I personally don't find it peculiar to read a favorite book over and over, and Tolkien is not the only book I will seek out. Through the years I have read and re-read:
"I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" by Robert Graves
"A Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin
"Dombey and Son" by Dickens
Anne Rice's "Interview With the Vampire"
"Once and Future King"
"Last Unicorn"
"Maia" by Richard Adams (OK, it's a bodice-ripper, but a very good bodice ripper!)
The list goes on and on. Few books survive for long on my bookshelves if I'm not drawn to re-read them, and I can usually tell right from the start which ones will be "one night stands". [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
The common element for all of them (besides a list heavily skewed towards fantasy) is the wealth of detail, the complex characters, and the incredibly beautiful, deep writing style of the authors. I am not reading a book when I choose these authors; I'm entering worlds.
I could no more read a favorite book only once or twice then I could visit a dear friend only once or twice. Doesn't everyone feel that way?
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