In fact I know a few people who feel the same, though I'm certainly not one of them.
I can understand where they are coming from. In many ways you will never be able to re-read a book and have it surprise and delight as much as it did on the first read. The magic will always be slightly diluted by fore-knowledge of what's coming, no matter how much you love the book.
Others will point out that with so many books to read, re-reading leaves less time for new ones. Similarly, with so many entertainment and time killing activities available to us in the 21st century, time available to devote to reading is so limited it makes no sense to return to something you have already read.
These are good points and I can't argue against them. Time constraints and an expanding TBR list will always put pressure on your next choice of book and I do try to go for a new one most of the time. But occasionally, just occasionally, I like to dip into a story I already know.
If I was trying to defend the literary benefits of doing so, I could perhaps suggest that re-reading a book for a second time allows the reader to appreciate the nuances missed on the first pass, or understand links and hints to further works that were unavailable at the time. But while true, who am I kidding?
I'm not really talking about books that are read for a second time to re-assess the original view. I don't think I've ever re-read a book a second time without going on to re-read it many more times down the years. No, I mean the books you dive into to allow the characters and story to envelope you. Wrap around you like a blanket on a cold winter's day. An old friend, familiar in every way, yet a joy to be with once again.
I think many of us have books like this on our shelves. They aren't always big, clever or important.They may not necessarily be the best books in the world or even amongst your favourites, but they have for some reason clicked with you and are infinitely re-readable; the literary equivalent of comfort food.
So here are 5 such books that have stayed on my shelf since I bought them and have been re-read on numerous occasions.
Magician - Raymond E Feist
OK, so when I said they may not be amongst the best or your very favourites, I have to admit that this book actually is. A classic of the genre, without a doubt, Magician is a towering piece of work that fully engages you from the start in a story that unravels over decades for one of the main characters across two separate planets, and over millennia for the other main character across the entire universe. Yet if that sounds daunting, it never feels it.
I first bought this book not long after falling for Lord of the Rings (a book that may once have been on this list, but isn't as I haven't actually picked it up in about a decade). Like the version of LotR I first read, the copy of Magician I found (in a car boot sale for 50p in about 1990) was the complete work incorporating two books, Magician: Apprentice & Master. In fact, it wasn't until many years later that I discovered that the book could be obtained as two smaller volumes (ditto LotR and it's 3 smaller volumes).
It was these two giant classics of the genre that initially lead me to believe that a fantasy book wasn't really a proper fantasy book unless it was as broad as the moon, a notion I eventually put aside after reading one too many fantasy books that were basically people walking endlessly on tedious journeys with very little happening across a book wider than it was tall.
Thankfully, Magician is never anything but engaging. Despite being chock full of wizards and princes and elves and demons among other now common Sword and Sorcery tropes, it is never clichéd, feeling a more fresh take on what one might consider High Fantasy, something I put down to Feist's wonderful characters and dynamic, yet accessible dialogue. Where other fantasy authors may try to impress you, Magician simply entertains and is a much better book because of it. With two direct sequels and a further two indirect sequels all featuring the same joyous characters, I highly recommend setting some time aside to lose yourself this world.
Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers - Grant Naylor
The gestalt entity that is Grant Naylor is actually Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the minds behind the cult BBC show Red Dwarf, which this book, along with the immediate sequel, is to a lesser or greater extent a direct novelisation of.
Why I like Red Dwarf is probably not too much of a surprise. I was 13 when the show was first shown in 1989 and I remember it was all my friends and I talked about the following day in Gym class, leading to a rebuke from Mr Mullholland who was more concerned with teaching us the finer arts of rugby than letting us discuss last night's TV. The show was like nothing I'd seen to that point. Sitcom's were supposed to be set in kitchen's or sitting rooms, not space; main characters are rarely killed off in the first episode and the word Smeg was unlikely to have been used in the Good Life (as great a show as that was).
Like a cross between Star Trek TNG and The Young Ones and in parts terribly juvenile yet wonderfully clever it became easily my favourite show. Whilst I loved watching Cheers with my Granddad or MASH with my Mam, this was a show that felt very much mine. They wouldn't like it... they wouldn't even understand it.
So of course I loved the book when it came out not long after. For fans of the show it's an interesting read as it presents many of the episodic events of the first 2 series of Red Dwarf as a linear story utilising 3 main elements. In some cases the scripts from those shows are presented almost word for word, in others the basic plots or scenes are used but are expanded upon to give greater detail or to make them fit in the new narrative, while finally there are a number of completely new elements that were never in the original show, added to give a much deeper background of characters and events or send the story in a different direction, the opening of the book explaining how Lister left earth and ended up on Red Dwarf being an example.
Familiarity is probably one of the main reasons for my enjoyment of the book. I can quote much of the first 5 series of Red Dwarf in geeky fashion (Ahem... not showing off... just saying), so having many of those scenes played out in the book is wonderful, though it's the differences as much as the similarities that make it so interesting. Many of the scenes depicted may be familiar, but they often lead to places some fans of the show would not expect.
Anyone interested in picking up this book may as well also look for the sequel, Better Than Life, as it tackles the third and fourth series of the show in much the same way. Even better, look for The Red Dwarf Omnibus, which combines both books into one volume with slightly expanded narrative.
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
I always loved Crichton's blend of thriller and science and have read most of his books, but Jurassic Park remains the only one to be re-read on numerous occasions.
Again, familiarity could be a main factor here. I love the film and have re-watched it on countless occasions, at least two times at the cinema before I was aware of the source book, which I bought only after seeing it mentioned in the film's credits.
Whilst the Movie did keep the main elements and plot, the book is much darker, dangerous and more of a techno thriller than monster chase. Fans of the film who haven't read the book should really give it a go, though trying to picture the characters as anyone other than Sam Neil, Jeff Goldblum et al may be a challenge.
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
I've mentioned my admiration for Terry Pratchett before, in the days following his passing and to be honest any number of his books and, indeed, Neil Gaiman's, could have made this list. But choosing a book they co-authored isn't a compromise.
Possibly the most re-read book I own, it's a laugh out loud funny, thoughtful and wonderfully entertaining depiction of the end of the world as overseen by a couple of less than competent Angels (one fallen) who decide that having known it was coming since the dawn of time would rather not see the end of the world now it's here because, actually, when it comes down to it... the world ain't that bad... really.
102 Minutes - Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn
For the final book I could have picked a number of novels or non-fiction books, but found as I looked at my bookshelf (and at one point the Kindle folder on my PC) that one book stood out as one I'd read a number of times over the past decade. Why? Morbid fascination? Empathy with one of the signature events of my lifetime? A wish to read about unsung real life heroes?
Where as the events of September the 11th 2001 are now mainly remembered for the geopolitical, social and cultural ramifications, the story from inside the towers and the history of the building and the emergency services that served it are rarely recalled. And I think that's why I find this book so interesting, it ignores the histrionics and concentrates only on the known.
It specifically looks on two areas. The history of the building and how it operated, taken from records and interviews. And the events of the day itself pulled together from emergency and personal calls made on the day from inside the towers, emergency service and military communications, official accounts and interviews after the fact. And I think therein lies the the interest for me. It is, if nothing else, a great example of journalism and writing in general, to be able to create such a readable and engaging story, based on such terrible events and using incredibly disjointed source material.
It's not an easy book by any means, but it is gripping and incredibly it tells a version of the story of that day that many people just don't know. What went on inside the towers.
So there you are, just 5 of a number of books I've re-read a few times down the years. Do you have books you regularly dip back into? Or do you prefer to read once and move onto to something new?
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