Books You've Read More Than Once
Discussion
Pooh said:
Ignoring children's books that I have read many times, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clark are two that spring to mind, they are very different but both great in their own ways.
Oh there's a book I havn't read in a while. You do know there's 3 books in the Rama series? I need to re-read them I think. RichTT said:
Pooh said:
Ignoring children's books that I have read many times, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clark are two that spring to mind, they are very different but both great in their own ways.
Oh there's a book I havn't read in a while. You do know there's 3 books in the Rama series? I need to re-read them I think. Pooh said:
RichTT said:
Pooh said:
Ignoring children's books that I have read many times, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clark are two that spring to mind, they are very different but both great in their own ways.
Oh there's a book I havn't read in a while. You do know there's 3 books in the Rama series? I need to re-read them I think. In terms of multiple reads two that stand out are Lord of the Rings several times (perhaps approaching ten?) and the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian I have now read three times and can easily see me reading them again.
I mostly re-read sci-fi, my favourites are :-
Forever War by Joe Halderman and Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
These have sequels, but not as good.
Both the Enders Game and Enders Shadow series by Orson Scott Card.
The Shadow series gives a different view of the Enders Game.
A non sci-fi one is The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy.
It’s about a cadet in a fictional military college in the southern USA.
Conroy had based the setting on The Citadel, a real college he’d been to, you can tell both the love and hate he had for the place.
Forever War by Joe Halderman and Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
These have sequels, but not as good.
Both the Enders Game and Enders Shadow series by Orson Scott Card.
The Shadow series gives a different view of the Enders Game.
A non sci-fi one is The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy.
It’s about a cadet in a fictional military college in the southern USA.
Conroy had based the setting on The Citadel, a real college he’d been to, you can tell both the love and hate he had for the place.
I've got ~700 SF & fantasy books in my collection, all read at least once, many of them 2 or 3 times. The one I've read most of all is John Brunner's "Stand On Zanzibar". Must be 5 or 6 times now.
Others I've read multiple times;
Zelazny's "Nine Princes in Amber".
Niven's "Ringworld"
Stross's "Laundry Files" series
Banks' "Culture" novels
Gibson's "Sprawl" & "Blue Ant" novels
Reynolds' "Revelation Space" novels
Leckie's "Ancillary" series
There must be loads more.
Others I've read multiple times;
Zelazny's "Nine Princes in Amber".
Niven's "Ringworld"
Stross's "Laundry Files" series
Banks' "Culture" novels
Gibson's "Sprawl" & "Blue Ant" novels
Reynolds' "Revelation Space" novels
Leckie's "Ancillary" series
There must be loads more.
Outside the Asterix books I read and re-read as a child (and again with my daughter in the last few years), I’ve never knowingly re-read a book.
That was in part to many wilderness years where work (I’m a lawyer) killed any desire to read anything else in the limited free time I have. It was also in part to a desire not to repeat the past (I’m the same with my love of music - always searching for the new and rarely revisiting).
So I was surprised when in November and December last year (2021) I re-read Over Sea and Under Stone and The Dark is Rising, both by Susan Cooper. We had bought these for our Harry Potter mad 11 yo daughter, but couldn’t get her going on them. Knowing that The Dark is Rising is set across Christmas, I returned to my own childhood (I think I read them aged 9 or 10, so a similar age to my daughter reading all the HP books last January).
Not sure if I’ll re-read the rest of the series - too many other new books on the to be read pile..!
That was in part to many wilderness years where work (I’m a lawyer) killed any desire to read anything else in the limited free time I have. It was also in part to a desire not to repeat the past (I’m the same with my love of music - always searching for the new and rarely revisiting).
So I was surprised when in November and December last year (2021) I re-read Over Sea and Under Stone and The Dark is Rising, both by Susan Cooper. We had bought these for our Harry Potter mad 11 yo daughter, but couldn’t get her going on them. Knowing that The Dark is Rising is set across Christmas, I returned to my own childhood (I think I read them aged 9 or 10, so a similar age to my daughter reading all the HP books last January).
Not sure if I’ll re-read the rest of the series - too many other new books on the to be read pile..!
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