September 15, 2006

But... you don't have to take my word for it...

I've been thinking about this for the last few days, and the ALA's Banned Books Week (brought to my attention by Miss Zoot) makes it seem a little more relevant.

Do you have any books that you read over and over again? I have a few that I swear I've read about ten times. My paperback copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged has lost the cover, a few of the first pages, and the binding, but I go back to it time and time again (it has a great storyline about social welfare and capitalism). I tore apart my Gone with the Wind about 7 years ago and I'm afraid to read the copy I have now (a gift from my Granddad to my Grandmom in 1946, when he got back from overseas). There's something about a good book and knowing what's going to happen, but then realizing you've forgotten this or that part and that small page or two totally changed your interpretation of the story. Or, like with The Chronicles of Narnia, coming back to a great story that you've gotten wrapped up in since you were a kid.

Besides the three mentioned, my repeat reads include:
  • Harry Potter (of course, baaa)
  • To Fly and Fight: Memoirs of a Triple Ace, by Bud Anderson
  • The Wheel of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
  • Flags of Our Fathers, by James Bradley
  • The Memphis Belle: Home at Last, by Menno Duerkson
How about you? Is there a book that you always take on a plane or keep on your beside table?

2 comments:

  1. You know, this very subject has baffled me for some time. My husband is a "re-reader" and has an amazing collection of authors.

    I just can't do it. I have tried a time or two but always put it down before pg 2.

    I think it's neat though. And reading is a wonderful thing. I would rather just pick up another new adventure and dig in. (What's weird is I also don't like rewatching movies.)

    Guess theres two kinds of people in the world...

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  2. I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn over and over. I've read Gone with the Wind several times, but not for a few years now. Hmmm.....

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