Thursday Thirteen #1

Thirteen books and/or authors that I read over and over again.

I am a voracious reader. My mother read us the entire Little House on the Prairie series when I was 5 or 6. I still have the first book that was my very own. (The name escapes me, but when I find it I'll post it because it is a fabulous book.) I have spent many a happy hour immersed in times and lands and galaxies far, far away.

1. C.S. Lewis - The Chronicles of Narnia I was given this series when I was 9, and have read it all at least 30 times. Yeah, I love it.

2. Terry Pratchett - Mainly his Discworld Series I have always loved sly, subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) British humor. This guy is a master. I could gush on and on and on. But I've got a time crunch here, so I won't. But really. He's the best.

3. Patricia A. McKillip - You'll see a fantasy/Sci-Fi trend here. I get lost in the worlds this woman creates, they are so vivid. If I had to choose, my two favorites would be Winter Rose and Ombria in Shadow. But don't make me pick.

4. Joan D. Vinge - The Snow Queen Obviously story is the most important aspect of a book, but atmosphere is a big reason why I'll read one more than once. The world in this book relies heavily on the sea, which I love.

5. Tad Williams - I recommend Tailchaser's Song and the Otherland series.

6. The Time Traveler's Wife - I've read this twice, so far, and I cried harder the second time. To call it an achingly poignant love story wouldn't do it justice. Warning: it has some rated R moments.

(Intermission: I have to be somewhere at 2pm, so for now I'm not going to link the rest. I might come back later to do it.)

7. Ray Bradbury - particularly Dandelion Wine, The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. The man is a master.

8. James Herriot - All Creatures Great and Small and the others that came after. Another series that colored my childhood and completed my transformation into a rather young anglophile.

9. Guy Gavriel Kay - All his books, but especially Tigana. In fact, I'm going to start it again today.

10. Anne McCaffrey - The Dragonrider Series My freshman Honors English teacher introduced me to some fine fantasy/Science Fiction and this series is one of the best.

11. Soul String by Midori Snyder - When I was younger my dad worked for a newspaper and would come home with boxes full of the review books. This was in one of those boxes and I think I've read it at least 5 times. Atmosphere + Story = Multiple Read!

12. Ellen Gilchrist - She writes about the sometimes wretchedness of humans and the human condition with compassion and a certain gold tinged nostalgia.

13. Vladimir Nabokov - especially Ada or Ardor, Pale Fire and Lolita. This man was the reigning master of luminous prose.

Well, there you have it. This time I went the "deep insights into my soul" route. If I do it again, I'll try to go for the funny. ;)

(whoops - forgot to say: This autolink is for Thursay Thirteens, this time)



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