In this week’s 5 Best Books we are asked to list our Five Best Books: Re-reads. I love to re-read. Many authors I consider to be my favourites are based on of how many times I have re-read their books. All of the authors of this week’s top 5 are my favourite authors. Agatha Christie could have featured as a top 10 all by herself but I have restricted myself to only two of her books, one from Miss Marple and the other from Hercule Poirot. So without much further ado, here are my top 5 Re-reads.
1.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I first read Pride and Prejudice at 11-12 years of age. Ever since then it has been re-read many, many times. Nothing, of course, can match the thrill of the first read but this book never fails to capture my interest. Even though I know how it ends, I still fell anxious about the predicaments of Elizabeth and Darcy. My copy of Pride and Prejudice was a wedding gift for my mom at her wedding nearly 25 years ago. It is falling apart due to its age, the many re-reads do not help either. Time I got my own copy, I guess.
2. 
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie – Even though, I am a Miss Marple fan, for some reason Cards on the Table is the Agatha Christie book I have read the most number of times. The gripping plot is the main reason behind it but all the recurring characters is also a big attraction for me. This book features the most recurring characters of any Agatha Christie book that I have ever read. Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, Ariadne Oliver, just to name a few. As a ‘bona fide’ Agatha Christie fan that is nothing less than a feast for the mystery hungry soul!
3. 
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie – This is by far one of the best Miss Marple novels ever written. For those who have never read any of Agatha Christie’s works this is a fine place to start. Each re-read feels like the first time to me. The atmosphere of the book and the twisted nature of the main plot, never fails to creep me out. The freshness of the story never dims. One of my all time favourite comfort reads!
4. 
Dracula by Bram Stoker – How can a book that I have read and re-read so many times still fill me with so much fear and dread? I know the book almost by heart now. But Jonathan Harker’s experiences in the Castle Dracula, the count’s arrival in England, his encounter with Lucy and her mother, the Count’s evil presence at the asylum, it all still manages to scare me and I’m not a person who’s easily scared. A book worth every re-read it gets.
5.
The School for Scandal and Other Plays by Richard Brinsley Sheridan – The School for Scandal and Other Plays is a collection of five of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s most famous plays, The Rivals, The Duenna, A Trip to Scarborough, The School for Scandal and The Critic. Every writer has at least one or two duds, in my opinion. But Sheridan’s plays rarely fail to entertain me. As a result, The School for Scandal and Other Plays remains one of my eternally favourite books. Even after several re-reads I still laugh at the same jokes. This one never really grows old for me.
A Paperback Life 
I just can’t bring myself to re-read classics. If I haven’t already read, I don’t think that I will. I know, I’m a failure as an English major.
Thanks for sharing your list!
I had to chuckle about I’m a failure as an English major. 🙂
I don’t think that’s true.
Thanks for hosting top 5 books!
And I only read mysteries and classics. So, when it comes to re-reading the classics comes up quite naturally for me. But I don’t think not re-reading classics makes you ‘a failure as an English major’. To each his/her own. 🙂
I’ve only read two of them. Austen and Stoker. I need to get busy.
Hope you read (and enjoy) Agatha Christie soon.
Sheridan is a bit more difficult to like, I guess. He wrote plays for one. Many don’t enjoy plays. And humour is often so very subjective! Like I find the whole ‘confidante being mad’ dialogue I quoted in my review to be very funny but others may not. But still I would recommend it whole heartedly just for being my favourite. 🙂
I’ll start with Christie. But my one book by her is on its way to my new home in London so I won’t see it for a month. I actually don’t know Sheridan. I wonder if he’s on my list.
Oh too bad. But perhaps reading it in England, near its original setting would bring out the most of its flavour. What is the name of the book, by the way?
Sheridan is not that well known. I doubt whether any of his plays are in any of the ‘must read’ lists. But if you like plays you may want to give him a try. Though I would recommend reading him with a bit of a background info on him and his plays like I did. So much depends on the context when it comes to books from the 17th/18th century.