What books have you read over and over again?

[USAmma]

I have a month before my semester starts and I'd love to really find a great book that's worth reading. What books have you read over and over because they are so good? Preferably I'd like to be able to find the book at the library.

[CrunchyParent]

I have read this book 4 or 5 times. It's about autism/pdd and how a mother approached her child's symptoms. I really like it because it is readable, but also because it presents an amazing logical, scientific investigation of autism and how it can seemingly relate to other factors such as vax, diet, the health of the gut, etc. It was written about 10 years back so it was pretty forward-thinking IMO.

As a mom I am most inspired by the way this mother just set out to assist her child in the most meaningful ways possible in the face of a rather consuming diagnosis. I think every mom can relate to that sort of drive for their kid's well-being.

Anyway, that's what first came to mind for me. Not a juicy novel, but still a great read

[fivi2]

What comes to mind is Mists of Avalon - one I read over and over (although it has been a while). But in five minutes I'll probably come up with something else. It would help to know what interests you...

[sunnylady303]

All of these books I've read at least 5 times:

Evensong by Gail Godwin
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (ok - I've only read it three times but it's just been out two months )
Many Nora Roberts books
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (about a village in France during the Holocaust - really uplifting)
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
Honest to Jesus by Robery Funk
In Praise of Slowness
Living Simply with Children.


Hope something sounds good!

[ccohenou]

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
I almost never ever reread books, but I can read this one every few years.

[USAmma]

Originally Posted by fivi2

What comes to mind is Mists of Avalon - one I read over and over (although it has been a while). But in five minutes I'll probably come up with something else. It would help to know what interests you...

I have wide interests. I read Mist of Avalon once and I think I may even own a copy. Hmm. . .

I like the original Oprah books, Nora Roberts, I have read the Clan of the Cave Bear series twice. I like real life stories, too, reading about people's childhoods if they are interesting.

[sunflowers]

I can read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse over and over again. It just facinates and absorbs me. Fahrenheit 451 is a good quick read.

I like the A Song of Fire and Ice series by George RR Martin. It has 4 books so it's a pretty long story but that's part of the appeal for me

I can also pick up A Wrinkle in Time every so often. Anything Stephen King is usually OK. My favorite King titles are Carrie, The Dark Tower series, The Green Mile, and of course The Stand.

Ababrat is interesting, too. That is also a series but only has the first 2 books published so far. Also by Clive Barker are Imajica and Weaveworld.

Have Fun with your summer reading! Let us know what you choose!

[AngieB]

Originally Posted by sunnylady303

All of these books I've read at least 5 times:

Evensong by Gail Godwin
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (ok - I've only read it three times but it's just been out two months )
Many Nora Roberts books
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (about a village in France during the Holocaust - really uplifting)
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
Honest to Jesus by Robery Funk
In Praise of Slowness
Living Simply with Children.


Hope something sounds good!

I was going to say A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson. I like to read it in the summer. It puts me in the mood for camping and Hiking and it's just funny.

[onemoremom]

Mists Of Avalon
The Red Tent
The Chronicles Of Narnia
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
The Stand
The Hobbit
Lord Of The Rings trilogy

Those are off the top of my head. I've read them all a minimum of 3x.


I just read The Kite Runner and thought it was excellent.
I also just finished His Dark Materials-it's a trilogy, but aimed at young adults so a quick read and I really enjoyed it.
I did enjoy Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, but that's probably not something you want to begin right now. The ending will make you want to do evil, evil things to the author (he always sucks at endings but this one is just over the top ridiculously bad) but I still think it was worth reading.


Are you looking for a particular kind of book? I found the Bridget Jones books and the Shopoholic series both to be lots of fun, but they are definitely very light and fluffy. Jane Austin of course is great for a slightly different kind of humor.

HTH

[artgoddess]

Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Bag of Bones by Stephen King
The Shining by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
IT by Stephen King
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
(you can probably add Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in two weeks too! )
Dune by Frank Herbert
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney
Moby Dick, or, the White Whale by Herman Melville
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

... I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones off the top of my head ...

[TypingMarie]

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. I've read them both 3 times. "Dunces" is probably the funniest book of all time.

[rzberrymom]

Another Anne Lamott fan. I've read Bird by Bird about 4 times (it's a good one if you've ever wanted to be a writer).

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Forgot to add...

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, pére
-and-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

...to my list.

[sunflowers]

I have to second NCD's choices of The Tree Musketeers (and Dumas' other works as well) and Dune! I was never too thrilled with the the rest of the Dune books but that first one was terriffic!

His Dark Materials was also good.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by sunflowers

I have to second NCD's choices of The Tree Musketeers (and Dumas' other works as well) and Dune! I was never too thrilled with the the rest of the Dune books but that first one was terriffic!

I actually didn't mind Books 2 and 3, Dune Messiah and The Children of Dune, past those, though (God Emperor, Heretics and Chapterhouse), it got too weird for me.

[Mary]

East of Eden by Steinbeck, Rule of the Bone by Russel Banks, all of the Harry Potter books, and I really look forward to reading Lord of the Rings by Tolkein again.

[UnschoolnMa]

Buddha in your Backpack by Franz Metcalf (non fiction)
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Dhammapada arranged by Glen Wallis

There are more but my brain is fuzzy.

[glendora]

Originally Posted by fivi2

What comes to mind is Mists of Avalon - one I read over and over (although it has been a while). But in five minutes I'll probably come up with something else. It would help to know what interests you...

Yeah, I was going to say "Mists of Avalon," too.

[ktbug]

Man, I thought I was weird for reading books over and over again. Mostly, these:

Watership Down, by Richard Adams
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
1984, George Orwell
Love All The People, Bill Hicks
Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72, by Hunter S. Thompson
Everything Neil Gaiman ever wrote, especially The Sandman
Still Life With Woodpecker/Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins
The Robber Bride, by Margaret Atwood