When you’re a voracious reader, picking a top 10 is a daunting task. There are so many books that I’ve loved and in many different ways or for different reasons. Some may be because they’ve brought me to a particular sub-genre. Some I’ve loved perhaps because they struck the right note for me for where I was emotionally at the time I read them. And some are on my favorites list just because they have that certain je ne se quois that causes me to connect with the story and characters. Whatever the reason may be, AAR has brought me fantastic recommendations for many years thanks to the wonderful community of reviewers, pollsters, commenters, and visitors to our message boards.
My highly scientific method of decision-making consisted of going through my reading log and if a book made me squee with delight, I short listed it. Then I began the arduous task of narrowing down my choices to ten. My choices represent a variety of genres and styles, but all have become favorites of mine in some way. There are some glaring omissions, notably due to the fact that there are no medievals on my list, and a few favorite authors, while I consistently enjoy the books they produce, did not make the cut.
And so now it is time for me to pick my favorite children, er, books. Gosh, this is harder than it sounded at first. (more…)
Happy Friday, everyone, and welcome to a new installment of Pandora’s Box! Today Louise VanderVliet and Heather Stanton will be discussing 
I’m an enthusiastic lover of romance. I love the action and adventure, the sweeping sagas, the old school and new alike. But lately I’ve come to appreciate yet another facet of my favorite novels, the scenes of quiet domesticity. Sure, these aren’t the ones that typically grab your attention and make your heart pound. They usually aren’t even the ones you will remember after you close the book. But I believe they plan an important role in the development of the romance and give the reader a deeper understanding of the book’s characters.
Frequently as romance readers we discuss “conversion kits” – those books we would give a non-romance reader to try to get them to understand the wonderfulness that is our genre of choice. Usually we pick the best of the best because we want to showcase the cream of the crop and prove that we aren’t all (to borrow a line from the movie Elf) “cotton headed ninny muggins.” I’ve recently had some success converting not just a non-romance reader, but a non reader period into an enthusiastic lover of romance.
As I was reflecting this week on elements that unify us as readers, it occurred to me that many of my reading colleagues are also fellow animal lovers. I live in a house filled with rescued cats and dogs, which is by turns delightful and frustrating. Delightful because life doesn’t get much better than snuggling with a book and a kitty in my lap. Frustrating in that many of my books are now missing covers courtesy of a certain coonhound who has an affinity for ripping them off when my back is turned.
Romance reading is such a big part of my life for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the influence of my family members on my choice of reading material. I grew up in a household in which books were always a part. We always had multiple bookshelves crammed to overflowing, books in boxes, books in bags, and hidden under the beds. There was a variety of tomes, with a healthy selection of romance. Georgette Heyer and Mary Stewart existed peaceably alongside Dickens and Frank Slaughter.
