As part of the Blogger Blackout in response to #haleno we have gone quiet over the past few days although things will be back to normal tomorrow! But we thought we would post something positive and to show our love of reading and authors we have come across over the years that have given us joy. We blog and review about books because we enjoy it and we wanted to share and discuss the books we read which has given us sense of community over the years which we love and hope to maintain.
E: I fell in love with reading at a very young age. I can remember weekly trips to my local library and my incentive to learn to write was so I could get my own library card and check out more books. I was blessed to have parents who enjoyed reading and supported my interest. The librarians and the local bookstore employees, RIP Waldens and B’Daltons, offered me personalized recommendations. Books and the book world have been my happy place my entire life. They have taken me places, taught me things, given me ideas, and allowed me to face the world rejuvenated. Along the way I discovered the on-line book community which replaced and expanded my in-person network as I left my hometown and the smaller bookstores started to close. I discovered readers who liked the same things I did or different things; who would introduce new-to-me authors and series; who I could have spirited discussions with. Some of those readers were reviewers, editors, publicists, and authors many of whom have either knowingly offered personalized recommendations or have unknowingly been the cause of many a spur of the moment enjoyable read. Those who practice the craft have given me the tools to understand why something does or doesn’t work for me and how to explain it to someone else. I hope I can in a small measure at least give to others some of what I have received from books and book related people.
A few of the authors I have always thought highly of their professionalism and I regularly purchase in no particular order are below. I hope you find something to enjoy!
Lauren Dane
Ilona Andrews
Patricia Briggs
Jeffe Kennedy
Michelle Sagara
Tanya Huff
Rachel Aaron/Bach
Shelly Laurenston
GA Aiken
Anne Bishop
Dani Worth
Hailey Edwards
Katharine Kimbriel
Kim Knox
KJ Charles
Alexis Hall
Larissa Ione
Laura Anne Gilman
Lisa Shearin
Katie Porter
Carrie Lofty
Lorelie Brown
Louis L’amour
Meljean Brook
Moira Rogers
Kit Rocha
Nalini Singh
Robin D. Owens
Sharon Shinn
Thea Harrison
Vivian Arend
Zoe Archer
Cass: My oldest book memory is of my kindergarten teacher recommending I read the Little House books when we were at the library. Of course I refused because all my little friends were reading Clifford the Big Red Dog. Why would I want to read this book about some girl in the woods when I could read about a Monstrously Huge Red Dog?!
Eventually (when she wasn’t around), I wandered into the Chapter Books Section, bought real estate, and never left. It’s hard for me to judge when I fell in love with reading because I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t constantly surrounded by books…..
MinnChica: I was a big reader as a child, but for some reason quit reading as much during middle school, high school, and college. When my husband and I first started dating in college, one of his friends asked me if I liked to read. I had so much study reading to do, I was a little blah about reading anything else, but said “of course” because my love of fiction never fully went away. Well, she loaned me a couple urban fantasy books, and told me I had to try them out because they were such amazing reads. I think I blew through the three books she gave me (Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison and Guilty Pleasures by LKH) within days.
After that, I was re-hooked. Every spare moment I had I was reading. I went from urban fantasy to paranormal romance to contemporary romance to historical romance to science fiction romance to fantasy romance. I spent hours at my local library, checking out 5+ books at a time. My husband would laugh at me because I would have two stacks of books on my nightstand: read and to-read. 🙂
I’ll forever be grateful for Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Kresley Cole, Ilona Andrews, and Keri Arthur for reigniting my love of romance and reading. If I started a list of recommendations for you, my “Hell yes read these authors right now” list would never end. I can only hope that you find something that flames your passion for reading as much as these authors have within me.
Marlene: I think I’ve always been a reader. I loved to completely escape into a good book when I was in grade school, and I’ve never looked back. I discovered fantasy with Andre Norton’s Steel Magic, and of course The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and that, as they say, was that. (I read Narnia after LOTR, which seems weird in retrospect). I got hooked on science fiction via Star Trek (“NCC-1701 no bloody A, B, C or D,” as Scotty once said). I read so much that my mom thought it was a punishment to lock up my Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. I fooled her, I checked them out of the school library and kept them in my locker until she relented.
It is still one of my fondest memories that when I went to college, I was finally able to read at the dinner table. I still do. Everything is better with a good book.
Has: I remember reading my first big book when I was around ten or eleven, when my teacher encouraged me to try to read more. I was never a huge reader and I was apprehensive because the book he recommended me was The Neverending story and I remember it was huge at the time to other books I have read previously. I also thought the title was fitting, but I was intrigued with the premise and I always loved magical stories or fairy tales. The moment I opened that first paged, I was totally immersed into the book and ever since that point, I have not looked back and fell in love with reading and books. This book also gave me the love of the genre of fantasy, and I soon fell in love with the books by Tamora Pierce and her Tortall series, Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles and Margaret Mahy’s, The Changeover. But when I came across romance, that became my true love, authors like Johanna Lindsey and Nora Roberts and Jayne Castle’s paranormal fantasy romances were addictive.
I loved the idea of a couple falling in love against so many odds and so many different settings and backgrounds. It was also one of the few genres that could encompass so many different sub-genres and when I discovered paranormal and fantasy romance, I was in cloud nine. So it is not a coincidence that so many of my favourite authors have written Fantasy, SF or UF, because those genres are vibrant and colourful as well as full of imagination and with added dashes of romance, it is a delicious combination! E has listed many of my favourite authors especially, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs and Anne Bishop who have written and combined these elements in their books.
Because of my love of books, I am rarely without one at hand and I feel anxious without a book or my Kindle close to me.