[Evisse the Blue]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

How strange though that there are so many other Tolkien readers who also like Austen - I also re-read Austen. What does this mean? I suppose that we like good writing!

Yes, this is the most obvious explanation.

There are books that I love the first time around but I don't exactly feel like re-reading them, even after a long time. But with LOTR, it's different, from time to time I feel the need to pick it up again, even if it's just to read a passage or two, though most of the times, I read it from start to finish. One of my favourite luxuries is to sit in an armchair at night, with a cup of hot chocolate close by and read LOTR, without having to worry about getting up early the next day. It's more than just the pleasure of reading though, it's like (to paraphrase Lalwendë's beautiful ex-sig), I try with the words to awaken the feeling.

Originally Posted by propagandalf

Because reading LOTR makes me feel safe. (like chocolate).

Weirdly enough, I understand that perfectly. I get that especially with the first part of FOTR.

Other books that I've re-read (though not for the same reasons) - some have been mentioned here before:

Silmarillion, Hobbit, Unfinished Tales (it feels like I'm throwing them all here like apples in a basket )
Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
Edgar Allan Poe's Stories - uh, Poe, I guess
The Last Unicorn - Peter Beagle
Possession - A.S. Byatt
Some Shakespeare plays
The Magician - John Fowles
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Midsummer's Night - Mircea Eliade (that's a book I recommend to everyone on this forum, hopefully you'll find it translated).

I also re-read children's books, (most of thier titles I wouldn't even know how to translate in English), just because I still love them a lot. Among those there's one of my favourite books ever, a collection of Italian folk tales, put together by Luigi Capuana. That book can be read and enjoyed by anyone, no matter their age.