Kowabunga

Hugh Hewitt is running an interesting challenge on the Blogosphere: What modern novels have you read more than once? Good question. My list is not overly long, and I am sure I am not alone in some of my choices:

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. These books need no explanation. They are rich in texture, and the characters are vivid. Heroism at its best.

Dune by Frank Herbert. I've read the novel Dune somewhere around 15 times since I was a kid. It is one of the most complex novels I have read, combining science, ecology, politics and sociology. I can't say I have reread the other novels in the series, and must confess I have not even read many of the others, however Dune is one of the greatest SF novels ever written.

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. I first read this one when I was a teenager, and read it for the second time shortly before the movie based (loosely) on this novel was released. I've read it a couple of times since then.

The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein. Heinlein's future history stories and short novels. Much of it is a bit dated, but still worth reading, and leads to the next entry.

Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein. This is the BIG novel about the life of Lazarus Long, Heinlein's best known character.

Nova by Samuel R. Delany is another fine choice. Intriguing storyline about taking a spaceship thru the center of a Nova to collect a rare ore that is the ultimate in power sources.

I've also read most of the Conan books by Robert E. Howard several times. Although there is some contemporary stuff written by other authors, they don't stand up to Howard's story telling. I'll sometimes go on a binge where I will read five or six of Howard's books (including his other works) at a stretch.

The Green Berets by Robin Moore. Read this is a kid way back when, and recently read it for the second time. A great read.

Although not a novel, another book that is quite enthralling is The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by John H. Patterson. This is history and adventure rolled up into one. It's the book that the Val Kilmer film, The Ghost and the Darkness, was based on. Patterson writes about his exploits in Africa hunting a pair of man-eating lions that were terrorizing the workers building a bridge across the Tsavo. If you thought King Solomon's Mines was a good read, this book will knock you flat!