Perusing my Bookshelf

I thought I would talk about some of the books that didn't make my all-time favorites list but which I have thoroughly enjoyed (4 - 4 1/2 stars out of 5).  I will just let my eyes meander over my shelves, looking for books I couldn't part with...no particular order.

1. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen...falls somewhere between a murder mystery and romance.  I did not guess who turned out to be the murderer.  It was a clever surprise.

2. The Princess Bride by William Goldman...book on which the movie was based.  Purports to be edited down from the original by S. Morgenstern by William Goldman.  Had the hardest time deciding whether this was a joke.  What do you think?  Such a tender love story.  Sigh.

3. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith...coming of age story written by the author of 101 Dalmatians.  Was out of print for quite a while, but recently (within the last 5 or so years) re-issued.

4. My Lori Wick books, especially Sean Donovan and The English Garden Series.  One of my favorite Christian romance authors.  I read her books whenever I need a comfort book and/or easy read.

5. The Giver/The Messenger/Gathering Blue Lois Lowry...YA books with a creepy dystopian plot.  Give me the shivers.

6. The Hunger Games/Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins...also YA books, along the same lines of the Lois Lowry books.  This author is a new discovery for me and I am eagerly awaiting the third installment of this series.

7. Anything by Ann Coulter, but only if you are a conservative.

8. The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini...despite the cruelty portrayed, these are beautifully written books.

9. I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb...it's been a long time since I've read this, but I remember being completely absorbed.

10. Bridget Jones' Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding...Bridget Jones was the book that led me to Jane Austen.  The first one is a rework of P&P and the second one of Persuasion.  The scene where Bridget Jones interviews Colin Firth in the second book is, I think, the funniest thing I have ever read.  Warning:  these are books for grown-ups.

11. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian...I read this before it was an Oprah book.

12.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett...also read this (long) before it was an Oprah pick.

13. This Present Darkness/Piercing the Darkness...by Frank Peretti...exciting books about spiritual warfare.

14.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows...just read this and loved it.  Epistolary novel set just after the German occupation of Guernsey.  Romance, heroics, and just plain good characters.

15. D.E. Stevenson's books, including Celia's House, Listening Valley, Still Glides the Stream, and Shoulder the Sky.  Just discovered this author from Jen Robinson's Book Page.  The books are out of print and difficult to find, but well worth the effort.

16. The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.  This includes The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  The "Girl" in question is Lisbeth Salander, one of the most interesting heroines I have encountered.  I don't think I would like her in real life, but I sure root for her on the page.  My Aunt Susie called to say that she was so mad at Stieg Larsson for dying [after he submitted the three books to his editor].  Savor these three books because there are not any more coming.

17.  Any Regency romance by Georgette Heyer.  After Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer is the best Regency period writer out there.  She is known for her detailed research into the Regency era as well as her sense of humor.  See especially her first book written at age 15, The Black Moth, and it's two sequels written later in her life, These Old Shades and Devil's Cub.  Note that Heyer changed the names of many characters between the first two books.  I had to make a key.

18. All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful.  My Grandma Gilliland read and re-read these stories during her last days.  Enough said.

More to come...