Speaking of repeated readings, I have a 70-year-old friend who says he has reread "War and Peace" every five years since he was 20 and it's been a different novel every time because he has been a different person each time he reread it.

I also know of a woman who claims to have read "Moby Dick" twenty-seven times. She needs help.

I remember an interview with Salmon Rushdie in which he said he tries to reread "Ulysses" at least once each year. I suspect that was more of a tribute than any reality.