Week 4: 26 Weeks To Share meme
Week 4 -- Your favorite book.
From the moment that my third grade teacher realized that I needed glasses, and my mother finally took me to a opthamologist, therefore getting me glasses where I could see things properly, I discovered books. They became the gateway into a better and happier world than the one I lived it. And I didn't just read books, I absorbed them. It took me a little over one year to go through the county library that was just blocks from my house and read every book in the children's section. The library had a policy that only ten books could be checked out at one time. The first time I did this, I astounded the librarians by returning them back two days later. The children's librarian tried to tell me that I had two weeks to read the books. I didn't have to return them two days later. She didn't believe me when I told her that I had read every one of the books. I then gave her a synopsis of each and every story. She believed me then. But after that first year, I had a problem. Having read every book, and was always first to read every new book brought in, I needed more books to absorb. Reluctantly, Mrs. Schmidt allowed me to start checking books out in the teenage/young adult section, even though I was only nine y.o. This section was only a quarter of the size that the children's section had been, so it took me less than six months to read. [these books were much longer that children's books were and therefore took me longer to read]. Of course, I then wanted to read from the adult section, the thought of which both Mrs. Schmidt and Mrs. Miller, the adult book librarian, were against. I was by then ten. In order for me to check those books out, I had to show Mrs. Miller what I wanted and get her approval. She then made me read passages out loud from those books and then verbally explain what was going on. When she realized that I could understand and that the books I checked out were not too 'adult', I was permitted to read what I liked. After all, what library had really risque books anyway? Adult books slowed me down a bit. Ten books took me ten days to read. By the time I graduated from high school, I could read a three hundred page book in one hour and have actually read it, not just scanned it. Old age has slowed me down a bit since then, but not by much. Even with all my responsibilities, I can read a three hundred page book in one day.
So what are my favorite books? I have lots of favorites. {Quelle surprise.] None of these are in any order other than as I think of them.
1. Classic novels.
There are five that I have read over and over again, and the entire set on one author. They always keep my interest, no matter the repetition,
a. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.
b. Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
c. Lorna Doone, by Richard Doddridge Blackmore.
d. Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy.
e. Frenchmen's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier.
f. All books written by Jane Austin.
2. Romance novels.
Although these can also fit under "classic novels", all books written by Georgette Heyer. All of her books are wonderfully written and are so true to their era that Jane Austin could have read them and not found them strange.
3. Spy novels.
Helen MacInnes. All her books are suspenseful and her characters interesting. Yes this genre is probably dated, but I like her a lot.
4. Detective/mystery novels.
a. Dorothy Sayers. Her Lord Peter Wimsey series is not to be missed.
b. Laura Joh Rowland. Her Sano Ichirō series, based in late 16th century Japan is marvelous and very lush descriptively.
c. Robert Parker. His Jesse Stone series is amazing. I have not gotten into his Spencer series. He died just recently and I will miss his books.
d. Donna Andrews. Her Meg Langlow series is well-written and very funny.
e. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. Although this could also be included in the classic novel section, the Moonstone is the precursor of all detective novels.
5. Science fiction.
a. Robert Heinlein. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Starship Troopers. Double Star. All wonderful entralling stories.
b. Michael Moorcock. I have read everything he has published.
c. Robert Asperin. His Phule's Company series.
d. Keith Laumer. His Retief series.
6. Fantasy.
This is going to be hard to list as fantasy is my favorite genre.
a. J.R.R. Tolkien. What can I say that has not already been said a million times. By far and away the best fantasy writer of all time.
b. Fritz Leiber. His Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series.
c. L. Sprague de Camp. All of his writings, which also encompassed science fiction.
d. Anne McCaffery. All of her writings, which also encompasses science fiction.
e. Patricia McKillip. Her Riddlemaster trilogy. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Her early writings were so lyrical as to be most poetical. The only bad thing is that she was not able to keep that style up and her subsequent books, while interesting, do not have that same lyrical quality.
From the moment that my third grade teacher realized that I needed glasses, and my mother finally took me to a opthamologist, therefore getting me glasses where I could see things properly, I discovered books. They became the gateway into a better and happier world than the one I lived it. And I didn't just read books, I absorbed them. It took me a little over one year to go through the county library that was just blocks from my house and read every book in the children's section. The library had a policy that only ten books could be checked out at one time. The first time I did this, I astounded the librarians by returning them back two days later. The children's librarian tried to tell me that I had two weeks to read the books. I didn't have to return them two days later. She didn't believe me when I told her that I had read every one of the books. I then gave her a synopsis of each and every story. She believed me then. But after that first year, I had a problem. Having read every book, and was always first to read every new book brought in, I needed more books to absorb. Reluctantly, Mrs. Schmidt allowed me to start checking books out in the teenage/young adult section, even though I was only nine y.o. This section was only a quarter of the size that the children's section had been, so it took me less than six months to read. [these books were much longer that children's books were and therefore took me longer to read]. Of course, I then wanted to read from the adult section, the thought of which both Mrs. Schmidt and Mrs. Miller, the adult book librarian, were against. I was by then ten. In order for me to check those books out, I had to show Mrs. Miller what I wanted and get her approval. She then made me read passages out loud from those books and then verbally explain what was going on. When she realized that I could understand and that the books I checked out were not too 'adult', I was permitted to read what I liked. After all, what library had really risque books anyway? Adult books slowed me down a bit. Ten books took me ten days to read. By the time I graduated from high school, I could read a three hundred page book in one hour and have actually read it, not just scanned it. Old age has slowed me down a bit since then, but not by much. Even with all my responsibilities, I can read a three hundred page book in one day.
So what are my favorite books? I have lots of favorites. {Quelle surprise.] None of these are in any order other than as I think of them.
1. Classic novels.
There are five that I have read over and over again, and the entire set on one author. They always keep my interest, no matter the repetition,
a. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.
b. Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
c. Lorna Doone, by Richard Doddridge Blackmore.
d. Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy.
e. Frenchmen's Creek, by Daphne du Maurier.
f. All books written by Jane Austin.
2. Romance novels.
Although these can also fit under "classic novels", all books written by Georgette Heyer. All of her books are wonderfully written and are so true to their era that Jane Austin could have read them and not found them strange.
3. Spy novels.
Helen MacInnes. All her books are suspenseful and her characters interesting. Yes this genre is probably dated, but I like her a lot.
4. Detective/mystery novels.
a. Dorothy Sayers. Her Lord Peter Wimsey series is not to be missed.
b. Laura Joh Rowland. Her Sano Ichirō series, based in late 16th century Japan is marvelous and very lush descriptively.
c. Robert Parker. His Jesse Stone series is amazing. I have not gotten into his Spencer series. He died just recently and I will miss his books.
d. Donna Andrews. Her Meg Langlow series is well-written and very funny.
e. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. Although this could also be included in the classic novel section, the Moonstone is the precursor of all detective novels.
5. Science fiction.
a. Robert Heinlein. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Starship Troopers. Double Star. All wonderful entralling stories.
b. Michael Moorcock. I have read everything he has published.
c. Robert Asperin. His Phule's Company series.
d. Keith Laumer. His Retief series.
6. Fantasy.
This is going to be hard to list as fantasy is my favorite genre.
a. J.R.R. Tolkien. What can I say that has not already been said a million times. By far and away the best fantasy writer of all time.
b. Fritz Leiber. His Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series.
c. L. Sprague de Camp. All of his writings, which also encompassed science fiction.
d. Anne McCaffery. All of her writings, which also encompasses science fiction.
e. Patricia McKillip. Her Riddlemaster trilogy. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Her early writings were so lyrical as to be most poetical. The only bad thing is that she was not able to keep that style up and her subsequent books, while interesting, do not have that same lyrical quality.