Lost in a good book

I love a good book. I love getting lost in a book. I love  the excitement I feel as I near the end and everything starts falling in to place. I love a book that can make me laugh out loud, cry, sob, bawl, get angry, and most of all I love when a book surprises me.

As a child, my favorites included all fairy tales, anything by Dr. Seuss and of course, my all time favorite, the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. To this day, when I need to read something familiar, something comfortable, something that feels like home, I re-read all the Little House books from beginning to end.

My taste in books is wide and varied, but I definitely lean towards sci-fi/fantasy as my go to genre.

My current favorite author is Laurell K Hamilton. She writes two series, Anita Blake, the vampire hunter and Meredith Gentry, the fairy princess. I'm in love with both series, but the Merry Gentry series is my favorite of the two.

Other books and series of books that I enjoy and would recommend:

Dean Koontz:
Odd Thomas (the first book in a series of books about the character Odd Thomas, the first is the best, I absolutely love Odd)

Gregory McGuire:
The Wicked Years (the entire series, Wicked, Son of a Witch and Lion Among Men). The books take the Wizard of Oz and put an interesting spin on it, looking through the eyes of the Wicked Witch. They are dark and a little hard to read, but definitely worth the effort.

Audrey Niffenegger:
The Time Travelers Wife (a beautiful love story, I was so caught up in this book, I sobbed through the last 100 pages)

Marisa De Los Santos:
Love Walked In (my most recent book, recommended by my friend, Anna, wonderful love story that keeps you on your toes and is not at all what you expect)

Harper Lee:
To Kill A Mockingbird (a classic)

Stieg Larsson:
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (a mystery, not my favorite genre, but once you get through the first chapter, it takes you on a wild ride you never want to end!)

Anne Rice:
I love most of what Anne Rice wrote, before she "found God", but my favorite was her series about the Mayfair Witches.

George RR Martin:
His series, A Song of Ice and Fire, is probably the best sci-fi series there is. My only complaint is that he wrote 4 of the best books I've ever read with characters that I love, but he's taking forever to finish the series. Thus far there are 4 books and 3 more to come, but no idea when they'll be out. I've read the first 4 books through twice in the last 3  years and am trying very hard to wait patiently for the last 3, my hope is that he's writing the last 3 all at once and they'll come out consecutively when they do. I hope!

JK Rowling:
Harry Potter (what can I say, I love Harry Potter.)

Brandon Mull:
The Fablehaven series (Kendra and Seth go to stay with their grandparents who run a magical preserve for mystical creatures, the 5 book series is wonderful, I only wish there were more)

Stephenie Meyer:
The Twilight series - I was boycotting these books. No way was I going to get caught up in the Bella/Edward/Jacob love triangle. Then everyone started telling me how good the books were, I didn't want to read them, but people I trusted said they were good, so I gave them a shot. I wanted to hate them, I wanted them to be horrible, but they weren't. I think Bella Swan is weak and pathetic and vampires aren't supposed to be shiny and glittery in the sun, but somehow, I didn't hate the books, somehow, they kept me on my toes, kept me entertained and made me fall in love with them. The movies on the other hand, they are crap. I watched the first 2 and they were so awful, I don't understand how people can watch them!

Stephen King:
I'm VERY picky about my Stephen King. Some of his books, I can't stand. I have never been able to get into the Dark Tower series, my mom and brother love them, but I just couldn't get in to them. Cell, to me it was just like he re-adapted the Stand, using a cell phone instead of a plague, not good. Others of his books, I love and could read over and over and over again. The Stand, Rose Madder, Insomnia, Duma Key, The Talisman (co-written with Peter Straub), The Eyes of the Dragon and short stories like The Mist, The Monkey, The Jaunt, Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, keep me riveted and show what a genius Stephen King truly is. 

Another thing that makes Stephen King so great is that the novels they turn in to movies, like Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and Stand by Me are so true to the original story, you don't lose anything in the translation.

My reading list gets longer all the time, which in turn elongates my list of favorites, I can't help myself. I love to read, I love to get lost in another time and place, to fall so in love with a character, I miss them when the book is finished.