[cgw]

I have read most of my favorate books a few times. It has gotten to the point where I can't read them any more so I stuck them all in a box in the back of my attic for a rainy day 5 or 10 years from now.
These books include Dune, most Zelazny books, the first few Feist books, and several others.
I have not found any books recently that I would want to read more than once.
I have read a lot of books that I think are great but do not really want to read more than once (GRR Martin for example).

Do you read books more than once?
Which ones? How many times?
How many times is too much?

[Rob B]

I really enjoy reading my good 'ol favorites. For one I am pretty much guaranteed something that won't disappoint. Two, you get a better understanding of the story and can pick up on things that you maybe didn't on first or earlier reads. Some that I have read multiple times:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Talisman, The Eyes of the Dragon, andThe Stand all by Stephen King
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
The Lord of the Rings
1984
Moorcock's Elric books


Some I plan on re-reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Un-Believier by Donaldson, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover.

Also, I will either re-read or skim over books previous books in a series when the newest is published, WOT, aSoIaF, King's The Dark Tower Saga to name a few.

[Nimea]

Nope, I hardly read any book a second time.

I even don't have the time to read everything I want to. And I am not really interested in reading a book a second time.

Harry Potter is an exception, but that is because of the German translation I read first. It is not a terrible translation, yet . . .

[Alucard]

I have never read a book twice. Too many books I haven't read for that. But if I really enjoyed a book, I will buy so that I can read it in a few years after I've forgotten it, and so I can lend it to people to try and get them interested in reading.

[ezchaos]

I also rarely, if ever, re-read books. I read too slowly and there are too many new books to read. LOTR are about the only books I go back to every 3 or 4 years, and that's more as a ritual than anything else.

[Alle]

When I first discovered tLotR, I reread them constantly. So did my brothers and we would discuss the books ad nausium. More recently I reread the first 6 books of WoT more then 10 times. I have no desire to ever pick those books up again though. *l* And now I have an annual reread of The Lymond Chronicles.

I have read many, many books more than once, but the ones listed here are the most prominant. :-)

[jfclark]

I enjoy re-reading good books, including fantasy novels. I've reread each of the Tolkien books numerous times, and still approach those books almost ritually, like others here. More recently I made the mistake of beginning the Wheel of Time (obviously) before it was finished. The prospect of having to reread each book in the series (such a vast quantity of bad writing!) when a new book is published is heartbreaking. But I'll do it.

I keep lists of the books I read each year. Every year, in addition to other books I might reread, I choose one book that I read ten years previously (but haven't read since) and reread it, mainly as a way to evaluate how my perspectives and tastes have changed over time. Some books seem to have improved with age: Moby Dick, Kim. Others haven't: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quo Vadis? Nevertheless, I'll always support the contention that a good book deserves to be reread. There are even a few fantasy books that qualify!

[eoghann]

Hmm my record is unknown. The book is Lord of the Rings... but after 20 I lost track of how many times I'd read it. :p

Books I like I would expect to have read between 3 and 5 times if I've had them for several years. Of course as I get more and more books, the gap between re-reading gets longer.

[fortytwo]

Perhaps a Fantasy thread is not the place to admit that I have never reread any Fantasy book.I have got over 300 books waiting to be read for the first time,and so little time to do it.
The only book I have read more than thrice (?) is Catch 22.
This is my all-time favourite story.

[lukaspriest]

If a book's good enough, sure, I'll reread it.

Ive read the current volumes of aSoIaF three times.