If you could only have one book to read and re-read the rest of your life what would it be?

Ouch. Probably Shardik.

The Book of the New Sun is runner-up.

Some sort of pocket mechanic book, full of scientific principles, mathematical formulas, technical specs, conversion tables, etc. I would memorize it and become an efficient and helpful member of society.

Can I have a series? If so the Harry Potter series for the growth of the characters, the creative new world, and the enjoyment.
If only one book, then it would probably be To Kill a Mockingbird.

Steam Tables. That or Handbook of Mathematical Functions. I seem to already be reading them over and over...

Mark's Mechanical Engineer's Handbook

Easy. Little, Big.

Complete Works of Shakespeare. That one can withstand a lot of re-reading.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

I second mamzel's suggestion of To Kill a Mockingbird.

If I can have the Complete Works of Shakespeare, then great. If I can't.... House at Pooh Corner. :-)

I think that if forced to choose between fiction and non-fiction, I would pick a book of important reference facts, as monohex does.

If we are really talking fiction here, it would be The History of Middle Earth series - I know, I know, but I love Tolkien's world so, and this is the most complete representation of all parts of it (even though in an 'under construction' form)

I'm shocked, shocked I say, that none of you heathens would take a Bible
O;)

A Bible or any religious text of your choosing would be one of mine however, I think I would rather reread Farmer in the Sky or Hitch hikers guide oh wait there is The Hobbit....always enjoy reading that story. So hard to choose just one. I would probably default to some religious/philosophy book. Tau Te Ching.

If you were told that you would only have access to one more book for the rest of your life, but that it could be any book in existence... would you choose a favourite that you have already read, or would you choose a new one that you haven't yet read, just so that you could get in one more book?

Non of the above, just kill me now and get it over with.

16 - Now that's more like it~!

Only one book?!?, it'd have to be the DSM so I could properly label the ensuing loss of sanity.

Oooh good question! If series are allowed then it'd beRobin Hobb's Liveship Traders for me. If single books only, then probably Glenda Noramly's Havenstar or Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana...

Cryptonomicon, as long as I was allowed a deck of cards too.

Knitting in the old way by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts. always something new to learn.

I would go get everything on books-on-tape instead :-P If that's not allowed, I don't know what I would do. At first I thought I would want to choose a book that I have already read so I wouldn't be stuck with one I didn't like. But, in the scheme of things, I've read so few books. Oh, this is too terrible to think about! Good thing this is just hypothetical.

...or is it?

Hey, if i got all my books, and stapled the back cover the the front cover, and on and on... that would be just one big book, wouldn't it?

If I could only have one book for the rest of my life it has to be something I love and can read over and over again and Pride and Prejudice fits that bill. Plus it always makes me laugh.

If you knew that by reading the same book forever, you would go crazy and "become" one of the characters, who would you want to become, and what book would that dictate that you choose?

LOL, I like that question KAzevedo. Have to think on it though. :)

Problem is, do you get to choose which character in the book you would become? Or is it chancy? Because I would probably pick Les Miserables, but not if I became Javert or one of the women. Only if I could be Jean Valjean or the bishop.

26> Easy. The wolf in White Fang.
And I love the question. It was that or King Kong...

If you become the main characters, that would often be...not so fun. The main character is the one that has to go through so much agnst and conflict. Do you really want to be them?

#29 - Well, if you are losing your mind, I imagine there would be plenty of angst and conflict anyway, so...

My daughter said she would take Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, becoming one of them, but if I had that book, I would want to be the Raven King.

@#30

I'd choose your daughter's pick too, but agree with you that I'd want to be the Raven King. Or would that be "Raven Queen" for us? No matter, for that book I'd go either way...lol

One book? Gone with the wind, series Harry Potter

>polly - Gone with the Wind was the book I read over and over again when I was a teen. When I had nothing new to read I would open GWTW to a random page and read from there. Glad you agree about Harry Potter as a series.