Books You've Read More Than Once

Ma'am, you have superlative taste!

 

I found that book hard to follow, how is it on second read?

Also, you mention McMurtry's Houston series. I've read the Lonesome Dove series millions of times, though mainly Loneseome Dove. McMurtry is awesome.

Edit: I hadn't seen the posts about Lonesome Dove on this page. Seriously, it is one of the best novels ever written.

 

I use to have no problem with Faulkner, but now it is such a struggle. I still think he is amazing. I love As I Lay Dying and Light in August. I guess I need to give Absalom, Absalom another try. I know one book of his I will probably never re-read: The Sound and the Fury.

 

LMac's overview of his rare-book-hustling career, "Books", is awesome.

 

As I Lay Dying and Light in August are my favorites of Faulkner's work, too. As I Lay Dying is relatively accessible as Faulkner goes, very funny in places and I love the use of shifting perspectives.

I don't know how anybody can enjoy The Sound and the Fury. I don't mind an author who makes me work a little, but that opening section is just ridiculous. The part with the asshole older brother is funny, though.

 

Agree about Sound and Fury, though Faulkner was way ahead of his time there ... ever notice how many recent bestsellers tell a story from the viewpoint of an autistic/mentally handicapped character. I just read one, in fact, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," by Mark Haddon.
Does everybody feel "Absalom" is that inaccessible? Though I've read it several times, those all were when I was in college and in my '20s, which was quite a while ago now. I know I have a lot less patience these days ... I tend to read mysteries. Now I'm scared to go back and look at it, maybe I won't like it as much.

 

I've got so many books I want to read, reading one a second time seems like a lost opportunity. But one book I have read more than once is Travels with Charley by Steinbeck. My all-time favorite book.

 

There's only one book I've ever read more than once, and I've read it probably 10-15 times-- Pride and Prejudice.

I use it as one of my main mood menders. That, and fish oil supplements.

The first time I read it was as a senior in high school for AP English. The night I was supposed to be cramming for the AP Exam, I picked it up off my nightstand table. Instead of studying vocab, etc, I stayed up all night reading it for the 2nd or 3rd time.

The next day on the AP Exam, when I got to the essay portion, the question was about epiphany. And it listed 3 books as suggestions to write about. One of those was Pride and Prejudice.

The person grading my exam had to have at least have been impressed with this high school student's amazing recall of detail (things like the name of Darcy's estate being Pemberley) and my obvious lust for the book.

 

There aren't many for me because one of my greatest fears is running out of time to read all of the wonderful books I haven't yet read. It's why I try to stick to the classics and always feel a little guilty for picking up the latest Elmore Leonard or Nelson DeMille (which I do anyway).

But, back to topic, I've read catcher in the Rye three times (once when I was 10, again in Junior High and again last summer), I've read To Kill a Mockingbird twice, and I breeze through Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat quite a bit because it's just one of my favorite little stories. It says a lot about friendship to me, so I often give it to a friend as a gift.

 

"You Gotta Play Hurt," because Jim Tom Pinch lived both my dream and nightmare life in the course of a year.

"Blue Highways," because my wanderlust knows no bounds. The originator of this thread once advised to "obey your wanderlust."

"Friday Night Lights," because I lived it at a small Texas newspaper, and because every psychotic high school football parent and fan in Texas HATES that book.

 

Don't know if this counts, but I read MacBeth four times combined in my high school and college careers.

I took an advanced English class in 10th grade in a tiny high school in Sophisticated Snooty County even though I lived in Godless County and read it. Then we went to a performance of it at the local Shakespeare theatre.

Senior year of high school, read it in my small public high school in Maine. Tried to get the teacher to give me Hamlet either instead of or in addition to MacBeth. No dice. Later, after moving from Maine back to Godless County, went to public school. Got MacBeth a third time. At least this teacher gave me his copy of Hamlet and had me work independently on that in addition to working with the class.

Junior year of college, had it as the first Shakespeare play in a later works class. Didn't have the anthology the class required, but was able to follow along with the rest of the class purely from memory.

 

Franny and Zooey.

I actually find myself thinking of that book pretty often. What I took away from it was, "It's true that people might be shit, but don't let that get in your way. Accep it."

Or something like that.