Which one book do you always go back to?

Silvio.Dante

Duncton Wood by William Horwood...

Trojan

Gemmell, Banks, Feist, Anthony, Pratchett.

The_Conductor

My one all-time favourite author has to be Isaac Asimov. While his scifi is excellent- his non-fiction works are also great reads (his 'New Guide to Science' is an excellent primer for any teenager with a science interest- but also tomes like 'A choice of Castrophes- the disasters that threaten our world' which rationally debate the many issues that cyclically arise- can be read again and again). The Foundation series was a very good friend of mine as a teenager discovering the sci-fi and fantasy genre.

I guess loads of people here are Philip K Dick fans- once you've read 'The Man in the High Castle'- any of his other works become must reads. This book in particular kindled a fire in my mind- all the 'What-ifs' something had or had not happened in history. The premise (of the axis powers winning WW2) has been touched on by other authors- such as Robert Harris (Fatherland), Murray Davis (Collaborator- set in a Britain that was occuppied in 1940), Harry Turtledove (Worldwar- the 4 of them) etc. It used to be very happen chance finding books like these- before the advent of alternatehistory.com and other useful repositories.

A good way of discovering gems that you don't hear about very often- and related to Asimov and PK Dick- is of course by digging out the Hugo Annuals from the 1960s. The many short stories often introduce to authors you might never have come across before- and also often may be the brief flash of inspiration that was never repeated for some writers.

I've also Arthur C Clarkes collected works on my book shelves- everything John Gribbin has ever published (I particularly like- In Search of the edge of Time) and many many others.

GisforGrenade

The Walrus and the Warwolf by Hugh Cook, it has to be the funniest fantasy novel I have ever read and follows the demented adventures of the pirate Drake Douay.

El Tarangu

"Day of the Triffids" - possibly my favourite book of all time.

And I've re-read a number of the discworld books, but that's usually down to inertia on my part - when I can't think of anything else to read, there are always fifty-million discworld books lying around the house. My Dad and sister are the same - at any given time, at least one person in the household will be re-reading some Pratchett novel or other

dermothickey

LOTR it's just everytime I re-read it there's better insights, though will have to do another round of Feists again

CiDeRmAn

smccarrick wrote: »

My one all-time favourite author has to be Isaac Asimov. While his scifi is excellent- his non-fiction works are also great reads (his 'New Guide to Science' is an excellent primer for any teenager with a science interest- but also tomes like 'A choice of Castrophes- the disasters that threaten our world' which rationally debate the many issues that cyclically arise- can be read again and again). The Foundation series was a very good friend of mine as a teenager discovering the sci-fi and fantasy genre.

Not sure about this one, he took a perfectly good Foundation trilogy and stretched to way too far, including the needless Prelude to Foundation.
Also didn't like his insistence in retrospectively tying all the books together, his many different series tied together in the later Foundation books, Daneel and all that... Don't like that at all.

smccarrick wrote: »

I guess loads of people here are Philip K Dick fans- once you've read 'The Man in the High Castle'- any of his other works become must reads. This book in particular kindled a fire in my mind- all the 'What-ifs' something had or had not happened in history. The premise (of the axis powers winning WW2) has been touched on by other authors- such as Robert Harris (Fatherland), Murray Davis (Collaborator- set in a Britain that was occuppied in 1940), Harry Turtledove (Worldwar- the 4 of them) etc. It used to be very happen chance finding books like these- before the advent of alternatehistory.com and other useful repositories.

Philip K. Dick, biggest genius of them all, and as nutty as a fruit cake!
Love his anthologies, most of his is all about self, and how do you know it's really you looking back at you in the mirror, methinks he was a little paranoid!
Love Alt History too, Fatherland was fantastic, Guns of the South great, try "What If" where real historians look at history and speculate what would have happened if one little thing was different.

smccarrick wrote: »

I've also Arthur C Clarkes collected works on my book shelves.

Arthur C Clarke, I cut my SF teeth on his short stories, and Fall Of Moondust and Songs of a Distant Earth are pure SF genius.

saruviel

GisforGrenade wrote: »

The Walrus and the Warwolf by Hugh Cook, it has to be the funniest fantasy novel I have ever read and follows the demented adventures of the pirate Drake Douay.

You might also like my fanfiction volume 11 of the chronicles of an age of darkness titled 'The Wyvvern and the Warlock' which is a work in progress finished soon, FREE to read at http://hughcookfanfiction.angelfire.com

the Walrus and the Warwolf was also my favourite story for many years when i was younger, but Julian May's 'Magnificat' I now rate pretty highly. a lot of people here like feists 'magician' and that is a grea novel as well. eddings 'Pawn of prophecy' began the belgariad with a bang.

Daith

Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett
The Scar by China Miéville

I think it's cheating somehow if I go back to read these when I've others outstanding.

scillaria

Every time there is a new wheel of time book I reread the entire series from the start. I now know this books so well that i just leave out useless chapters that have no relevance to the storyline. With the wheel of time books its love hate relationship.
Just finished my second read through of the malazan book of the fallen book series so currently waiting for the last book. Ive read the redemption of athalus every year since fifteen its not a particularly good book but nice to read a bit of fantasy fluff and try to read LOTR every year too.

Corsendonk

You reread the entire World of Time each time there is a new release!! Ouch Ouch. Do due to his death and also his ability to get distracted after book 5 the launches were getting longer and longer so you needed to jog the grey cells.

Magician was good and I always return to and the co authored books with Janny Wurts were as good as the Magician. Erikson Malazan books always open up new new twists and nuggets of knowledge every time I reread. George RR Martin A Song of Ice and Fire is brilliant but I am dreading that his output has slowed to a standstill with his recent decision to delay publishing and getting caught up with HBO filming of the book series.

Orson Scott Card Enders Game is a good book to revisit especially if you read first in your teens.

GodlessM

dermothickey wrote: »

LOTR it's just everytime I re-read it there's better insights

I can vouch for that. And every time I re-read it it pushes me to search out one of the History of Middle Earth Books (which are very hard to find) to get even deeper into the mytholgy.

Tehol

Always go back to the "Wheel Of Time" every few years. Takes a good 6 months from start to finish.:)

Lab_Mouse

For me two books that i have read numerous times are chasm city by alastair reynolds and magician by raymond e feist(have his first 6 books signed by himself)

Elfinknight

"On My Way To Paradise" by Dave Wolverton

Sleepy

That's some excellent thread necromancy!

Will be digging out a few of the recommended titles here.

For me, I'm currently mid-way through my 3rd re-read of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, during my younger years I read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles at least twice each and most of Douglas Coupland's earlier work has been read multiple times: particularly Microserfs.

Temptamperu

1984, wheel of time and the dark tower. I try to read them all at least once a year.

clashburke

The Hobbit is a favorite
GRRM A Song of Ice and Fire
Dragon Master trilogy by Chris Bunch ive read about 10times and keep going back!!

eaglebhoy

Any of Robert Jordans Wheel of Time books or Raymond E. Feists books or the series that got me started, either of David Eddings' the Belgariad or the Malloreon

nialo

Dresden files.. jim butcher - just love this series.

Liamalone

Wow, reading books a second time or maybe a third fair enough but over and over again ... WOW!

As if there aren't loads of books out there.

ixoy

Liamalone wrote: »

Wow, reading books a second time or maybe a third fair enough but over and over again ... WOW!

As if there aren't loads of books out there.

I'd be of this mindset. I have a pile of books to read and an even bigger one that I want to read. No time to go back over old ones, especially given the weight of many fantasy tomes (isn't that right Mr Sanderson!).

coffee_cake

I've read my wheel of time books until the covers fell off
I'd also go back to kate elliott and katharine kerr and peter hamilton a lot
very re-readable

Paddy Samurai

I have lots of books that I would love to read again,but unfortuately as others have already said.Too many books to read and too little time.At the moment I am buying two books for every book I read.Based on that alone, i will never get to read all my books.:(

eaglebhoy

Liamalone wrote: »

Wow, reading books a second time or maybe a third fair enough but over and over again ... WOW!

As if there aren't loads of books out there.

Oh sure I agree but I find that when I am in between books, as I'm an awful pedant for sticking with a series and not reading other ones at various times but prefer to finish one in proper order so as not to lose track of the story (although authors like a certain Mr. G.R.R. Martin fairly f*cked with that), I then like to go back old ones that I REALLY enjoyed the story in !

Doesn't mean I spend the rest of my life re-reading the same books only !