So many books, so little time. But there are some novels you re-read, or want to re-read. What’s one of those for you? And why?
18 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Which Novel Will You Re-Read?”
The Quiet American
I’ve read it three or four times. Great novel, greatest last sentence: “Everything had gone right with me since he died, but how I wished there existed someone
to whom I could say that I was sorry.”
Jim, I keep a shelf of books in the living room and am constantly re-reading them. I’ll re-read everything written by Robert B. Parker, the Matthew Scudder novels of Lawrence Block, the Dortmunder books by Donald Westlake…oh, and I’ve got the three Ty Buchanan novels by a guy named Bell.
Wow, Doc, nice. Thank you kindly.
Does unintentional rereading count? Right now, I’m reading Conspiracy Club by Jonathan Kellerman. I picked it up at the exchange table at our local hair salon because it wasn’t a Decker/Lazarus book, and a quick look at the blurb didn’t trigger any memories. I started reading, and it still seemed ‘new.’ On a whim, I checked my Goodreads list and it said I read the book in 2009, AND that I owned it. I went downstairs to my Kellerman shelf, and there it is, in hard cover, from The Mystery Guild. I swear, I could probably live with a 3 book library, because by the time I finish book 3, I’ve forgotten book 1.
Intentional re-reads? I’ve read all of Sherlock Holmes more than once. Likewise Nero Wolfe. Naked in Death by JD Robb is a go-to comfort read.
The ‘why’ first as it’s easiest. Because these are old friends, and we haven’t visited recently.
The list?
The Hobbit and LOR, Tolkien
Citizen of the Galaxy, Heinlein
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald
The Matrese Circle, Ludlum
The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway
The Lensman Series, “Doc” Smith
All about once a decade or so.
The Lensman Series are one of the things that got me into sci-fi in the first place. A great series that still stand the test of time.
The Sherlock Holmes stories. Conan Doyle was a master at creating a mood. And Agatha Christie, a popular mystery writer, but much under-rated and not nearly as cozy as people assume. She did kill a Girl Guide, remember. And my fellow Missourian and newspaper reporter, Mark Twain. I love his humor and cynical view of the world.
I am re-reading the Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola right now. This book turned me into a book-reading addict. Initially I read it in Russian. Now I read it in English. Since I write my books in English, I am very curious to re-discover the books from my youth in English, which I discovered either in Russian or Romanian or later also in German. I am re-discovering myself from those times by re-reading the books that impressed me then. By doing this I find out old and new reasons why I loved those books so much. I am not be able say directly why I loved them so much then, before re-reading. There is just a longing to do so.
I really like a 50s PBO by John D. MacDonald called Cancel All Our Vows, a book about a troubled marriage, with MacDonald’s fine style and a capturing of a zeitgeist. Have read it twice and will again.
When I’m in the right mood I intend to reread American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I originally bought and read it in paperback, and have since purchased an ebook of the “preferred” text. I absolutely love this novel. IMHO it is one of the best books released this century (so far), and I recommend it to anybody. Earlier this year I reread The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. This is my favorite PKD novel, but I hadn’t read it in decades. After watching the Amazon adaptation pilot, which I really enjoyed, I decided to reread it to see how it held up, and compared with my memory of it. I’m pleased to say it stood up well.
One of my favorite books that I read many times is “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov. I first read it a few times by pleasure, but now I read it several times from an analytical point of view. I do this every time I read a new JSB book on writing skills. A criterion for a good captivating book is that you get pulled into it even when trying to read it from a cold and analytical point of view.
Thanks, Guy.
It’s not a thriller or mystery, but there are “thrills” and “mysteries” and adventures in Frances Boyd Calhoun’s _Miss Minerva and William Green Hill_ (1911)~ my grandfather told me about it when I was in grade school, and read it several times. Mom found a reprint when I was in college and it held up then, 10-15 years later. I look forward to re-(re-re-)reading it again~ to my grandkids (when the time comes)…
I have so many favourites, it is hard to even narrow to a genre. Anna Sewel’s “Black Beauty” I read 10 times before I was a teenager, followed by Walter Farley with the Black Stallion series, then Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mazo de la Roche, Shakespeare. I have read Hamlet a half dozen times, as well as many of his other plays. Georgette Heyer for historical and detective fiction. J.D. Robb, Michael Connolly. I don’t have the time to read as ravenously as I once did, so I am much slower at getting through my pile of books and don’t reread as much as I once did. Many of my rereads are now books like 27 Fiction Blunders,Super Structure, Write Your Novel from the Middle, How to Write Dazzling Dialogue and Captivate Your Readers! Those are my go-to’s now!
Thank you kindly, Julie.
What a great topic and great comments above – I do have one go-to author for re-reading: Louis Bayard. I’ve read his “Mr Timothy” at least 3 times and as it happens am right now re-reading his “Pale Blue Eye.”
Harrison High by John Farris
An oldie but a good. I first read it in 1959. Because I was still in high school, the novel spoke to me. I don’t know how many times I have read it, but it’s a lot.
I still go back to it to see how Farris, then a very young man himself, handled characters and characterization, plotting, setting, subtext, dialogue, streaming, and so forth.
The novel was, and is, very real to me. I once meet Anne Gregor. Oh, she was good. She was five years older, now lived in my city, and apparently decided she didn’t want to go to Hollywood. There was no mistaking who she was–that’s how vivid Farris’ characters were. Are.
If you want me and can’t find me at home, I may well be in the halls or locker room at Harrison High.
I don’t reread a lot, but I’d have to say anything by Agatha Christie, especially the Hercule Poirot books. I am a Miss Marple fan too, though. I have been rereading some classics lately as well: A Tale of Two Cities, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Gothics from Mary Roberts Rinehart. I have a huge queue for my reviews, so I don’t get too much time to read other books, but I try to read the classics and more seasoned authors, so I don’t make the same errors. (I review debut authors).
So many books, so little time. But there are some novels you re-read, or want to re-read. What’s one of those for you? And why?
The Quiet American
I’ve read it three or four times. Great novel, greatest last sentence: “Everything had gone right with me since he died, but how I wished there existed someone
to whom I could say that I was sorry.”
Jim, I keep a shelf of books in the living room and am constantly re-reading them. I’ll re-read everything written by Robert B. Parker, the Matthew Scudder novels of Lawrence Block, the Dortmunder books by Donald Westlake…oh, and I’ve got the three Ty Buchanan novels by a guy named Bell.
Wow, Doc, nice. Thank you kindly.
Does unintentional rereading count? Right now, I’m reading Conspiracy Club by Jonathan Kellerman. I picked it up at the exchange table at our local hair salon because it wasn’t a Decker/Lazarus book, and a quick look at the blurb didn’t trigger any memories. I started reading, and it still seemed ‘new.’ On a whim, I checked my Goodreads list and it said I read the book in 2009, AND that I owned it. I went downstairs to my Kellerman shelf, and there it is, in hard cover, from The Mystery Guild. I swear, I could probably live with a 3 book library, because by the time I finish book 3, I’ve forgotten book 1.
Intentional re-reads? I’ve read all of Sherlock Holmes more than once. Likewise Nero Wolfe. Naked in Death by JD Robb is a go-to comfort read.
The ‘why’ first as it’s easiest. Because these are old friends, and we haven’t visited recently.
The list?
The Hobbit and LOR, Tolkien
Citizen of the Galaxy, Heinlein
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald
The Matrese Circle, Ludlum
The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway
The Lensman Series, “Doc” Smith
All about once a decade or so.
The Lensman Series are one of the things that got me into sci-fi in the first place. A great series that still stand the test of time.
The Sherlock Holmes stories. Conan Doyle was a master at creating a mood. And Agatha Christie, a popular mystery writer, but much under-rated and not nearly as cozy as people assume. She did kill a Girl Guide, remember. And my fellow Missourian and newspaper reporter, Mark Twain. I love his humor and cynical view of the world.
I am re-reading the Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola right now. This book turned me into a book-reading addict. Initially I read it in Russian. Now I read it in English. Since I write my books in English, I am very curious to re-discover the books from my youth in English, which I discovered either in Russian or Romanian or later also in German. I am re-discovering myself from those times by re-reading the books that impressed me then. By doing this I find out old and new reasons why I loved those books so much. I am not be able say directly why I loved them so much then, before re-reading. There is just a longing to do so.
I really like a 50s PBO by John D. MacDonald called Cancel All Our Vows, a book about a troubled marriage, with MacDonald’s fine style and a capturing of a zeitgeist. Have read it twice and will again.
When I’m in the right mood I intend to reread American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I originally bought and read it in paperback, and have since purchased an ebook of the “preferred” text. I absolutely love this novel. IMHO it is one of the best books released this century (so far), and I recommend it to anybody. Earlier this year I reread The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. This is my favorite PKD novel, but I hadn’t read it in decades. After watching the Amazon adaptation pilot, which I really enjoyed, I decided to reread it to see how it held up, and compared with my memory of it. I’m pleased to say it stood up well.
One of my favorite books that I read many times is “The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov. I first read it a few times by pleasure, but now I read it several times from an analytical point of view. I do this every time I read a new JSB book on writing skills. A criterion for a good captivating book is that you get pulled into it even when trying to read it from a cold and analytical point of view.
Thanks, Guy.
It’s not a thriller or mystery, but there are “thrills” and “mysteries” and adventures in Frances Boyd Calhoun’s _Miss Minerva and William Green Hill_ (1911)~ my grandfather told me about it when I was in grade school, and read it several times. Mom found a reprint when I was in college and it held up then, 10-15 years later. I look forward to re-(re-re-)reading it again~ to my grandkids (when the time comes)…
I have so many favourites, it is hard to even narrow to a genre. Anna Sewel’s “Black Beauty” I read 10 times before I was a teenager, followed by Walter Farley with the Black Stallion series, then Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mazo de la Roche, Shakespeare. I have read Hamlet a half dozen times, as well as many of his other plays. Georgette Heyer for historical and detective fiction. J.D. Robb, Michael Connolly. I don’t have the time to read as ravenously as I once did, so I am much slower at getting through my pile of books and don’t reread as much as I once did. Many of my rereads are now books like 27 Fiction Blunders,Super Structure, Write Your Novel from the Middle, How to Write Dazzling Dialogue and Captivate Your Readers! Those are my go-to’s now!
Thank you kindly, Julie.
What a great topic and great comments above – I do have one go-to author for re-reading: Louis Bayard. I’ve read his “Mr Timothy” at least 3 times and as it happens am right now re-reading his “Pale Blue Eye.”
Harrison High by John Farris
An oldie but a good. I first read it in 1959. Because I was still in high school, the novel spoke to me. I don’t know how many times I have read it, but it’s a lot.
I still go back to it to see how Farris, then a very young man himself, handled characters and characterization, plotting, setting, subtext, dialogue, streaming, and so forth.
The novel was, and is, very real to me. I once meet Anne Gregor. Oh, she was good. She was five years older, now lived in my city, and apparently decided she didn’t want to go to Hollywood. There was no mistaking who she was–that’s how vivid Farris’ characters were. Are.
If you want me and can’t find me at home, I may well be in the halls or locker room at Harrison High.
I don’t reread a lot, but I’d have to say anything by Agatha Christie, especially the Hercule Poirot books. I am a Miss Marple fan too, though. I have been rereading some classics lately as well: A Tale of Two Cities, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Gothics from Mary Roberts Rinehart. I have a huge queue for my reviews, so I don’t get too much time to read other books, but I try to read the classics and more seasoned authors, so I don’t make the same errors. (I review debut authors).