Books that you've read 3 or 6 or more times

[tsunamiSD]

There is a thread for book reviews, but I'd like to start one on books that have been read multiple times because you enjoyed them (not because, say, you were required to do so for school or work...) You don't have to list more than one at a time; especially if you want to give some background about why you first read the book(s) and why you continued to keep on reading them.

The first ones that I can remember were the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Ace Paperback Editions). I had mail-ordered them as soon as they came out in 1965 - I was in high school in Nebraska at the time (my dad was in the Navy and had been talked into recruiting, so the family moved from San Diego to there). Although that edition was 'unauthorized', in fact there was no 'legitimate' paper back edition available in the US, and the US publisher Houghton Mifflin had goofed in printing too many of the hardbacks, which caused a legal loophole that Ace used to legally publish their edition. I later bought the Ballantine edition when it came out, but have always been disappointed in the covers.






In fact, Humphrey Carter, in Tolkien’s official biography, noted that while Tolkien was displeased with the Ace editions, they at least sported covers that resembled their stories; by contrast, Tolkien was distressed at the cover art for the Ballantine editions, to which he noted: “What has it got to do with the story? Where is this place? Why emus? And what is the thing in the foreground with pink bulbs?”



Just look at these...









The Ace editions are undoubtedly the reason why Tolkien became a big thing in the USA; they sold an awful lot of those before JRRT, Houghton Mifflin and Ballantine could agree on the contents of an edition (along with the pricing).



I had always enjoyed science fiction, fantasy, and history - and the LotR trilogy was the epic fantasy that really struck a chord with me that I read the books several times during that first year (yes, including the appendices.)

[mizlaplan]

You've just reminded me that I'm overdue for another LotR binge
I've re-read many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels several times but not one in particular which probably tells a lot about his strengths as an author.
I've re-read many of Stephen King's novels but the standout was Salem's Lot which I've re-read many times. No particular reason, it just works well as a story.

[Mal Hombre]

My standout Stephen King novel is Pet Sematary,His darkest, most despairing work to date (Which probably says a lot about Me),He wrote it to get it out of His system and shelved it thinking it unpublishable,He gave it to Doubleday as a final malediction-and it became a hit.

[Estreeter]

Half intended as a joke but also true,
When I was a kid, I've no idea how many times I read this,



Loved those green pants

Then there's this



Forget the film, read that There's nothing wrong with the film but the book goes much deeper and longer.

[73north]

an easy choice , although I have a lot of books ( a few hundred )
these are the ones I come back to time and again
Strontium Dog ( I read the very first story in 1978 )
Battleship by Martin Middlebrook ( 1941 Force Z Disaster )
Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer ( GrossDeutschland Division soldier )
and its so well-written and authentic - simply a wonderful book and a genuine classic

I have read the disparaging comments of a number of people who have read this book on Amazon .
Many of them appear to be people who despite having never been anywhere near a battlefield have concluded that since Sajer cannot recount details of his service like a unit historian that he is making it up.
One reviewer considers himself qualified to claim Sajer is a fraud because he himself has read so many military histories.
I have spoken to several WW2 veterans and much of what he says rings true to them.
The experiences which only an Eastern Front landser could have are unique and I can't say whether they are true or not.
My opinion is that they are basically true but could have been adorned with some exaggeration. Adornment is not unique, as most veterans will admit, but enough corroboration exists to confirm that most of what Sajer says took place actually did so.
In short - well worth your time buying the book

[baboboy]

Always liked Roald Dahl Danny the Champion of the World
I've read Thomas Harris Silence of the Lambs more times than I care to remember.

[Thinkwell]

I have read Something Happened by Joseph Heller three times. It was the second novel by the author of Catch 22. The first was a novel of army and war life, the second a novel of office and family life. It feels closer to my own life than any other novel I have read. However, I don't think I can recommend it, except to keen readers of novels, because it has its faults. Heller was rather repetitious and wordy (he got worse later) and the novel is not exactly eventful.

The first-person narrator works in the office of a great corporation. We are not told what it does or makes or sells, it just is. He is a success. He writes about the men higher in the company who he has to please. He writes with contempt and guilt about the man who was made a failure by his success. He is a success - so why does he feel so unsuccessful inside? Something happened, something went wrong in his life, but what, and when?

He is obsessed with the memory of the first office where he worked, a small company, when he was just a lad. He is still entranced by the office tease, a sexy, nervous girl called Virginia, who always used to say, "Virgin for short, but not for long!" Years later, he still can't see that she was a nut, even though he knows that she killed herself not long after he left the company. He knows this because he has phoned the company – one person is still working there from his period. In the phone call, he did not say who he was: pretending to be someone else, he asked about himself.

He writes about his wife, who bores him now, both in bed and out. He writes about his difficult children, his daughter who he can't love, his son who he loves too much.

And he writes about his mother:

“Hey, look, Ma,” I could have argued with her with good reason during those sixteen months [the last period of her life, when she was very sick]. “You’re dead already, don’t you know? You died one day exactly two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve months ago right in front of my eyes, and now you’re just hanging around. I didn’t know it at the time but I felt it, and I turned away from you with a lump in my throat and sobbed, or wanted to, and grieved for you secretly for over a week because something inside me knew that you were dead and gone. You were dead but not gone. I lost my mother a while ago and keep remembering and losing her again. But you’re not her. You’re just hanging around. Now you’re just hanging around, ruining my weekends and costing me money, splotching my moods and splattering my future. You’ve been hanging around ever since. You’re depressing everybody. What do you want me to do? What are you hanging around for?”

That short piece might give a small indication of how he could be wordy, but it shows how well he could write about, for example, emotions that we prefer not to acknowledge.

[Nelberto]

Terry Pratchett-Guards Guards,Men At Arms,Fifth Elephant,Jingo,Thud and Snuff.

James Herbert -Domain,'48 and Portent

Arthur Conan Doyle-Complete works of Sherlock Holmes(all the Holmes stories -long and short )

also when I was young i read and re-read Enid Blyton- The Famous Five series and Alfred Hitchcock- The 3 Investigators series

[cginok]

I've read Donnie Brasco...the book the movie was made from...and Wiseguys...what the movie Goodfellas was made from...several times. As Estreeter said, the books for both of those movies is much better than the movies. I've also read The Hobbit and LOTR books numerous times.

Had a literature Prof in college that had read the Tolkien books 19 times, this was as of the mid 80's. He said it was his Christmas present to himself. During the break between semesters, he would curl up in front of the fireplace and read the Hobbit, then the LOTR trilogy, and if he was feeling masochistic, he would read the Silmarillion...he apparently had a very low opinion of that book.

[tsunamiSD]

Another fantasy that I've read a lot of times over the years is Magician by Raymond Feist – but most of the times it has been in the separated 'Apprentice' and 'Master' paperback versions.
I actually first met Ray when I was at San Diego State University and he was at UCSD – both of us were D&D players; he was part of a great group of guys there at UCSD, some of them came up with the idea for Midkemia. After a year or so, I lost track of him until 1982. I have always liked comic books and had been getting mine at Pacific Comics in Pacific Beach, at least until after they concentrated on publishing them instead. Then I went to Alf's Comic Kingdom, in North Park, and found out that Ray was one of the managers there – and in 1982 his novel came out and copies were available from him at Alf's. Average cost of a hardback fiction book then was around $14 – his cost $20 because of it's size – that's why the paperback edition was cut into 2 books (like Tolkien's LotR was cut into 3...) I bought a copy after reading the first few pages in the store.
I could see how he used the gaming Midkemia background in his book, but without the sophomoric treatment that others had done. I really liked his characters and plotting, along with finding out a lot more about the Midkemia setting. He has a style that reads fast for someone like me, always a plus.