The DU Lounge
In reply to the discussion: Do You Have a Fictional Book That You Have Read Several Times? [View all]malthaussen
(17,065 posts)If a book is part of a live series, then I will typically re-read the whole series whenever I get the next volume. This can go on for an inordinate number of years. It is often amusing to watch authors struggle with continuity and the passage of time when a series has been live for decades.
If a book is part of a series, but the author dead or moved on to a new character, I often begin re-reads of the series at the beginning and plough through the whole thing, good or not-so-good. John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series is an example of this, although I started reading them before John had gone to his reward. George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series is another of this nature -- what is it with these MacDonalds?
Let's see, in addition to the previously-named, authors of fiction whom I re-read include Heinlein, Zelazny, Farmer, Glen Cook, and Niven/Pournelle (best as a tandem, IMO) in sci fi; Tolkien and G. G. Kay in fantasy; Stephenson for Necronomicon and The Baroque Cycle, which I typically read every year; Ellis Peters for Brother Cadfael; Evanovich and Grafton for more-or-less contemporary 'tecs. Then there's Heller for Catch-22 and John M. Del Veccio for The 13th Valley.
This would constitute a very partial list of my multiple re-reads. Books I have only read twice would be too numerous to mention. If I like a book at all, I generally read it at least twice. Those things are expensive!
-- Mal