As we eagerly wait for this year's top most re-read book to be announced later this month, many wonder if the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowlings (currently on top of the shortlist) would be the most re-read book. Last year, it was Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves, which also won the Costa Book of the Year Award 2006.

A recent survey revealed last Friday showed that nearly 80 percent of Britons have re-read a book, with the Harry Potter series the most likely to be picked up again. People said they returned to the same books because they are fantastic stories of which they never tire, they find something new in each reading, it is comforting, they can relate to the characters and it cheers them up.

The current shortlist includes JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" as well as Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code".