I am currently reading all of the following...
Horns
A Time to Kill
The Far Pavilions
and
Wives and Daughters
Its a strange place I find myself in. Usually I can't stand to read more than one book at a time. So how did I get to FOUR? I couldn't tell you. But it made me think about how interesting and varied everyone's different reading habits are. How many books do you guys usually try to read at once?
(Note: I didn't make The Far Pavilions picture bigger on purpose, but so far it is my favorite of the four...and possibly my favorite of the year so far. We'll call it a fortunate mistake.)
1. Harry Potter series
Seriously. I know they're everyone's favorite books...but its because they're AWESOME. I could probably spend like 3 days just talking about all the ways these books are wonderful and all the reasons I love them. If you haven't read them...you're stupid. If you have, then you understand.
2. Anne of Green Gables series
Such gorgeous books. Anne was my first book love, and she continues her reign at the top. I love her so much. I read these books over and over again and love them just as much every single time. Also, don't tell Fiona, but Anne could kick Cassandra's (from I Capture the Castle) boo-tay.
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
A beautiful love story with a fast-paced and interesting historical fiction plot. I think this book has something for everyone, and it is one of my favorite books to push on unsuspecting victims. Of course the series is still continuing and is now ridiculously long...who cares. This one stands alone pretty well, you don't have to commit yourself to all 5 years of Outlander series reading time at once.
4. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
I list this in my top 5 because A) I need a classic in here so I don't look like a dummy B) I like it better than Pride and Prejudice and I love telling people about how Mr. Thornton could take Mr. Darcy in a sexy hero competition any day (bring it on!) and C) it just really is darn good.
5. A 3-way fantasy tie between The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the first 3 books in the Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey and the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
They are all fantastic, brilliant, and epic. They're all monumentally different from each other. I have a gargantuan author crush on Patrick Rothfuss (ask anyone), the Kushiel trilogy is radically different then anything else I've ever read, and Brandon Sanderson has already pretty much set himself up as an all time great epic fantasy author.
I have read so much good stuff in the past year though...I always want to add them to the list. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Soulless by Gail Carriger, and Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost all get Honorable Mentions.
Well, this marks the start of me trying to find interesting things to say. When we started our book vine several months ago I'm not sure if any of us knew what we were in for. We've got quite the dysfunctional family dynamic now, and this blog should turn out to be a hoot unless we totally screw it up.
I'm 23, the youngest of us all. I'm working on finishing up my degree in English. I hope to end up with a Master's in Library Science even though I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with it. In a few months I plan on moving to Norman, OK and accomplishing all that within the hallowed halls of the University of Oklahoma. We'll see how that goes.
Reading is, of course, my main hobby. I love reading anything and everything. I usually go through a period of several weeks with one genre and then suddenly snap out of it and move onto something else. I mainly switch between historical fiction, fantasy, paranormal and smut (I love reading smut with Jackie especially!). I love mysteries too, but I usually only end up reading them if they're part of a series. I especially love reading series period, because I get addicted to characters and don't like letting them go. I actually just finished re-reading one of my favorite series...the In Death series by J.D. Robb.
Trying to pick my favorite books and keep the list narrowed down is a ridiculously impossible feat for me. I won't even try. Hopefully as the blog unfolds I'll have time to regale everyone with most of them. My recent favorites are Soulless by Gail Carriger, Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig (which is 6th in one of my favorite series, the Pink Carnation books), and the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann. The only books I can claim as ultimate favorites are fairly cliche...both the Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables series.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture of my pride and joy, Sadie. I am ridiculously in love with her, isn't she cute?
