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Heaven: Books to reread

HarryCHHarryCH Shipmate
edited January 2019 in Limbo
We often have threads about what people are reading. I often find what I want to do is reread something I read a while back. I often get more out of it than I did before. What are some books to reread? What are some books you have read more than once?

I myself am presently rereading "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien and "Year of the Unicorn" by Andre Norton. A book I have red several times is "Excalibur" by Sanders Anne Laubenthal. (I could list many more.)
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Comments

  • HedgehogHedgehog Shipmate
    Most books that I own I am willing to re-read. But high on my re-read list currently are:

    The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
    The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
    Several early mysteries by Ellery Queen
    Several early "Saint" mysteries by Leslie Charteris
    All the Charlie Chan mysteries by Earl Derr Biggers.

    Yeah, that's enough to be going on with for now...
  • PigwidgeonPigwidgeon Shipmate
    Thanks to the Ship's February book group discussion on Anthony Trollope's The Warden, I re-read that. Now I plan to re-read the rest of the Barchester books.

    And P.G. Wodehouse!

  • I’m a definite re-reader. Usually if I make it through a book once I’ll happily read it again. The only book I put down after finishing and picked up to start reading again five minutes later was Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond when I was a teenager. But there are several books I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read them (obviously including The Hitchhiker’s Guide... books).
    There are a couple of books I’m glad I read but don’t think I’d be keen to reread including 1984.
  • NicoleMRNicoleMR Shipmate
    I reread things by Lois McMaster Bujold frequently. I've read The Lord of the Rings more times than I can count.
  • I am not a great re-reader - although I might dip back into books to pick up things I remember from them. But Alice in Wonderland and through the looking glass I have read and reread, and would probably enjoy reading again. I think I have read them 20 times, and they are the greatest books in the world.
  • CathscatsCathscats Shipmate
    Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder, to read again and again! (This from someone who re-reads more than first-reads)
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I'm another who has read Lord of the Rings countless times. Two of my other favourite re-reads are Sparks' Girls of Slender Means and Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate. I can re-read most Diana Wynne Jones too.
  • Dune (and the first two sequels) by Frank Herbert are a regular read for me along with LotR of course. I also re-read a few books on a rotating basis including Jane Eyre, Caesar's Gallic War, Robert Rankin's Brentford Trilogy (the first five books at least), Robert Twigger's Angry White Pyjamas and Frankenstein. I usually take a re-read on holiday alongside something new so that I have a fall-back plan should the new read be utter bobbins, which happens more often that it should.
  • AndrasAndras Shipmate
    I must get round to rereading Conan Doyle's two great mediaeval romances, The White Company and Sir Nigel. Their recreation of that whole lost world is simply stunning, and it's a shame that they're so much passed over these days.
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    I've read Pride and Prejudice several times and the other Austen novels more than once.

    Fortunately, it's a few years since I last did this, but if I'm ill and groggy I reread some of my Chalet School books.

    I read all of the Little House on the Prairie books as a child and loved them. It was a revelation when I reread them as bedtime stories to my children. Second time around I could see the Ingall's life through adult eyes, the poverty, the disaster of a bad harvest, the constant uprooting and moving.
  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I'm another great re-reader: busy with Trollope's Barchester novels. And an old favourite, the Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner. Austen might be up next.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Another LotR re-reader here. I tend to read it every 2 or 3 years—always starting in September.

    Another I seem to be periodically drawn to re-reading is Rumor Godden’s In This House of Brede.

  • LeRocLeRoc Shipmate
    I need to read Eon by Greg Bear every couple of years or so. Blew my mind when I was a teenager, and it's still capable of giving me this feeling again.
  • MooMoo Kerygmania Host
    I frequently re-read Trollope's Palliser novels. especially Can You Forgive Her. I never really got into the Barchester series.
  • TrudyTrudy Heaven Host
    I reread the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy Sayers every few years. It usually starts with me decided to reread just Gaudy Night (probably the book I have reread most in my life), then figuring I may as well read all four of the Peter-and-Harriet books, and then deciding no, I'll just reread the whole series. Something about them, probably the language, is very addictive for me. And I've finally, for the first time in my life, acquired a nice matched set of all these books in paperback (before I had a hodgepodge collection of different editions I'd bought, some new, some second-hand, some missing altogether because I'd read them from the library) so I feel the nice new set deserves a proper read-through sometime soon.
  • LeRoc wrote: »
    I need to read Eon by Greg Bear every couple of years or so.

    I had quite forgotten about Eon, thanks for reminding me of something I need to track down and re-read.
  • MiffyMiffy Shipmate
    NEQ, I’m another comfort reader of my and daughter’s Chalet
    School collection. More recently, I’ve had a phase of revisiting some of the Noel Streatfield novels I remember from childhood.

    Current re-read is Catherine Fox’s ‘Realms of Glory,’ the final book in her Lindchester chronicles. I’d recommend her works to all you Trollope fans out there. She deserves a wider audience.
  • PigwidgeonPigwidgeon Shipmate
    Miffy wrote: »
    Current re-read is Catherine Fox’s ‘Realms of Glory,’ the final book in her Lindchester chronicles. I’d recommend her works to all you Trollope fans out there. She deserves a wider audience.

    ‘Realms of Glory’ is in my to-be-read pile. I've read and enjoyed all of the previous ones.
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    I have a pile of books that get the occasional re-read! The Sherlock Holmes stories have been read several times by me and some family members. Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice get frequent re-readings. One of my favorites, y'all probably don't know about is Ishmael by Barbara Hambly. It combines some elements from Star Trek, Here Come the Brides, Dr. Who, Star Wars and various TV westerns from my childhood. In other words, a fun book written in a serious manner!
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I've reread LOTR, Trollope, Sayers, Austen, P.D. James, C.S. Lewisand a host of others, including Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell." (I just finished rereading Madeleine L'Engle's "Time" trilogy.) I read "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles three times. A good book really is like a good friend: You don't get bored with either one.

  • TwilightTwilight Shipmate
    I have quite a few Norah Lofts books I love to reread, the Suffolk trilogy, starting with The Townhouse, is probably my favorite.

    I also love many of the books others have mentioned like Love in a Cold Climate and Jane Eyre, which I've probably read a dozen times. What is it about these books we reread even when we know exactly what will happen?
  • MooMoo Kerygmania Host
    Twilight wrote: »
    What is it about these books we reread even when we know exactly what will happen?

    With a good book, it's not a matter of knowing what will happen, but experiencing what happens.

  • I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense. It probably has to do with my anxiety levels.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I have dozens of books that get re-read at regular intervals: the Philippa Gregory Wars of the Roses books; the Brother Cadfael books; the Mistress of the Art of Death books by Ariana Franklin; and (whisper it) the Rutshire books by Jilly Cooper. :blush:
  • MooMoo Kerygmania Host
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense..

    I do that too. In my case it's not so much dislike of suspense, but impatience. I want to know where this thing is going.

  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    Some books are seasonal for me. Winter books include The Wind in the Willows and James Woodforde’s The Diary of a Country Parson.
  • LeRocLeRoc Shipmate
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense.
    The butler did it.
  • TrudyTrudy Heaven Host
    Pigwidgeon wrote: »
    Miffy wrote: »
    Current re-read is Catherine Fox’s ‘Realms of Glory,’ the final book in her Lindchester chronicles. I’d recommend her works to all you Trollope fans out there. She deserves a wider audience.

    ‘Realms of Glory’ is in my to-be-read pile. I've read and enjoyed all of the previous ones.

    I love that whole series; I've already re-read it once since my initial reading and am sure it'll be another that I return to over the years.
  • HedgehogHedgehog Shipmate
    LeRoc wrote: »
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense.
    The butler did it.
    You're thinking of Gone With The Wind...

  • PigwidgeonPigwidgeon Shipmate
    Hedgehog wrote: »
    LeRoc wrote: »
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense.
    The butler did it.
    You're thinking of Gone With The Wind...

    :lol: :lol: :lol:

  • LeoLeo Shipmate
    Not enough time to read books once, let alone twice.
  • LeRoc wrote: »
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense.
    The butler did it.

    hey, thanks! (scribbles note)
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    edited May 2018
    Rossweisse wrote: »
    A good book really is like a good friend: You don't get bored with either one.

    Indeed. I'm also someone who re-reads more than first-reads and takes a trusted book on holiday in case I don't enjoy the new read. If I'm going abroad it's always The Wind in the Willows as I get horribly homesick and that's so quintessentially English, and all about home and friendship.

    I reread a lot of the books I enjoyed as a child and many of the ones mentioned here. Other favourites include Robert Harris's Pompeii, William Horwood's Skallagrigg and Elizabeth Goudge's novels.
  • TwilightTwilight Shipmate
    Moo wrote: »
    Twilight wrote: »
    What is it about these books we reread even when we know exactly what will happen?

    With a good book, it's not a matter of knowing what will happen, but experiencing what happens.

    That's about what it is for me, I think, and that may be why all my favorite writers are great at creating atmosphere. When I stretch out to read, I prefer to be in England sometime before World War I. Anyone who can take me there is very appreciated.

  • LibsLibs Shipmate
    I've read Pride and Prejudice several times and the other Austen novels more than once.
    Yes, me too.

    I've got to re-read George Eliot's Middlemarch for w*rk - my own idea - but, though I loved it when I first read it, I find I keep putting it off. It's a bit of an intimidating prospect.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    LeRoc wrote: »
    I've been known to read the end of a new book first in order to make even the first reading of it as much like a re-read as possible, i.e. no suspense. I loathe suspense.
    The butler did it.

    Or, as a review of the movie Remains of the Day (which had a high degree of sexual tension between the 2 main characters said, "The Butler didn't do it". I don't remember who the reviewer was, but it was the most succinct review I'd ever read.

    I re-read a lot of the books already mentioned; Trollop, Austen, LOTR, Hitch-Hikers' Guide., but recently I've re-read Cynthia Voigt's "Tillerman" series of 6 Young Adult books, one of which won a Newbury Medal, whilst another was a Newbury Honor book. I enjoyed all but one of them.


    Re-reading books for me is often a comfort when I'm feeling stressed out. When we were averaging a shake every couple of hours the Moomin books were a gentle escape, as was PG Wodehouse. Which in some ways seems a strange combination to me now -- but it worked.

  • MaryLouiseMaryLouise Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    A winter reread to counter depression and cabin fever. EF Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels.
  • I tried and failed to read Austin. I don’t know what it was. I got lost with who was who and failed to make a connection to any characters. As an avid reader it is a failure I am rather embarrassed by.
  • MooMoo Kerygmania Host
    Huia wrote: »
    ... but recently I've re-read Cynthia Voigt's "Tillerman" series of 6 Young Adult books, one of which won a Newbury Medal, whilst another was a Newbury Honor book. I enjoyed all but one of them.

    I have read and re-read them since my daughters brought them home as teenagers. I didn't like Sons from Afar. Is that the one you didn't like?

  • GalilitGalilit Shipmate

    jedijudy wrote: »
    One of my favorites, y'all probably don't know about is Ishmael by Barbara Hambly.

    Yes, that is the best of the pre-internet (and slash/fan-fic) Trek books

    My personal favourite re-reads are the two Jade Darcy books (by Stephen Goldin and Mary Mason) and Riddley Walker (by Russell Hoban)

    For tense and uncertain situations (waiting for doctors) I have Milton's Paradise Lost and Che Guevara's Guerilla warfare

  • Jengie JonJengie Jon Shipmate
    I tried and failed to read Austin. I don’t know what it was. I got lost with who was who and failed to make a connection to any characters. As an avid reader it is a failure I am rather embarrassed by.

    I do not get on with Austen, I do not get on with PG Woodhouse and I struggle with Anthony Trollope. Books that deal with the intrigues of polite society leave me cold. My imagination requires a breath of air within the drawing rooms.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Moo wrote: »
    I have read and re-read them since my daughters brought them home as teenagers. I didn't like Sons from Afar. Is that the one you didn't like?

    Moo, I found Come A Stranger the least enjoyable. Sons From Afar I was OK because I liked Sammy's character. I liked Mina too in the other books, but for some reason this one felt more awkward.

  • Robertson Davies: The Deptford Trilogy; The Rebel Angels; What's Bred In The Bone

    Mary Renault.

    Graham Greene.

    At the insistent urgings of a friend of mine, who has read it repeatedly (five times?), I'm going to tackle Tristram Shandy.
  • Tristram Shandy is brilliant. Weird in a way that nothing else has ever managed.
  • My re-reads include many of those mentioned above and also all of Anthony Powell. You can tell the ones I've read most often as they are literally falling to bits - indeed I've had to replace some of them. I regret to say that some of the disintegration is due to their falling into the bath - I'm no longer allowed to read library books there after some stern words (and demands for payment) from the library lady :blush:
  • Tristram Shandy is brilliant. Weird in a way that nothing else has ever managed.

    At TIFF (2006?) I saw a film version of Tristram Shandy - Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Dylan Moran - dir. Michael Winterbottom - and it was simultaneously disorienting and hilarious. As yet, no clue how closely it adheres to the novel.

  • AndrasAndras Shipmate
    Robertson Davies: The Deptford Trilogy; The Rebel Angels; What's Bred In The Bone

    Mary Renault.

    Graham Greene.

    At the insistent urgings of a friend of mine, who has read it repeatedly (five times?), I'm going to tackle Tristram Shandy.

    Robertson Davies is simply incredibly good - can I suggest you add The Salterton Trilogy to the list?
  • TubbsTubbs Admin Emeritus
    Sarasa wrote: »
    I can re-read most Diana Wynne Jones too.

    Me too. And I notice new things each time. Plus Harry Potter and Gaiman's Neverwhere.

  • Tristram Shandy is brilliant. Weird in a way that nothing else has ever managed.

    At TIFF (2006?) I saw a film version of Tristram Shandy - Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Dylan Moran - dir. Michael Winterbottom - and it was simultaneously disorienting and hilarious. As yet, no clue how closely it adheres to the novel.

    A Cock and Bull Story. It is a fascinating film - it is a film about making a film of the book - something which is impossible, because it is very definitively a written piece. And the film is good as a representative of how complex and confusing the book is.

    The book is also disorintating, peculiar, obscure. I loved it, others might not.
  • We rarely throw out good books, so re-read all the time.
    Graham Green is fantastic because there is always a different nuance you can pick out on re-reading.
    William Dalrymple books I can read again and again. They are non-fiction, historical and reflective.
    As to Michael Morpurgo (well I am just a big kid).............his books are for all ages.
    Try David Walliams books - they aren't just for children but have important things to say. "Gangsta Granny" I think I have read 3 times now!!!!

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