Tuesday, January 13, 2009

If your looking for reading material

Here are a few good/humorous/sad/ etc books, maybe something will strike your fancy.

Louis Lamour
He is my staple. When I find that I have no desire to read, I return to Lamour. His short stories are the right length for a time crunched reader, and even though the plots are predictable, and the heroes not so developed, it is still the old west, and the cowboys that America fell in love with. What Lamour does best perhaps is to describe the country, after all he travelled much of it at or just after this era. Here are some of my favorites.
~The Daybreakers (or any Sackett book)
~The law of the desert born. (not really a short read, but good)
~The Last of the Breed (my personal favorite, ironically, not about cowboys or the old west, instead Indians and the Siberian wilderness, a modern story about an air force pilot.)

Brian Jacques
This is what I read when I need it all, romance, adventure, mystery, and of course, talking rodents. If you can get past the fact that the characters are mostly mice, badgers, hares, moles, and a smattering of other woodland creatures, these books are a delightful read. Jacques began writing them so he would have something to read to the students at the blind school where he volunteered, so they are amazingly descriptive. In every book there is always at least one good feast, and his descriptions of the food will make your mouth water and make you wish you were a tiny mouse vegetarian. Another great thins about the Redwall series is that if you don't care to read them most of the books are on tape, and they have a full cast of British voices in varing accents so its wonderful to listen to. Some a the best:
~Redwall
~Mossflower
~Martin the Warrior (I still cry every time)
~The Taggerung
~Rackety Tam
I have all of the books that have been released in paperback, and am happy to loan them to anyone wishing to read them.

T.A. Barron
I love his history of The Lost Years of Merlin, and they are my staple wizard books.
the set includes.
~The Lost Years of Merlin
~The Seven Songs of Merlin
~The Fires of Merlin
~The Mirrors of Merlin
~The Wings of Merlin

J. K. Rawlings
OK Its childish, but the flare is true. Some of us did die a little when we didn't get our Hogwarts letter. I'm not so much into these for the epic battle of right and wrong, the relationships or characters themselves, but I love the world she creates in these books. When you can make a hippogriff sound so plausible, and have me checking the woods for bowtruckles, you have made something truly magic. I love to immerse myself in this world.
~The Sorcerer's Stone
~The Chamber of Secrets
~The Prisoner of Azkaban
~The Goblet of Fire
~The Order of the Phoenix
~The Half-Blood Prince
~The Deathly Hallows

Lori Wick
Honestly, not a big fan, but this is on my re-re-reread list. I still laugh, cry and hope for a happy ending, which I get. Every time.
~The Princess

Agatha Christie
I admit, I have not read many of her books, or I've only read one, But it was great. I read read it every now and then to see if I can figure it out, and after two or three reads, I still miss the signs. Until the end. If your looking for a mystery, try
~Ten Little Indians

I Suppose that's all for now, but I'm sure I go home and look at my shelf and have a whole new list. However, now I must go,
A good book is calling my name, and I must answer the call.

2 comments:

TKB said...

I like your list...it has echos of your personality running all through it! I should write one on books and see what mine would look like...

Oh! and you should borrow Lord of the Flies...you might've added it to your list. ;D

Melissa Phelps said...

i may have to dig out a nice Agatha christi. I hear 10 little indians is a good one, but I've never read it. Thanks for the recommendation :)(PS, I read Redwall w/ my lil bro... Lots of fun. Enjoyed it)