Is there a book on your shelf that you love so much that you keep on returning to it to read it again and again? If so, what's the title, when did you first read it, and what draws you back time and again?

The book that I have returned to most often over the past 30 something years must be "The Man Who Was Magic" by Paul Gallico. It's a very simple story about a man who comes to a city of magicians seeking entry into the magicians' guild but, unlike the other magicians, doesn't perform magic tricks but is actually magical, and is thus met with deep suspicion. If I read it for the first time today, the cynic in me would probably brush over the story as yet another allegorical fable but, when I first read it, perhaps at the age of 10, the story just reached out and absorbed me. Looking back, I think it was because I recognized a part of me in the magician's daughter.
http://www.paulgallico.info/manmagic.html

I have two books that I read every year. The first is THE STAND by Stephen King. It is such a fantastic read about good versus evil and I still find something new in it every time I read it. The other book that I read yearly is PRINCE OF TIDES by Pat Conroy. His use of language is so beautiful that I feel as if I am part of the book instead of just the reader. I also re-read GONE WITH THE WIND (Margaret Mitchell), THE DOLLMAKER (Harriett Arnow) and BEACH MUSIC (Pat Conroy) every couple of years. Other than these books, I rarely re-read any books - there are too many new books to read - but these books feel like comfortable old friends.

I just love Little Woman and take the opportunity to reread this book by reading it to my daighters and now to my grandaughters. Also Rebecca by Du Maurier, just love the atmosphere and the story also.

THE RICH PART OF LIFE by Jim Kokoris. This book makes me laugh and cry every time I read it. I also have read GONE WITH THE WIND more times than I can count. It is definitely one of those books that if I read it for the first time now I would probably think it was hokey, but when I read it for the first time as a child I was swept away with the romance .... I and can't stand romance novels now. Probably because it had so much history woven into the story it is just a classic.

Like you, SusanR and JaneH! I have read GONE WITH THE WIND countless times since I first read it as a pre-teen. I don't know what it is about those characters (Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley, Melanie). Maybe because I read it first when I was young and impressionable, I have always felt like they are people I knew personally.

There are quite a few. I read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon just about once a year - I just really love the characters and enjoy going back for a visit. I also reread Terry Pratchett's Discworld series - though I just pick a favorite to read now and again. They are especially good for when your mood is down - they'll make you laugh. Similarly, Spider Robinson's Calahan series always gives me a pick up whenever I reread it. There are a couple others (some series if they are long I reread the first books in anticipation of a new one being released) but those are the big ones - my 'go to' reread books.

It's rare for me to re-read books, but when I was younger, I re-read both Gone with the Wind and Atlas Shrugged countless times. More recently, I re-read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.

I've read each of Rosamunde Pilcher's books at least 3 times, my favorites being September and Winter Solstice. Of course, The Shell Seekers is great, too, but the movie didn't do the book justice. Her characters seem so real - like they live just next door - and I feel like I am a part of the story. Her novels have depth, strong characters, and intricate plots. Her short stories also are entertaining.

One of my favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird. I could never tire of reading that book. The characters are like old friends and you don't want the book to end. I thought about reading it again since I have recently completed the book Mudbound and saw the movie version of The Help. I wish that Harper Lee had given us more books like Mockingbird. Not many books I have read over the years linger in my memory like that book.

My FAVORITE book is Catch 22 but I only re-read every few years. I've racked up far more reads of the Harry Potters, Laurie Notaro essays, The Time Traveler's Wife, Gone With the Wind, Forever Amber, the Shopaholics, the Hitchhiker's Guide series, Robert Asprin's Myth books, Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, etc. I re-read too much and am trying to stop!

I also have read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon several times. Such wonderful characters! And there's a lovely children's book called "Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch" that I read every year around Valentine's Day to my elementary classes. It's a very poignant story that adults can appreciate, too.