Which book have you read the most number of times?

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Erica75
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Erica75 » April 2nd, 2010, 8:29 pm

Gol darn it, Mary McDonald, I thought for sure I'd be the only one to post Clan of the Cave Bear. Reading it makes me remember how inadequate I am as a researcher and how much work it takes to weave a really great story. Although I love the first more than the others, I reread the entire series every couple of years, probably 3 or 4 times now. I also read The Thorn Birds every once in awhile. I got hooked on the mini-series in the 80s (back when you had 1 TV with 3 channels and watched whatever your parents watched) and love the book, too. If I ever was told "Cry on demand!" for some weird reason, the scene with the boars would be the first to pop in my head and I would shed copious amounts.

I'm hiding my head in shame that I've never read LOTR. My son is 9 and loves the movies and I'm hoping we'll get to them together in the next couple years.
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by victoria » April 2nd, 2010, 9:56 pm

A Christmas Carol - by Dickens- reading it every year at christmas has become my yearly tradition (sad I know!!)

Apart from that, I suppose 'I'm not scared' by Niccolo Ammaniti has been the most re-read book

Fav as a child - the Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton and as a teen 'looking for Alibrandi' by Melina Marchetta - I could open that book at any page and know exactly what was going on, and I'm quite sure I knew it all word for word.
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by turtlesoupapples » April 3rd, 2010, 7:35 pm

I'll reread every book I own at least once or twice (or if I hate it, I'll get rid of it), but I think I've read The Princess Bride the most. And Ella Enchanted. And maybe Jurassic Park, just because it got a head start (It was the first novel I ever read).

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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by A.M.Kuska » April 4th, 2010, 6:30 pm

While The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was probably the most important book in my life, I don't think I've read it as often as the Key Trilogy by Nora Roberts. I can't get enough of studying those three books, how they're put together, the great lines, the smooth flow. I've read them so many times, I even finally found a couple of faults with the writing style. (She overuses the word 'fisted', and beginning the story with a weather report still annoys me.) Of those three, I like Key of Knowledge best.

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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Sommer Leigh » April 6th, 2010, 10:41 am

The book I have read the most often is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not just because I love it (which I do. A lot.) but because when I was in college, particularly my senior year, understanding Gatsby helped me weather some of my toughest classes. It also helped me understand literature, myself as a reader, and eventually myself as a writer far better than I could have without him.
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Margo » April 6th, 2010, 1:28 pm

I guess I was born without the re-read gene. I have never chosen of my own accord to re-read a book, even one I loved. Perhaps it's the sense that there are so many out there to read that I need the time for the ones I have yet to discover. That being said, I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey for school about a half dozen times each. I actually got to the point I liked doing it...over and over and over. (Thank you, sir, may I have another!) Of course I did drop out of a distressingly posh liberal arts college before the school made me read them in Greek. Public universities, to my relief, usually don't make you read Greek. :)
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Emily J » April 6th, 2010, 2:13 pm

I am an epic re-reader. I have read all my favorite fantasy series multiple times (Narnian Chronicles, Prydain Series, Lioness Quartet, 1st Shannara Series)

But my absolute favorite fantasy series of all time is Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. I have read all of those books numerous times. However, the third book, Greenwitch, was my "traveling book." It was the book I took on any trip I went on as a kid, whether to other countries or just visiting the family in another state. I may have read it over one hundred times, and no, I'm not even exaggerating. I had the first half of it memorized. (it is a short book tho) To this day I pack a copy of Greenwitch on any trip I take, though most of the time it's more tradition. I have taken a break from reading it (because, you know I had it memorized), but for any one who hasn't read the series I can't recommend it enough! (Just don't see the movie... :( )

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Jarrod
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Jarrod » April 7th, 2010, 12:49 am

Hi Gang,

I've only recently stumbled across Nathan's wonderful site with all of its great advice, and thought I'd say 'hi'.

I re-read quite often, and usually pick up on new/different things each time a do! The book that I've re-read the most would be an Iain M Banks book called 'Use of Weapons'. It was a bit of a confusing read the first time, with every other chapter being a flash-back - and as soon as I finished it I had to read it again (especially as I knew how it ended). 'Use of Weapons' was a great sci-fi book with some beautiful (if tragic) characters that brought it to life.

kind regards,
Jarrod
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A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war, wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. - The Teachings of Don Juan

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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by KellyWittmann » April 12th, 2010, 4:03 pm

Ficiton: Either Lolita or The Age of Innocence

Nonfiction: Probably The Andy Warhol Diaries

Petronella
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Petronella » April 12th, 2010, 4:33 pm

I finished reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons for the sixth time last night. But LOTR is what I've reread the most at over twenty-five times.

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Quinnykins
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Quinnykins » May 5th, 2010, 10:50 am

I read David Eddings' books The Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium and Tamuli once a year. That's at least 17 books of various lengths. My copies are very badly worn now but I haven't the heart to go and replace them. I wouldn't mind them in hardback and leather bound but I don't think that can be done. I could try binding them myself though...

The other book I read at least once a year is Dracula by Bram Stoker. I love that book so much. At first I listened to the audio book when I was in college but then I bought my own copy and I can't stop re-reading it.
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Kalthandrix
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Kalthandrix » May 13th, 2010, 9:47 pm

Raymond E. Feist's Magician thru Shards of A Broken Crown - at least three or four times each.

Dragons of a Autumn Twilight - I have read that so many times I could recite passages (maybe). One time when I was a kid, I finished reading it, flipped the book over, and started reading it again.

And of course Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series - all the books at least twice, if not more for the first five and i have listened to them all in MP3 format.
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Matthew MacNish
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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Matthew MacNish » May 13th, 2010, 10:39 pm

Kalthandrix wrote:Raymond E. Feist's Magician thru Shards of A Broken Crown - at least three or four times each.

Dragons of a Autumn Twilight - I have read that so many times I could recite passages (maybe). One time when I was a kid, I finished reading it, flipped the book over, and started reading it again.

And of course Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series - all the books at least twice, if not more for the first five and i have listened to them all in MP3 format.
I assume when you say Dragons of Autumn Twilight you mean the trilogy which also includes Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning? If you don't you're right that the first was the best, but the trilogy really was great. For the authors I actually prefer the 7 novel Death Gate Cycle, but all their books are pretty damn good.

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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by Nomad0404 » May 14th, 2010, 3:20 pm

Going Postal and lately Making Money.

Both by Pratchet.

I've also read Monstrous Regiment more times than I care to remember.

However, I don't have enough time to re-read many books I prefer to be reading something new.

Phil

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Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?

Post by BethTH » May 15th, 2010, 11:12 pm

I'm a huge re-reader, but THE LORD OF THE RINGS probably wins. When I first read it, I immediately read again two more times. Then I would read it once a year. Eventually, I slacked off and now read it only once every few years.

Other books I've read many times are:
A SEPARATE PEACE )John Knowles), BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN (Glendon Swarthout), THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (C.S. Lewis), CALL OF THE WILD (Jack London), A WRINKLE IN TIME (Madeleine L'Engel), WATERSHIP DOWN (Richard Adams), LITTLE WOMEN, LITTLE MEN, JO'S BOYS (all by Louisa May Alcott), TO SIR WITH LOVE (Richard Braithwait), all the ANNE OF GREEN GABLES books (Lucy Maud Montgomery), REILLY's LUCK (Louis L'Amour), THE COLLECTOR (John Fowles), THE OUTSIDERS (S.E. HINTON), all the Harry Potter Books, THE SMALL OUTSIDER (a book about an autistic boy, written by his mother, Joan Martin Hundley; this book inspired me to become a special education teacher). Oh, and THE SILVER SWORD, by Ian Serraillier.

Anything I love, I'll read again. I guess that's why my TBR stack is so tall.

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