guides such as the Bible, Torah, Talmud, Koran, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads not to mention endless sutras. I too have a favorite spiritual guide which I have read at least 10 times. But I did not include that in my list, since I doubt you were looking for favorite spiritual texts.

>14 HugoDumas:
Many of us here are of the few then. So many novels benefit from multiple reads.

>15 sdawson: absolutely, books that I read as 15 years old sound and feel completely different now at 22.

>16 fancythings: imagine yourself at 76! I think >14 HugoDumas: is correct that we don’t usually read the same novel over and over, but every 20 years could net me 4 readings at 16, 36, 56, and 76. I don’t think I’ve ever really read one that often, but I’ve read several 2 or 3 times. I’ve read many short stories multiple times (e.g., Poe), and I very frequently open Montaigne, my favorite essayist.

>15 sdawson: no one on this forum has admitted to reading any specific novel at least 3 times (short for over and over). Considering my list in #8, while 8/10 were read twice, none have been read three times. So I think you might be the exception on this forum, assuming you have read your highlighted multiple read books in >7 sdawson: at least 3 times.

>19 HugoDumas: books I’ve read at least three times

David Copperfield
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Villette
Anna Karenina

>19 HugoDumas: I too am one who have read several titles more than 3 times. Dickens (several titles), Twain (several titles), Princess Bride (read 4 times), Just finished reading Small Gods/Pratchett (and see myself easily re-reading it a second time before the years end ... so I predict I will read that more then three times in the coming years).

And then there are the seasonal re-reads ... Dickens Christmas Carol for one (which I read every year) ... may not be the most brilliant written word ... but it never fails to put me immediately in the Christmas spirit. It has sort of become a tradition for myself and it feels like a treat.

For me ... I read titles that I really love multiple times ... because I know the second time I read them I always understand things more clearly. I often find things I didn't originally really pick up on. And I always find the depth or the secondary meanings to what is trying to be conveyed.

Any brilliant writer tends to have several to many 'layers' in what they write. And for me I often miss a lot of that on the first read.

And it is super fun to read something you read during an earlier stage of your life. Your mind might not have been mature enough to comprehend or appreciate certain things upon the earlier read. Or you might be going thru different life situations that allows you to relate differently to what you now re-read.

It's an interesting journey.

But I do also know ... I have so many 'to-read' titles that I could get to instead of spending that precious, dwindling time re-reading a title that I have already read. But I find incredible enjoyment out of revisiting titles I have come to truly love and that have struck me emotionally and intellectually in a special/unique way.

>20 RRCBS: ... David Copperfield is one I to have read multiple times ... and I foresee reading it several more times before my flame burns out. Such masterful writing!

Books I’ve read three times:
David Copperfield
A Christmas Carol
The Martian Chronicles
I, Robot
The War of the Worlds
Treasure Island
The Scarlet Letter

And I’ve read many more twice

Books I’ve read 5 times
The three musketeers
Treasure island
Jane Eyre
Tom Sawyer
The last of the mohicans
The count of monte cristo

>24 fancythings: That's a great list, I've read all of them, a few of them at least twice. I love all of those. But five times each is impressive!

>25 Betelgeuse: Have to admit that I’ve lost count how many times I actually read Treasure Island and Tom Sawyer lol

Thanks for sharing your multiple read books. I probably will read David Copperfield again. Agreed a great novel worth re-reading.

>24 fancythings: you are a college student. How could you possibly read those books 5 times, especially Count of Monte Cristo?

>28 HugoDumas: I’m counting since I’m 10 or 11. I’m about to reread my count of monte cristo in my 5 vol limited edition again. Why would you think I read all of it in my college years ? Lol

I remember as a kid my grandparents verbally telling me stories about books tha tI listed. I will continue rereading them. These books make me feel happy when I read them.

As I kid I was fascinated with Indians, pirates, musketeers and revenge stories like most kids.

Also Adam Bede, Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, Frankenstein. Many more that I’ve read twice and will definitely reread.

>29 fancythings: reread my message. I never said in your college years. Considering your effective juvenile/adult reading years 10-21 you could not possibly have read any book 5 times in your life. And I doubt if you are about to embark on a 6th read of Count of Monte Cristo.

>31 HugoDumas: ok. Well, talk to my parents lol

None of my family members would believe if I said that I read treasure island and Tom Sawyer only 5 times. As far as it goes for your doubt, I respectfully accept it.

If 3 or more times is the standard, then my pickings are slim — Moby Dick, Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Grapes of Wrath — are all that come to mind.

I’ve read Hamlet and MacBeth at least 3 times, although admittedly they aren’t novels, and I didn’t understand them well the first time in high school. (I now realize that they must be read in an edition filled with notes to assist my 20th/21st century brain.)

I’ve read multiple editions of Robin Hood’s exploits, probably mostly if not entirely fiction. EP has published 6 or so editions by different authors and I’ve read them all.

>33 jroger1: Not to derail this topic ... but ... I see a lot of talk about Grapes of Wrath ... with the recent EP DLE release. Can you help me understand why this is such a worthy title to read multiple times? Excuse my naïveté.

>34 thisGuy33:
Perhaps it’s just geography for me, because the first part of the novel takes place in Oklahoma near my home. I grew up being immersed in stories about the dust bowl and the depression from my parents, and Steinbeck’s portrayal is very realistic.

It is my favorite 20th century American novel.

>35 jroger1: Interesting. Always fun to hear individual reasons for 'why'.

I am on the fence with the new EP Grapes ... everyone says it's a 'beautiful' version that EP is offering. And seems like so many love its contents.

May have to give it a try ... but I just need to stop spending money. lol

>15 sdawson: Well said

I've been an English teacher for about a decade and use a three-year rotation, so I revisit my favorite books every three years. I find great satisfaction in deriving new insights from familiar texts—and hoping and praying that my students will fall in love with the books as I have.

>34 thisGuy33: On the why reread Grapes of Wrath question, I think part of the appeal is the way the book alternates between chapters about the personal (the Joad family) and the public/historical (Depression-era American society). It's the rare book that can encompass both personal intimacy and big-scale history. (I guess it resembles War and Peace in that regard.)

I should confess that I don't own the EP edition of Grapes of Wrath, just the (very decent) Viking hardback edition. And I have read it three times, but not five.

>39 Eumnestes: Thanks for your thoughts on the topic. I'm still on the fence with spending $$$ for the current EP DLE. I assume it will not sell out too quickly so I'll maybe read a cheaper version before I dive in on the premium version.

>40 thisGuy33: mine is suppose to ship today. I am eager to see what it looks like.

>41 GOBOGIE: it looks like the best that fine press books publisher can deliver

>41 GOBOGIE: looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

>42 fancythings: stop enabling me!

>43 thisGuy33: well, I guess it’s easy to enable you then.

>43 thisGuy33: you're an excellent judge of character. Try selling me a bridge ... i give you a 95% chance of success! :)

>45 thisGuy33: lol I have no bridges to sell. I have something better, Barnes and noble books that look like ep dle books. No one will be able to tell the difference. I’ll let you have them at eBay ep dle prices. What you say...

>46 fancythings: I'd rather a bridge. :P

Speaking of books you can read over and over again, has anybody seen the new Call of the Wild with Harrison Ford?

Just curious as I’ve read poor reviews on it particularly the poor cgi work on Buck. Would have been nice to have an actual dog but I guess I understand

>48 GOBOGIE:
It’s not a classic, maybe, but not bad either. I thought it was a real dog until about mid-movie. It was nominated by the American Film Critics Association for special effects/motion capture.

Not only do I read certain books every few year, I also have movies and TV shows that I repeat as well. I have binge watched 'Derry Girls' so many times this past year because it is just brillian. Enjoy it so much. Oh, and the series 'Lost in Austen' as well. Easily 5 or 6 times for both of those series.

Why? For me it is the comfort I think. Something so very comforating in reading 'Swallows and Amazons' for the umpteenth time.

I think with Anna Karenina I stopped after the 4th, but I may get back to it again before I move on to the big library in the sky.

However, these are the exceptions. I agree that for the vast majority of books or movies that once is enough.

>50 sdawson: I do the same. Im so driven by emotion in regards to what I want to read and when I read them. I definitely have certain styles that I like to read during the fall/winter. I’m honestly do very little reading the spring/summer as it’s boating weather and combined with the time it takes to do all my outside work on our property, there isn’t much time left for ready. Winter is definitely my sweet spot when it comes to reading. Like you I tend to do the same with movies. I like to watch certain ones at certain times of the year. Winter in Michigan gives you the time to catch up on reading and TV watching.

>49 jroger1: thanks for your thoughts. I need to watch it.

I don't know how many times I read C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia as a child. Seemed like once a year between grades 5 and 10. And then I got to read them again when I read them to my daughter years later. What a joy that was to read them again as an adult. Same with Winnie the Pooh. Weird when I read them to my young daughter; she could not figure out why I was crying while I read some of those Pooh stories. As an adult I found them to be so moving and full of love. In my adult years, I have come back to Stephen R. Donaldson's First and second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 2 or three times. I'll have to read the entire series again after having completed his Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant a few of years ago from the beginning through all ten volumes. And I know that I will eventually read for a third time Dan Simmons' Hyperion and Endymion quartet plus his Ilium and Olympos duet. I find those fascinating reads. And at some point I am going to work through all of Asimov's Robots, Galactic Empire, and Foundation series for a second time.

I have also read Cherryh's Downbelow Station a couple of times and will read a couple more times before my library closes for good.

Meanwhile there are so many other good books that I still need to read for a first time!

:D

Just started of Mice and Men - again

If 3 times is the criteria, then only a few:
Shogun/Tai-Pan/Gai-Jin
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Night Circus
Dragonlance Chronicles

“I like ketchup with my beans George”

Ok George just shot Lennie.

Now which Steinbeck novel should I read next? I have the 8 volume EP Steinbeck set. I’ve read GOW, East of Eden & Of Mice and Men multiple times now. Which volume should I read next?

- Tortilla Flat
- The Pearl/Long Valley
- The Winter of Our Discontent
- Cannery Row
- The Red Pony

It’s fall now so am I jumping the gun to start The Winter of Our Discontent 🤓

I still have quite a bit of outside work to do. Leaves are just starting to fall and I also have 2 trees that are down in our woods that I’ll need to zip up, split and bring up to the house and stack so it may be Winter before I finish the book.

>54 GOBOGIE: I absolutely agree with reading Of Mice and Men multiple times. Also, for me, Fahrenheit 451 and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Oh, and Dune.

I’ve seen the movie Dune several times over the years. I love all the intriguing characters, yet I’ve never read it. Ive really never got into reading sci-fi related books although I love sci-fi movies. Strange I know.

I started reading The Pearl Last night.

>59 GOBOGIE:

I'm too slow of a reader to read anything multiple times given what time I have in the world and the size of my TBR pile, but if I did, Dune would be on the short list of sci-fi novels I'd consider reading a second time.

>59 GOBOGIE: If you liked the 80ies movie (!) then you cannot not enjoy the book :) The FS edition is sublime - it'd be a shame to miss. The 2021 movie release seems very well received but I haven't watched it yet. On a relevant (yet irrelevant) note Denis Villeneuve will be next directing "Cleopatra" based on the book by Stacy Schiff (FS 2016)

>59 GOBOGIE: I read The Pearl many years ago and remember liking it. I recently read Cannery Row and liked it, but didn't love it. I haven't yet read The Grapes of Wrath, or East of Eden. I would also be interested in yours and other's recommendations from your Steinbeck list above.

>61 bacchus.: I didn’t realize that the newer version of the Dune movie had actually been released. Can’t wait to watch it!

>62 jhicks62: Of Mice and Men is my favorite from Steinbeck

The books I tend to return to again and again are the fantastical short story collections I first read as a teenager - Poe, Wells, Dunsany, Lovecraft, Leiber, Vance etc.

I must admit, I've only read Steinbeck once and that was when we did Of Mice and Men at school. I didn't think much of it at the age of 13 and I never revisited the author. Maybe it's time to give him another go.

Let’s be honest, I doubt if anyone reads any novel or non-fiction ‘over and over again” for the duration of their lives. The exception would be the Bible for Christians, the Torah or Tanakh for Jews, the Koran for Muslims, the Sutras for Buddhists, the Bhagavad Gita for Hindus, and the works of Bahá’u’lláh for Baha’is.

>66 HugoDumas: I don't know how common it is, but your doubt is misplaced if applied to "anyone."

I am rereading Dune at the moment, and I rarely keep books that I don't think I will revisit, though sometimes "revisiting" means favorite passages (or passages relevant to something I am working on).

There are some philosophers and poets that I read the way I think religious people may read the specific works you mention.

The only novels I remember reading three times are Moby Dick, Hound of the Baskervilles, and Grapes of Wrath, each roughly 30 years apart (teens, 40s, and 70s), and there aren’t many that I’ve read twice. I’ve read the Robin Hood legends several times, but always in different editions, and I occasionally re-read a short story by Poe or O. Henry or others. Among the non-fiction works, I’ve re-read Marcus Aurelius and some of Montaigne’s essays a few times when I’ve been stressed. I’ve also read a few of Shakespeare’s plays 2 or 3 times, but that is usually because I didn’t understand them the first time when I read them in high school. I assume we aren’t talking about the countless textbooks and other professional readings from which I prepared lessons during my 51 years as an educator.

Generally, I would rather spend my time reading a book or an author I’ve never experienced than to re-read something.

Would it be wrong of me to mention that I reread Tom Gauld's You're Just Jealous of My Jetpack :o)

>68 jroger1: I have never read any novel more than 2 times and those are rare. Novels I have read 2X which I might consider a third time are : War and Peace, LOTR/Hobbit, Les Miserables, Count of Monte Cristo. No “over and over” novels in my list.

My most frequently reread books are Hobbit/LOTR, which I've read at least 10 times - hey, I'm 63, so it's only been every 4 years or so! Also reread Zelazny's wonderful Chronicles of Amber 6 or 7 times. C'mon EP - time to come out with an edition of this!

Just finished The Pearl… meh 😒

>64 GOBOGIE: Mine, too!!

favorite steinbeck for me is Cannery Row