7 Books (or Series) I'll Read Over and Over (and over... and over...)

We all have them - those favorites that we just can't read only once and then set on the shelf to be forgotten.

The books that are so frequently read they're starting to fall apart and we have to consider buying a new copy. (Some of us might even have our favorite passages highlighted or underlined.)

The childhood treasures you never stop loving even though you're not a child anymore (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Cross-With-Us Rhinoceros, Harry Potter).

The old friends that make us smile every time we turn a page or finish the book.

Or the ones we may save for special occasions, even if that's only once a year (A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express at Christmastime come to mind).

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. The O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson I really do come back to this series over and over again. It's a Christian suspense series that follows the O'Malley family as they battle their youngest sister's cancer; life in their jobs (seriously, we have a hostage negotiator, a U.S. Marshal, a firefighter, a forensic pathologist, a child trauma psychologist, a paramedic, and a pediatrician); find romance; and return to believing in God. I swear, I need to just write a review on each book in the series.
   

2. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton I don't remember when or why I first picked up The Outsiders, but I think I was around Hinton's age when she first wrote it (15 when she first started it, 17 when it was published, according to an article on MentalFloss.com celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book). And now I want to go read it again! (Actually, I couldn't wait and started it while still working on this blog post... Ponyboy and Johnny are running away and some drunk Socs have just found them.) I love how I'm sucked into the story every single time, how we get a glimpse into life as S.E. Hinton was familiar with, how things are rough all over.
   

3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen I know I was still in my early teens when I first found this book and read it once then, but didn't touch it again until I was an adult. Now I'm working on my fourth(?) time reading it (the Bennett girls have just met Wickham). I love watching how these characters learn and grow, and how I can relate to each of them.
   

4. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Because Harry Potter.
   

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Not gonna lie - I didn't fall in love with The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings until the Lord of the Rings movies in the early '00s. (Has it really been almost 20 years since the first one came out???) I'm not even sure I read the books before then. But once the movies came out, and I was in awe, I had to go get the books! The adventure, the friendships, the battles, the history, overcoming (or succumbing to) temptation. In fact, I recently listened to The Hobbit on Audible, the version narrated by Rob Inglis and oh my gosh it was amazing!
   

6. Merry Chris Witch by C.K. Dawn I love stories that take place at Christmastime, and this charmingly hilarious novella definitely goes on my list of favorites. Chris Heron is a male witch who is kicked out of coven school (on Halloween, no less!) for breaking the rule not to use magic around normal people and is sent to a public magic school with elves and mermaids and trolls and fairies and hates every minute of it until he meets the mystery girl from the North Pole and learns to "see the true magic all around him" (Amazon & Goodreads). A quick read, finished in only a sitting or two.
   

7. A Knitting Mystery series by Maggie Sefton I love cozy mysteries, and one that has knitting involved too? That was right up my alley. The series follows CPA Kelly Flynn on her knitting and sleuthing journey, starting with solving her great-aunt's murder while learning how to knit a scarf in Knit One, Kill Two. Thankfully, this is not one of those series where the cops are jerks and immediately think the main character did it or whoever the prime suspect is and won't bother looking for other evidence. (Seriously, I've read books like that. Didn't make it past the first chapter. Ugh.) If Kelly and her friends get involved, they either tell the police themselves any information they've learned, or pass it along through their friend Burt, a retired policeman. Also, Kelly's unease with each new project she tries--certain she's going to mess up and ruin everything--is a balm for other beginner knitters, and even those who've been knitting for years.

Well, there you have it. If you're looking for new books to read, I hope these might give you some ideas. What are some books that you would read over and over again? Share your favorites below.