Which Book Have You Read/Re-Read All Your Life?

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by UntreedReads

Mine is a bit odd in that it's actually a children's book.

When I was in elementary school, I was OBSESSED with John Bellairs' A House With A Clock In Its Walls. It was a little creepy, had a short, fat kid as the hero (shades of myself) and was just so mysterious. The illustrations for the cover and for the few sprinkled throughout the book were done by Edward Gorey.

Cut to umpteen years later when I was the manager of a Waldenbooks. I had an out-of-print service track down an exact library copy of the one I used to check out in elementary school. It's now my prized possession. If the house was burning, it's probably the first thing I'd grab. And yes, I definitely reread it often.

Best,
Jay Hartman
Editor-In-Chief
Untreed Reads Publishing
http://www.untreedreads.com

I just found my old copy (actually, it was originally my brother's old copy) a couple of months ago. I loved John Bellairs as a child, too. I'll have to give this one a reread when I get the time.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by UntreedReads

Mine is a bit odd in that it's actually a children's book.

When I was in elementary school, I was OBSESSED with John Bellairs' A House With A Clock In Its Walls. It was a little creepy, had a short, fat kid as the hero (shades of myself) and was just so mysterious. The illustrations for the cover and for the few sprinkled throughout the book were done by Edward Gorey.

Cut to umpteen years later when I was the manager of a Waldenbooks. I had an out-of-print service track down an exact library copy of the one I used to check out in elementary school. It's now my prized possession. If the house was burning, it's probably the first thing I'd grab. And yes, I definitely reread it often.

Best,
Jay Hartman
Editor-In-Chief
Untreed Reads Publishing
http://www.untreedreads.com

I'd never heard of this - but it sounds wonderful. There is a dtb version with Edward Gorey illustrations available, which should be quite fitting!

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by UntreedReads

Mine is a bit odd in that it's actually a children's book.

When I was in elementary school, I was OBSESSED with John Bellairs' A House With A Clock In Its Walls. It was a little creepy, had a short, fat kid as the hero (shades of myself) and was just so mysterious. The illustrations for the cover and for the few sprinkled throughout the book were done by Edward Gorey.
<...>

Jay Hartman
Editor-In-Chief
Untreed Reads Publishing

John Bellairs is simply wonderful. Another I'm fond of is _The Face in the Frost_.

I have an old friend who likes SF but does not like fantasy. He's also a major baseball fan. I loaned him _The Face in the Frost_. When he got to the sequence where the wizard's spell included "S is for Smead Jolley, the only major league player to make four errors off a single batted ball" he spluttered "Oh my God! Smead Jolley! You don't know..." After finishing the book he concluded "I still don't like fantasy! But I like John Bellairs!"
______
Dennis

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

John Bellairs is simply wonderful. Another I'm fond of is _The Face in the Frost_.

I have an old friend who likes SF but does not like fantasy. He's also a major baseball fan. I loaned him _The Face in the Frost_. When he got to the sequence where the wizard's spell included "S is for Smead Jolley, the only major league player to make four errors off a single batted ball" he spluttered "Oh my God! Smead Jolley! You don't know..." After finishing the book he concluded "I still don't like fantasy! But I like John Bellairs!"
______
Dennis

Awesome! I'm trying to get my husband into fantasy. I took George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" out of the library for him as it is sort of eases in the fantastical elements of the story. So far it's working.

And now I have another re-read to add to the TBR list - The Face in the Frost

I think I'll bump it up to the top of the list, though, it would really suit my mood right now.

[TimMason]

With most fiction I read three or four times when I get them, unless I don't finish them at all. Recently Hilary Mantel's 'Beyond Black' was devoured six times in a row (while 'Wolf Hall' was abandoned half-way through). I re-read Pratchett quite a lot - particularly 'Guards! Guards!' and 'Small Gods'.

But I can't think of any book that has been a constant companion. I recently re-read 'Moby Dick' and was very happy to do so. At one time I'd read my way through Dickens' major novels every summer, but I haven't done so for a while. Most of my reading is non-fiction, and I do it for professional reasons. I enjoy it, though.

[Historiann]

Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth--didn't discover it 'til I was past childhood but it delighted me once I found it and continues to do so. Lately I've also been rediscovering Agatha Christie.

[glowhappy]

Originally Posted by jenieliser

You know in You've Got Mail when Tom Hanks makes fun of Meg Ryan for reading Pride and Prejudice every year....yep, that's me... I've read it at least 4 times now (not counting the times I've just gone back to my favorites parts and read from there)

I read Pride and Prejudice at LEAST once a year. Other Austen titles I re-read yearly are Sense and Sensiblity and Emma.

Aside from that author I read Dumas' "Three Musketeers" and Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" yearly as well. Something about the phrasing and ebb and flow of the writing always captivates me.

[kennyc]

Corollary question: What is it anyone gets out or re-reading the same book as often as every year?

Just seems a bit boring to me as I rarely re-read a book.

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Corollary question: What is it anyone gets out or re-reading the same book as often as every year?

Just seems a bit boring to me as I rarely re-read a book.

I reread books because I start feeling a bit of a longing for their world. I guess it's analogous to a friend... you don't just have one conversation, friend them on Facebook, and ignore them forevermore because, well, you already spoke to them. With the GREAT books, the conversation is never the same, even though the words are identical. *shrug*

Great. Now you got me talking all poetical-like. Happy now?

I wonder if reading speed comes into it at all? I read SO many books in a year that a once-a-year reading doesn't seem frequent at all. Whereas if I'd only read 12 books since the last reading...

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by nomesque

I reread books because I start feeling a bit of a longing for their world. I guess it's analogous to a friend... you don't just have one conversation, friend them on Facebook, and ignore them forevermore because, well, you already spoke to them. With the GREAT books, the conversation is never the same, even though the words are identical. *shrug*

Great. Now you got me talking all poetical-like. Happy now?

I wonder if reading speed comes into it at all? I read SO many books in a year that a once-a-year reading doesn't seem frequent at all. Whereas if I'd only read 12 books since the last reading...

Hee-Hee...probably standing on your head too, eh? Thanks!

[MinaVE]

I don't reread books as much as I used to, so the only ones I can say are from my YA days: probably most of Christopher Pike's early titles (especially Remember Me, Die Softly, Witch, Scavenger Hunt), and Sweet Valley High #1. I still pick them up if I see them and read a few pages.

[MinaVE]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Corollary question: What is it anyone gets out or re-reading the same book as often as every year?

Just seems a bit boring to me as I rarely re-read a book.

I've kept one book active on my device even though I'm already done with it, fully intending to read it again sometime soon. It's more of wanting to keep it fresh in my mind and not be pushed down by other stories I've been reading.

[SmartyPants]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Corollary question: What is it anyone gets out or re-reading the same book as often as every year?

Just seems a bit boring to me as I rarely re-read a book.

well to me its similar to re-watching the movie i love. Being immeresed in the story again. Escapism if you wish.
Sometimes i re-read my favourite childhood books just to take me (for a little while only lol) back to 'child' frame of mind.
And then i have my 'comfort' books. Its like wearing your favourite pijamas..
You really have to be a book lover to understand this!

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

well to me its similar to re-watching the movie i love. Being immeresed in the story again. Escapism if you wish.
Sometimes i re-read my favourite childhood books just to take me (for a little while only lol) back to 'child' frame of mind.
And then i have my 'comfort' books. Its like wearing your favourite pijamas..
You really have to be a book lover to understand this!

Exactly! It is escapism, but not escapism out of desperation. It is like wearing a favorite pair of pj's or having a meal of your favorite comfort foods. For a bit of time it just allows you to be mentally somewhere else.

If a scifi author creates a fully-fleshed-out universe in my mind with their writing, rereading one of his/her books is the mental equivalent of taking a physical vacation to another part of the world and another different culture. Why do people like to return to certain vacation spots? Going back into another literary universe isn't merely rereading the words, it's thinking about the what-if's and hypothesizing about other aspects of that universe.

In mystery series or really any ongoing series, ones that are well-written, that characters become old friends. You either enjoy the setting of the story or the dialog between the characters or the intricacy of the mystery and/or the relationships between the characters. And just like human friends, you enjoy touching base with them every now and then.

Sometimes certain books bring back happy points of time in life, so rereading them allows you to mentally relive good moments.

In romance books or ones with a romantic element, for me its the characters: how well they're developed and the amount of humor/wit they display. Well-written sexual tension is also important - and it doesn't have to be overt. Read Georgette Heyer's Regency romances to see how it is done well. It's like watching a sparring match of words instead of fists, one in which you know there will be a happy ending.

[MinaVE]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

In mystery series or really any ongoing series, ones that are well-written, that characters become old friends. You either enjoy the setting of the story or the dialog between the characters or the intricacy of the mystery and/or the relationships between the characters. And just like human friends, you enjoy touching base with them every now and then.

I actually would re-read a good mystery novel just to see if the clues all fit and I wasn't cheated, just as I would re-watch a movie.