What Books Do You Read Repeatedly?

[rn901]

4 hours ago, Lucky said:

The thread title says it is about books you read repeatedly. Are you saying that you read the above repeatedly? Where would you get time to escort? 😀

Why it is escorting that is what has given me the time to read vs working 8-10 hours every day   I've read each title at least 2-3 times. So I guess "repeatedly" is quite subjective. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by rn901

[+ WilliamM]

Split Image, a biography of Tony Perkins.

 

He performed in "Damn Yankees" at a Massachusetts Summer theater when Hitchcock's Pycho was released 

[Danny-Darko]

 

'Against All Enemies: An American's Cold War Journey' by Jeffrey M. Carney

This mans life story fascinates me. He was a gay airman in the U.S. Airforce long before "Don't ask, don't tell" at the height of the Cold War. His journey has been a fascinating one though his book is poorly written and was never properly proofread it seems. I do realize the difficulty he had getting it published due to censorship from the United States Government and it's a story few care to know. A proper thorough proofreading would have corrected grammatical and syntax errors and more. That said, it's still an interesting biography and it reads like a spy novel, a real page turner in my humble opinion. I hope one day somebody makes a Mini-Series/Movie out of it and exposes both sides for what they were and this man's story.    

 

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by Danny-Darko

[+ poolboy48220]

who else has re-reading Dune on their list?  🙂

[RealAvalon]

On 10/26/2021 at 6:15 PM, Danny-Darko said:

 

'Against All Enemies: An American's Cold War Journey' by Jeffrey M. Carney

This mans life story fascinates me. He was a gay airman in the U.S. Airforce long before "Don't ask, don't tell" at the height of the Cold War. His journey has been a fascinating one though his book is poorly written and was never properly proofread it seems. I do realize the difficulty he had getting it published due to censorship from the United States Government and it's a story few care to know. A proper thorough proofreading would have corrected grammatical and syntax errors and more. That said, it's still an interesting biography and a page turner in my opinion. I hope one day somebody makes a Mini-Series/Movie out of it and exposes both sides for what they were and this man's story.    

 

There are four books with this title in our local library, but none of them are this one.

 

[Danny-Darko]

1 hour ago, RealAvalon said:

There are four books with this title in our local library, but none of them are this one.

 

 Yes, the same thing happened to me. I then bought it. I'm fascinated by Cold War Era history and what was going on in the world before and while I was growing up, but I realize this isn't everybody's cup of tea when it comes to literature.

[samhexum]

On 6/6/2021 at 11:18 PM, Old Blue said:

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Both are chock full of exciting adventures set against a backdrop of constantly changing locations and environments.  

Rereading enables me to meet again with old friends and vicariously relive our adventures.  

[KateNickolson]

After that, you realize how lonely you really are, and there's no one in the whole world who understands you and your emotions. After that, you can't help but ask yourself questions: Why here? Why now? You feel like you were born in the wrong era. How do people live here? These days the concept of "man" is limited to having an organ, they share their overrated self-esteem and ponts with women. Just think how things have changed. It's bad. It's really bad. And everybody says they're happy. I'd rather spend my life alone than have the happiness that you have. "Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind is undeniably a classic. And at its best. I wish I'd read it now instead of six or seven years ago. This book gave me a lot, thanks to the author.
 

[samhexum]

On 9/27/2021 at 8:16 PM, rn901 said:

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

[Kevin Slater]

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Me Talk Pretty One Day

 

Kevin Slater

[misterhumphries]

A Confederacy of Dunces. The jokes, the outlandish situations never get old for me. It's laugh out loud every time I read it.

[+ poolboy48220]

Funny this popped up.  I just went through a week with no internet & no TV, ATT U-Verse had a week-long downtime in our area.  I re-read John Varley's Gaea trilogy (in the wrong order, since I was looking for a particular line in the last book) and his Steel Beach.  

[Rod Hagen]

On 8/8/2022 at 11:09 PM, Kevin Slater said:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Me Talk Pretty One Day

 

Kevin Slater

 

I think of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay as one of the last Novels men, gay and straight, read and enjoyed and discussed.  The Road and The Corrections were maybe the very very last successful, male, literary books.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Rod Hagen

[pubic_assistance]

Asimov's "The Foundation Trilogy"

Too complicated to understand everything in one read ...

To interesting to not read it again once you figured it all out. 

Edited January 5, 2023 by pubic_assistance

[Jaggg]

On 7/14/2021 at 6:16 PM, WilliamM said:

I could never get through Remembrance of Things Past until I picked up  volumn two and started there.

Agreed.  The first volume gets you used to his style and gets you familiar with the world he's creating.   The subsequent volumes are not as daunting.  They are actually quite funny in places.    If you are not sure if Proust is for you, try the section called Swann in Love located in the first volume.   If you like that, you'll love the other 3000 pages. 😉

[Rod Hagen]

On 1/5/2023 at 10:51 AM, Jaggg said:

Agreed.  The first volume gets you used to his style and gets you familiar with the world he's creating.   The subsequent volumes are not as daunting.  They are actually quite funny in places.    If you are not sure if Proust is for you, try the section called Swann in Love located in the first volume.   If you like that, you'll love the other 3000 pages. 😉

One thing that people should keep in mind BEFORE reading Proust, is that it's ok to skip parts.  If you find it too daunting to read every beautiful word, just remember that you don't have to.  Same goes for Moby Dick.  People love to complain about the long detailed, gross, and boring "whaling" sections.  Well, if you don't like the whaling bits, don't read them.

[Storm4U]

“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”

Edited January 11, 2023 by Storm4U

[Rod Hagen]

On 12/30/2022 at 6:42 PM, misterhumphries said:

A Confederacy of Dunces. The jokes, the outlandish situations never get old for me. It's laugh out loud every time I read it.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, such a beloved book.  I've only met one other person who hated it as much as I did, so he and I must be giant grumps.

[misterhumphries]

9 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

I'm glad you enjoyed it, such a beloved book.  I've only met one other person who hated it as much as I did, so he and I must be giant grumps.

Really? What didn't you like about it? I have read that all attempts to turn it into a screenplay leading to a movie have failed mainly because of how the jokes and comedic scenes are written in the novel. I'd be interested to know what about it put you off.

[Rod Hagen]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:51 AM, misterhumphries said:

Really? What didn't you like about it? I have read that all attempts to turn it into a screenplay leading to a movie have failed mainly because of how the jokes and comedic scenes are written in the novel. I'd be interested to know what about it put you off.

I found none of it funny.  I find the story behind it's publication sad and beautiful.  Everything in it intended to make me laugh fell flat for me (and my friend).  It seemed overpraised, not-literary, and I must be wrong because it is beloved.  Oh well.  

[misterhumphries]

On 1/13/2023 at 11:43 AM, Rod Hagen said:

I found none of it funny.  I find the story behind it's publication sad and beautiful.  Everything in it intended to make me laugh fell flat for me (and my friend).  It seemed overpraised, not-literary, and I must be wrong because it is beloved.  Oh well.  

No, you're not "wrong" your opinion is valid. As you state, that kind of writing and humor is not to your liking. Take F Scott Fitzgerald. Some readers think his novel The Great Gatsby is his best work. I, however, think all his novels were like lead. The short story was where Fitzgerald shone for me but opinions will vary.

[skynyc]

I tend to read some of the short episodes in Ethan Mordden's Buddies books in between other reads. I purchase copies of I've a Feeling We're Not In Kansas Anymore every time I see it at used bookstores and pass them on to the younger generation as a great look at life in NY pre-AIDS. I've probably given thirty copies away. I liken these titles to the NY version of Armistead Maupin's titles. 

 

[Rod Hagen]

On 1/13/2023 at 9:43 AM, Rod Hagen said:

I found none of it funny.  I find the story behind it's publication sad and beautiful.  Everything in it intended to make me laugh fell flat for me (and my friend).  It seemed overpraised, not-literary, and I must be wrong because it is beloved.  Oh well.  

I can't believe I typed "it's" publication.

[seattlebottom]

The view from the cherry tree by Willo Davis Roberts

[JourneysEnd]

There are books I can read over and over and still be entertained:

The Last Herald-Mage of Valdemar trilogy by Mercedes Lackey (fantasy with a gay lead character)

Drawing Blood by Poppy Brite (beautiful ghost story)

Liquor by Poppy Brite (gay couple setting up a restaurant in New Orleans)

Blue Heaven/Putting on the Ritz/My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan (laugh-out-loud farces from the writer of Frasier)

Lux the Poet/The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (farces with a British punk and fantasy spin)

The Watchmen by Alan Moore (iconic graphic novel that reinvented the superhero genre)

Forty Years of Murder by Keith Simpson (biography of Home Office pathologist)

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny