Friday, March 31, 2006
FAVORITE BOOKSThis is me, engaged in my favorite pastime at my favorite place. Ahhhhh . . . I can almost feel the warm breeze and smell the salty air.
Okay, back to reality, and back to the topic at hand--books. We all read 'em, we all love 'em, but let's face it. We love some more than others.
One book gently beckons you when you have nothing to do and it's a boring TV night, while another book insists you forget your schedule, forget your to-do list, and forget your family. It won't let you go, and you have to know what happens next, even if you've read the book five times.
For me, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of those books. No matter how many times I read it, no matter that I already know what's gonna happen and have certain lines committed to memory, I can't put the book down. The tension between the hero and the heroine keeps me riveted. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte has the same effect on me.
What about you? What book has kept you glued to your favorite recliner, kept you up way past bedtime, or begged to be read over and over?
15 Comments:
Ah, talking about books is my favorite subject, D! Love the hat! My all time favorite book is no surprise to anyone--it's THE STAND. No matter how many times I've read it (over 30 now), it sucks me right back into it when I read the first paragraph. But read the edited version. Even Stephen King needs an editor, and the uncut version is too bloated and rambles on in places.
I would love to be where you are in this pic :)
My most favorite book in the world is Christy by Catherine Marshall. I read it 3 times but somehow or another through the years I no longer have a copy of it, I guess I thought since I read it that many times I no longer needed a copy of it. But I as I get older I am now holding on to things like that and have requested a copy for mother's day.
well, i have a few books that i just can read over and over and over again, and just open randomly and start reading. however, i have a mind blank and can't think of them now! silly me. but a few years ago i read harry potter 1-4 and i read all 4 in three days. now THAT is dedication! i was unemployed at the time and housesitting for my aunt, and my cousins had the books and i just sat on the couch and read for three days nonstop! i thought that was impressive.
I agree, Jane Eyre is a good book. I've read it multiple times, and it never gets boring. Another book that I never tire of reading is Kansas Brides. I like everything about the four stories in it, especially the characters. My favorite of those four, also my all-time favorite, is Never a Bride. Jane Cooper just seems so real in that story, and sometimes she seems so much like me it’s scary. I also really like Home for Christmas and Reunions. Right now, I’m saving up to get Mending Places, Saving Grace, Finding Faith, and a few others.
Um, I'm heading up to a spa (gave Kristin a mention on my blog today, you know, for ALL my fans to see :-)
Anyway, I'm bringing a copy of She's All That to read again. Seriously. (ta-ta)
Julie, I was talking to my agent the other day about getting a pedicure, and she hadn't had one in awhile -- and she asked "Why is this acceptable conversation?"
And I said, "Because I write the Spa Girls. It's business."
As for favorite books I've read again and again: Far From the Madding Crowd, Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina. I pick a classic up every few months, so I can know I can't write for caca. LOL
Funny you mention it Denise, because I just finished writing in my blog how Finding Faith came in the mail yesterday and I had to abandon the other books I was in the middle of so that I could read it. No lie.
I love being rivited to the page. And I'm like Kristin, I read to remind myself why I'm not published yet...okay not exactly like Kristin! LOL! Her's rivit me to the page!
You know, I thought of another book that I think is a classic. The Thorn Birds. If you're a writer, read how she sets up her characters (A LOT OF THEM) in the first four pages over a birthday doll. It's pure art!
One of my all time favorites is John, Son of Thunder by Ellen Gunderson Traylor. I've read it at least half a dozen times and given away that many copies. I finally got an autographed copy!
I think I've read Little Women by Lousia May Alcott more times than should be allowed... I have at least 6 copies of the book! I still cry every time Beth dies.. the page is literally tearstained. But the ones I can't put down are The Guardian by Dee Henderson and Rose In Bloom by Lousia May Alcott. Oh yeah! All the Anne of Green Gables books! Anyone who hasn't read the whole series has missed a treat.
Favorite books for me are anything by Karen Kingsbury, once I start them I cannot put them down and each one has me in tears throughout the story. Redeeming Love is a favorite-I own two copies, one for me and one for loaning out! Another is The Debt by Angela Hunt, I think this is a life changing book with some deep truth to it. It changed my thinking. And for non-fiction (is there such a thing?) what changed our lives (my family) is The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We sold out house after reading that one and are on our way to being debt free!
It varies. I love suspense by Wanda Dyson, Colleen, Brandilyn and Dee Henderson. Can't put em down once I pick them up. And then every once in awhile, I will encounter a women's fiction that is the same way, that somehow the plot keeps me surprised and the charcters pull me so deeply into their lives I don't want to escape. Denise's Mending Places was phenomenal in that regard; and Even Now by Karen Kingsbury kept me turning the pages.
When I start to read a book and get thoroughly wrapped up in it, I have the hardest time getting my mind and body back to reality. I just want to know what is going to happen to the character so it really interupts my day to have to go to work and the "Real World". The book I am reading now that does this to me is The Dwelling Place by Elizabeth Musser. I am really enjoying it and have my little asides to her every once and awhile and I'm not even a writer, just a fan of Christian Fiction, especially Contemporary or suspense, so I have read all of your books Colleen, continue in the pursuit of fantabulous engaging stories.
Ok, so I am a huge fan of all of you... so here are my top 5 books that I can read over and over again:
1)The Bridge over Flatwillow Creek by Lance Wubbels (it's old and out of print, but I love it)
2) The Cheney Duvall Series by gilbert Morris
3) Kristen's Ashley books, especially What a Girl Wants (have read it 4 times!)
4) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5) any of the Harry Potter books: Even though I'm a Christian, I think the imagery and the imagination and how I dont have to think to read one is really relaxing and a good break when I need one.
I'm another vote for Redeeming Love. I've read it multiple times and every time I cry during the scene toward the end in the saloon. There are a number of writers whose work I love, but in my opinion no one matches Francine Rivers for telling a riveting story about characters you come to know and care about that also weaves in a life-changing message without beating you over the head with it.
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