Sunday Fun Five #66:
#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
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.
These have great anecdotes about them. I never thought about Fantasy being seen as geeky, but then I don't think anyone much paid attention to what I was reading after high school. Weird when I think about it, but none of my friends seemed to discuss what they read back then, although all of us read. The only thing I remember was my college roomate trying to get me to read the Narnia books, ha ha, and a friend of mine buying me the Dune trilogy for my birthday because he loved it, and me not reading it until about six years later! What came to mind for me was both The Dune books and The Thomas Covenant series in the mid 80s. My life had a huge overhaul then: no more boyfriend, no more band work, starting a new college degree, and taking custody of my 12 year old sister. I really needed books that occupied the mind and those two series did the trick. They also brought me back to being what I consider a a "real reader" again. This was a good prompt, it made me think. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, you probably never got made fun of for reading books with unicorns on the cover then, did you? I was always lauded by teachers when I read historical fiction, but fantasy is always my favorite (because it's what could be/could have been). I haven't read Dune yet, but both of my brothers have slobbered over the Dune series, so that's probably why I'm reluctant. ;) I think whenever I have that much going on (as you did) I'm tempted to read all the fluffy books and leave the "hard" books for later, but I can see why it helped.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and adding your choices, La La!
~Litha Nelle