My favorite books

 

I’ve seen a lot of ‘must-read’ lists recently so I thought I would add mine tot he mix. The books in my recommended list are in no particular order.  I read some of the books when I was younger. Most have impacted me in some form or another.  I have notes attached to most of them.

Comments?

 

 

The Last-Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey – I still re-read this series, and all of the Heralds of Valdemar books. Mrs. Lackey continues to add volumes, and books of short stories to the series.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White – Disney made the animated “The Sword and the Stone” from a small section of this book. Do yourself a favor and read the book. It is far better.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien – As long as the movie was, it still left out things. I’m glad I had read the books first.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London – If you are ever in northern California, check out the Wolf House, Jack London’s home. It is full of memorabilia. Only one Hollywood film showed ‘Buck’ as a St. Bernard, as he is in the book. I also love “White Fang”.

Watership Down by Richard Adams  - What a gem of a tale. A group of rabbits leave their home when it is destroyed by man and search for a new place. They must fight off enemies, complacency, and evil to find happiness. An animated film was made which was close to the book.

Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway – One of two books about bullfighting. This is a study of the sport by the traveler. Hemingway came to describe bullfighting not only as a sport, but as art and a spiritual movement.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – An end of one way of life and a beginning of another time. The famous quote is ‘How many children did Scarlett have?” The answer is three. Not the easiest book to read but one must consider the time period.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott – One of my all-time favorites about a knight returning from the Crusades to help get King Richard back from his abductor while saving a woman who helped him. Love, treachery, knights fighting to the death: this book has it all. Robert Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor starred in a big budget Hollywood production of this film.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers – classic children’s story about a British nanny who brings a family together. The literary Mary is nothing like the Disney version. Ms. Travers wrote a whole series about Mary Poppins and I loved these books as girl.

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory is the gathered stories of King Arthur and his knights. Many of the stories were taken from other writers and 're-done' while others were completely made up. You need a flow chart to keep up with the list of characters.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – Another classic. Charlotte teaches a pig about life, and death.

1984 by George Orwell – “Two legs bad, four legs good.” at least at first. Those of us who grew up with ‘isms’ read this book in school and I feel it should be read by students today. Many social issues are touched upon by the animals at the farm.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley – King Arthur’s story as told from the feminine point of view. A wonderful book focusing on the Goddess, or Old Religion.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls – the series is a great depiction of life in the 1800’s, the movement westward, and young girls growing up. Not to miss series!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – Another of my favorites, and the author is a lovely person to chat with, too. This series is difficult to categorize: time travel, historical, romance, adventure, fantasy : it fits into all of them. The cable series is good but do yourself a favor and read the books first.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales (the original versions) – I love fairy tales. A teacher recommended this to me when I was a teenager after I mentioned I enjoyed Poe. These are not stories for little children. The original tales were meant to scare folks, and kids, into being good.

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey – The book first appeared as a novella in a magazine. Anne expanded the story and it quickly became a success and turned into a series. It is one of my favorite books and I can read it over and over again.

Dies the Fire by S.M. Sterling – The first book of his apocalyptic series with an Arthurian theme. Each one is a quick read that begs to be read over again.

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton – the first of the Anita Blake books.  Over the course of the series Anita has evolved. At first, she was hesitant to take a life and tried to stay away from being romantically involved the ‘the monsters’ to accepting who and what she is: the Executioner and

Necromancer. These books are not for the faint of heart due to the violence and sex.

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – GRRM takes Tolkien and ups the ante with his gang of medieval monarchs, knights, soldiers, thieves, and assorted monsters. Watch your back in this land for everyone carries a knife, or vial of poison, and they’re not afraid to use ‘em. HBO series has been accused of taking violence too far but try reading the books. True medieval mayhem. Who will win the throne in the end?

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux –  the bar in which medieval romance has been measured over the years. Sweet, romantic, and a keeper. A favorite of mine.

Another Chance to Dream by Lynn Kurland – the contrast to GRRM, sweet romance set in medieval England. No sex, and a little violence but the happily-ever-after (HEV) is guaranteed. Quick read that you will consume over and over again. Lynn has two series set in the medieval/modern world. The Scottish series (MacLeods) and the English (De Piagets).

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – One of the best who-dun-it books ever.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley – Another of my favorite books as a kid and I can still read it again. The excitement in the Arabian horse community was off the charts when the movie was announced and it came through as promised. Walter’s son, Steven, carried on his legacy to write additional books in the series.

The Day of the Dolphin by Robert Merle – A book which questions whether we should use marine mammals for our own purposes and asks what would happen in a crisis. George C. Scott starred in the movie version of this book.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – I can read this over and over again. I love the illustrated version.

Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins – Ethics galore in this series. Could it happen? Let’s hope not.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo – Who doesn’t love the Godfather?

Jaws by Peter Benchley – When this book came out we all read it and then stood on the sand and watched the waves roll in – scared. Brilliant! I know folks who to this day won’t go in the ocean because of Jaws.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty – I read this book and I will admit it bothered me. There is some weird stuff out there. I know folks who have had poltergeist troubles. Some of my own experiences have bordered on the paranormal. Enough said.

 

Next time I'll list my favorite non-fiction books. yes, I have a long lost of those, too.

Enjoy!