abasio Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Most books I come across are good enough to read once but I would never think about reading them again. Usually they are written quite well but nothing special but have a gripping story. But once you know the story it would be pointless to ready again. Some books though break the mould, either the story is so good that while I am reading it a second or so time you still hope it will turn out different (usually these have sad endings or a character I hate who lives but I want to die ) or the writing is so sublime that I can just get lost in the words. So what books can you just read over and over again? For me it is Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood I love his in depth descriptions of such little things, like the creases in people's clothing or their hairslides. The story is hauntingly beautiful as well and no matter how many times I read it I still wonder if the ending will be different this time (it never is though ) C.S. Lewis - Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra Another wonderfully written books & I always enjoy reading the descriptions of what people used to think Mars/Venus were like before we discovered the boring truth. H.G. Wells - The Time Machine and The Invisible Man Nice passages, wonderful discriptions and the irony is never lost. Isaac Asimov - The Foundation Series Such imagination, talented writing and it is easy to get totally wrapped up in the stories and find you have read all 7 too many times. J.R.R. Tolkien - The Silmarillion I have always loved reading the history of Middle Earth over and over to gain a better understanding of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy which are other books I can read numerous times. Embarassingly I can also read many Warhammer 40,000 books over and over as I love the grim dark imagery and the utter hopelessness that the stories entertain. They might not be very well written and are just action movies in space but something about them hits the right spot with me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakoluth Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby jr. Have read it almost as many times as I've watched the film. ...and then there's The Bible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rino Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Hm, The Count of Monte Cristo (yup, the whole thing!), Clockwork Orange, The Trial all come to mind without too much thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hexfire Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Well, can't say I'm a fan of re-reading, however what never gets boring is the stuff from Osho. Better than cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Well, can't say I'm a fan of re-reading, however what never gets boring is the stuff from Osho. Better than cure.Some books just beg to be re-read though I am reading Haruki Murakami - After Dark at the moment and I really feel like I will read it again. The atmosphere when reading it is brilliant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Hesse's Siddhartha is probably the only book I've read more than twice, although I've read a lot of books twice. I think I read Delany's Nova three times. Have plans to read several books again, including The Count of Monte Cristo, which was sheer awesomeness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I keep buying new books then re-reading my old ones before I get to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby jr. Have read it almost as many times as I've watched the film. ...and then there's The Bible I didn't even know there is a book and not only the movie? Did they make the movie after the book or vice versa? There are plenty of books I've read several times. I will try to break it down to the essentials : Stephen King - Tommyknockers: my favourite book ever!! I love his novells anyway and read most of them several times but this is the best. Other great books by him are It and The Stand. J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord Of The Rings Michael Ende - Neverending Story Michael Crichton - Andromeda Herrmann Hesse - Stephenwolf Thomas Mann - Buddenbrocks Jules Vernes - 20000 Miles Under The Sea Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting and Ecstasy There are lots more, maybe I should add that I don't mind reading books again and again if I like them so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakoluth Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I didn't even know there is a book and not only the movie? Did they make the movie after the book or vice versa? There are plenty of books I've read several times. I will try to break it down to the essentials : Stephen King - Tommyknockers: my favourite book ever!! I love his novells anyway and read most of them several times but this is the best. Other great books by him are It and The Stand. J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord Of The Rings Michael Ende - Neverending Story Michael Crichton - Andromeda Herrmann Hesse - Stephenwolf Thomas Mann - Buddenbrocks Jules Vernes - 20000 Miles Under The Sea Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting and Ecstasy There are lots more, maybe I should add that I don't mind reading books again and again if I like them so... Heeey, haven't read you in a while The book was written way before the film. It was first published in 1979. The book wasn't very succesful, I believe, because it was never reprinted before 2003. The author, Huber Selby, jr., died in 2004. (The book is a bitch to get in Switzerland, by the way. It took the bookshop more than three weeks to get hold of it.) That's also the reason why something in the film is a bit dodgy: They listen to very modern music, yet at the clinic they use EST, which wasn't used anymore after the 70ies, I guess...nevertheless, brilliant book, brilliant film! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffymushi Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 alice's adventures in wonderland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphythecat Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 with sll the books out there, i have a prejudice about reading the same book twice, im studying in letters(in french tough) and really, even if i would love a book that much, i woudnt read it twice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCrow Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 with sll the books out there, i have a prejudice about reading the same book twice, im studying in letters(in french tough) and really, even if i would love a book that much, i woudnt read it twice This. I used to work in one of the largest antique/second-hand bookstores (over a million books!) in our country and came in contact with alot of varied material from the past few hundred years. I amassed a sizeable collection and new reference points and would find it fairly difficult to re-read a title. Unless it was to increase understanding or relation that I lacked the first or second time through(Philosophical/Metaphysical/Scientific/Spiritual/Mechanical/blah blah many other works etc). There are just so many great varied and enriching books to read out there! Way too much to read in one lifetime even if all one did was sit and read while eating on the toilet in bed. With that said, such a practice of re-reading can really be enriching at different stages of development or life because aspects of the title can really take on a new meaning/relation due to changes in the readers mind/life. I guess it can be fun to relive a ficticious or constructed atmosphere (like with music) if it's particularly good. But I'd feel a bit guilty doing so. Another point I'd like to add to this is that rather than having to read a book to evoke these feelings(wonder, mystery, excitment, power, well-being etc etc etc) I'd rather work on having them come about naturally in my own life than living vicariously through a ficticious or temporary unfulfilling medium. Drug use to inspire feelings, moods and mind states is a bit similar here. They can be used as tools for inspiration or if development is imbalanced or insufficient but I feel they aren't the true way. The mind itself behind it all can be. I generally get a bit guilty or bored reading fiction(unless it's really good literature or particularly atmospheric Sci-Fi/super-natural/mystical/fantasy stuff) nowadays. If the art piece or book is not inspired by a good/great/well-developed/inspired/artistic mind then it can feel about as productive as gossiping about other people's lives while they're not there. Sorry, I don't(do) mean to tangent, ramble, jump all over the place, share some life feelings and generally come across as an elitist bastard. Carry on with your discussion as though I were not here. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furthur Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Also Hesse's Siddhartha Many times Always as good as or better than before Murakami's After the Quake stories Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, although the last time was a long time ago Krishnamurti's Commentaries on Living Poetry, not that much poetry I am in love with, mostly Whitman, and the Chinese classics like Han Shan Reread Heidegger's Being and Time several times but not necessarily because I liked it so, but because I wasn't getting it, still don't, not really And classics like Tao Te Jing, Tibetan Book of Liberation, Ashtavakra Samhita But most of all, Webster's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oopie Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Dostojevski and Russian literature of 19th century in general... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapinho Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Dostojevski and Russian literature of 19th century in general... It just takes such a long time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JISNEGRO Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 I'd say Gabriel García Márquez-Cien años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneila Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 I only re-read books that I didn't fully understand or stand to gain something in particular by reading them again. In general the same goes for watching movies multiple times, unless I'm watching it with others. So the only books I've ever read multiple times are Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground, which is a very short read, and 4 of Nietzsche's better books, which are a much longer read but require multiple readings to understand anything. If I was ever going to read a fictional story again it would probably be Don Quixote, since I marveled at the beautiful writing style all the way through and it was an interesting plot with lots of details. Unfortunately I'll probably never take another 6 months to read it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mephistopheles Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Henry Miller - Tropic of Cancer love it or hate it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackprw1 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry, I want to read over and over again. A stunning book, and the writing is superb but I found it somewhat heartbreaking - the reality of the tragedies that beset the characters really got under my skin. I really recommend it to anyone who wants a genuinely good read, and a bit of an insight into what it's really like to live in a third world country in crisis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drosophila Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I have to date never read a fiction book twice (only "non"-fiction), I think I simple read to little to feel like repeating any I have already read, even I really liked it! Maybe I will one day! But then again, it would probably only happen if it is a short book and/or if I felt like I was missing the point the first time around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karan129 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 There are too many books and too little time, so I never re-read books. However, there is one book which is a true pleasure to re-read...Jerome K. Jerome - Three Men in a Boat...short enough to not stretch out a re-read and delightful enough to invite that re-read. I also want to re-read Ulysses one day, though I'm not sure that'll happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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