SFF: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)

Sunday Fun Five #66:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
For the 20th of November: #67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner

A Countdown of

The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)

5. Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones
I think I've mentioned this about 70 times on this blog now, but Howl's Moving Castle has some serious mood altering magic (especially considering the incredibly sour mood I was in when I started it). I'm grateful to have found this one this year just when I needed it.

4. A Game of Thrones (ASoIaF #1) by George R.R. Martin
I was just out of high school when I found this one, and started reading it thinking it was historical fiction. Although it isn't really groundbreaking fantasy, the characters that fuel the feuds in this fantasy kind of are. Previously, I had always considered fantasy to be rather niche and nerdy, hiding my love of it. After reading this book, I was less reluctant to share my appreciation of the genre.

3. Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb
I was in a drought of new fantasy when I started reading this- I'd tried reading new fantasy books that everyone and their Siamese cat liked, but I found I couldn't finish them... until Assassin's Apprentice, that is. It fueled my binge-buying and binge-reading spree of Robin Hobb's works this year, though I've yet to devour her entire catalogue (I'm trying to pace myself).

2. Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas #1) by Dean Koontz
This book is one I picked up not even thinking I would like it. Nonetheless, it has compelled me to read an entire series with a newly adult white male as the main character (and generally, I try to avoid series with male main characters- unless there's an equally main female main character). This one restored my faith in the fact that some popular authors might actually be worthy (in my opinion) of their popularity.

1. All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small #1-2) by James Herriot
I read this sometime after I had to put my first dog, Jewels to sleep. It made me cry, laugh, and sometimes laugh and cry simultaneously at the animal antics and observations of a veteran veterinarian. It also helped me with my grief over Jewels's passing- something I hadn't expected a book to be able to do.

Which books have found you at the right time?