I was so dissatisfied with GoodReads and the way their lists work, I decided to do the list on my own. And once I started this, I had to finish. OCD, and all that. I should have spent this hour writing, but hey.
So this is a long list of novels I have read more than once and probably will read again. Even multiple times. It’s a long list, but I’m sure I’ve missed dozens. As I remember them, I’ll add them. You will note that my tastes are broad and eclectic. Also, I haven’t included anything before about 1800, because I might admire Jonathan Swift, I don’t envision sitting down to re-read Gulliver anytime soon. Maybe you’ll find something here you decide to read, and then like. Or hate. Either way, I hope you’ll come back and say so.
- Adams, Richard: The Girl in a Swing
- Austen, Jane: Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice
- Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451
- Burke, James Lee: In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead,White Doves At Morning, A Morning for Flamingos
- Byatt, A.S.: Angels & Insects, Possession
- Carleton, Jetta : The Moonflower Vine
- Chabon, Michael :Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
- Chase, Loretta : Lord Perfect, Lord of Scoundrels
- Collins, Suzanne: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, 3 volumes)
- Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
- Colwin, Laurie : A Big Storm Knocked It Over
- Crusie, Jennifer: Crazy for You, Faking It, Welcome to Temptation
- Cuevas, Judy: Dance, Bliss
- Cunningham, Michael: The Hours
- Dexter, Pete: Paris Trout
- Dobyns, Stephen: The Burn Palace
- Dunnett, Dorothy: Niccolo Rising (House of Niccolo, 8 volumes)
- Du Maurier, Daphne: Rebecca
- Eliot, George: Adam Bede
- Erdrich, Louise: The Round House
- Franklin, Ariana: City of Shadows
- Gabaldon, Diana: Voyager
- Hardy, Thomas: Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge
- Hayder, Mo: Poppet (the Jack Caffery series)
- Helprin, Mark: A Soldier of the Great War
- Hunt, Irene: Up a Road Slowly
- Irving, John: The Water-Method Man
- Ivory, Judith: Beast
- Jackson, Joshilyn: Gods in Alabama
- Karuf, Kent: Plainsong (Plainsong, 2 volumes)
- Kerr, Baine: Wrongful Death
- King, Stephen: Misery, The Dead Zone, Dolores Claiborne
- Kingsolver, Barbara: Animal Dreams, The Poisonwood Bible
- Kleypas, Lisa: Smooth Talking Stranger, Blue-Eyed Devil
- Lawrence, Margaret: Hearts and Bones (Hannah Trevor series, 4 volumes)
- Lee, Harper: To Kill a Mockingbird
- Lehane, Dennis; Mystic River, Gone, Baby Gone, Darkness Take My Hand
- Leonard, Elmore: Cuba Libre, Get Shorty
- Márquez, Gabriel Garcia: A Hundred Years of Solitude
- McCarry, Charles: The Bride Of The Wilderness
- McMurtry, Larry: Lonesome Dove
- Mitchard, Jacquelyn: Second Nature
- Morrison, Toni: Beloved
- Moyes, Jojo: The Girl You Left Behind
- Munro, Alice: Friend of my Youth
- Niffenegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler’s Wife
- O’Brian, Tim: The Things They Carried
- Ondaatje, Michael: The English Patient
- Patchett, Ann: The Magician’s Assistant
- Phillips, Susan Elizabeth: Ain’t She Sweet
- Proulx, Annie: The Shipping News
- Puzo, Mario: The Fortunate Pilgrim
- Quindlen, Anna: Black and Blue
- Russell, Mary Doria: A Thread of Grace
- Russo, Richard: Straight Man
- Slaughter, Karin: Will Trent series (8 volumes)
- Smiley, Jane: A Thousand Acres
- Spencer, Scott : Waking the Dead
- Stedman, M.I.: The Light Between Oceans
- Stein, Jessica Davis: Coyote Dream
- Steinbeck, John: East of Eden
- Stockett, Kathryn: The Help
- Styron, William: Sophie’s Choice
- Tyler, Anne: The Accidental Tourist
- Wharton, Edith: Ethan Frome
- Wilder, Laura Ingalls: The Long Winter
And that’s it, until I think of something else to add.
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Thanks. Just what a passionate reader needs. I have read a few. And nos there’s more. I would add A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
I’ll have a look at A Fine Balance — thanks for the headsup.
storytelling | Novels I Re-read. And Will Again.So glad to see someone else likes The Girl In the Swing. I too have read and re-read many of your choices, but there are many there I have not. Looking forward to sampling.
I’m always recommending Girl in a Swing. It’s so well written. And creepy. Hope you find something interesting in the list.
storytelling | rosina replied to your comment on Novels I Re-read. And Will Again..Yes, it’s one of my favorites, and so different from his other novels. Have you read Hardy’s Two On a Tower?
Thank You for the list-it will give me something to read while I am waiting for your next book!
I hope you find something on it that you’ll enjoy. Please do let me know. And thank you for stopping by.
That’s a nicely diverse list. I’ve read a number of them and enjoying them. If it were my list I’d add :
Ariana Franklin’s “Mistress of the Art of Death”
Jacqueline Winspear’s “Maisie Dobbs’
Laurie R. King’s “Beekeeper’s Apprentice
Joseph Marshall III’s “Winter of the Holy Iron”
Ellis Peter’s “Brother Cadfael” series
Imogen Robertson’s “Anatomy of Murder”
And, of course, your Wilderness series
Petzi — I almost put Mistress of the Art of death on the list. Maybe I still will. The others you mention I haven’t read because generally traditional mysteries don’t work so well for me, but if somebody recommends a book I’ll give it a go.
Most of the books I’ve read more than once were because I needed to re-read for a book discussion. I hate recommending books to my book group unless I’ve read them first, so there are some in that category too. The book I read the most often (maybe 6-8 times) is Gone with the Wind, but the first 5 times were between the ages of 14 and 17. I actually signed up for a discussion class twice for two books: War and Peace by Tolstoy and The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Both are eminently re-readable and really required (for me) a guided discussion. I’d read either again. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice several times as well as A Tale of Two Cities. There are so many books I’d like to re-read, but I have a TBR pile just weighing me down. I MUST make a resolution to actually re-read a book I love.
Donna — You know what’s funny, I feel guilty when I re-read a novel because that means I’m ignoring my tbr stack. It feels like cheating on a new friend to go hang out with an old friend, I suppose. But sometimes I’ll look at that pile of (very promising) titles and think, meh. What I want is to re-read Persuasion. Or one of Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series. (Try to imagine two books less alike than Persuasion and Criminal. T’aint easy.) Or The Long Winter (I didn’t put any Laura Ingalls Wilder on my list, but I should have).
One other thing: I loved Gone with the Wind too when I was fourteen, but now I can’t get past the … Well. You know. I can’t even think about reading it again, unless it was for a discussion group. Or even better, a class. I wish I had access to classes like the ones you take. I miss the city.
I see several of my favorites on your list. High on my list is also These is My Words by Nancy Turner. I’m looking forward to re-reading the whole Wilderness series before reading The Gilded Hour!
Hi Mary Jane — I’ll put These is My Words on my TBR list. Thanks for stopping by, and for your support and encouragement.
I just finished a prior recommendation of yours “Thieving Forest” by Martha Conway. I found it a really compelling look at how hardscrabble life was for both the white settlers and the natives. Susanna’s growth into a woman of character and resolve was also a highlight for me. So thanks for that.