Fan Friday—Reading Books

by Robin Tidwell

Everyone reads books, right? Well, no, in fact, adults read less now than they used to. And as far as books go, no, Facebook doesn’t count!

Me, I prefer real books. The smell, the feel, the printed page . . . But I’ll read just about anything in a pinch: cereal boxes were a favorite when I was a child, because my mom didn’t like me to read at the table, even the breakfast table, because I could drag it out for an hour.

What kinds of books do I like? Some science fiction—I like to be able to pronounce words, even if only in my head, without a struggle each time; and it has to be believeable, as in “what if?” I like historical fiction, too, both the regular kind and the mash-ups, the “what ifs.” Murder mysteries, yes, especially series. Paranormal, magic, other-worldly, ghost-type stuff. Things that make you go “hmmm.” I like westerns, too.

To be specific, in no particular order, I like:

Stephen King

Dean Koontz

John Grisham

James Patterson

Tim LaHaye

Frank Peretti

Sidney Sheldon

Walter Farley

Patricia Cornwell

Zane Grey

Danielle Steel

Louisa May Alcott

Laura Ingalls Wilder

I also have a lot of author friends, and I’ve read many of their books—which I loved! But I also haven’t read and re-read them over decades, because, well, they weren’t available until the last few years. So if I left you off the list, don’t worry—ten years from now, you’ll be on a new list!

I have, at the moment, three favorite books whose authors aren’t mentioned above because I’ve only read one of each of their books:

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse

Mira Lode, The Grandma in the Apple Tree

And I highly, highly recommend all three! Obviously, the first one will take a sort of time commitment from you; the second would be considered, today, YA, and the last one is a children’s book. But they all fired my imagination, I still think of them fondly, and yes, I own copies of each.

What books and authors are your favorites, old or new?

 

12 comments on “Fan Friday—Reading Books”

  1. Margo Dill says:
    January 30, 2015 at 8:33 AM

    Sometimes, I am shocked by the books I like or don’t like. I REALLY tried to get into the Lightning Thief, but I just couldn’t. I REALLY, REALLY tried. But then one night when our power went out and I couldn’t sleep, I read by the flashlight app on my phone a romance (like Charlotte’s genre) called Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire and I couldn’t put it down. I recently read The Maze Runner and before I was done I was requesting book 2. And I have to say my favorite series which I’ve read and re-read and listened to the audio books and watched the movies–Harry Potter.

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    • Robin Tidwell says:
      January 30, 2015 at 8:42 AM

      Love Percy Jackson and Harry, but haven’t read much romance since, oh, a few decades ago, back when Harlequin would send you six books and a wine glass for like $5.00! Once in a while, I’ll pick up an old Rosemary Rogers – I still remember the story of Steve and Ginny – but I’m not a fan of the new stuff. Too explicit for an old fuddy-duddy like me!

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  2. conny1109 says:
    January 30, 2015 at 11:54 AM

    I used to like John Grisham, but after reading Gray Mountain I doubt I’ll ever buy one of his books again. To say that Gray Mountain was awful doens’t even begin to describe it.

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  3. marilynslagel says:
    January 30, 2015 at 2:24 PM

    Um, this could be more than you wanted. I LOVE to read and have been reading for over 50 years.

    Patricia Cornwell – my all time favorite medical author.
    John Grisham – love him
    Robin Cook – detailed medical thrillers
    Tami Hoag – murder, anyone?
    Barbara Taylor Bradford – family sagas
    Barbara Delinsky – love and romance
    Anne Rice – the Queen of the nights
    J.R. Ward – extremely hot vampires. Whew! Turn down the heat.
    Jan Karon – sweet humor
    Debbie Macomber – love

    I love to read books written by my friends. If you are my friend and your name isn’t listed, it is because your book(s) are on the shelves in my office waiting to be read. I’ll get to them.

    Therese Walsh’s The Moon Sisters and The Last Will of Moira Leahy
    Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s Bittersweet
    Bill Hopkins-series
    Sharon Woods Hopkins-series
    Robin Tidwell-series
    Claire Applewhite-series
    Peter Green

    and a gazillion others I cannot think of at the moment.

    Hard cover, soft cover, ebook – who cares? I’ll read anything.

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  4. drchazan says:
    January 31, 2015 at 10:24 AM

    What an eclectic list! I’m a huge Michael Ondaatje fan, and I’m now a Rachel Joyce addict (I’m about 2/3 through her last novel). But there are far too many authors I’ve read that I’d put on my list. One of them just passed away – Colleen McCullough. What a loss!

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