reading meme: day one

Nabbing this meme from –it looks like fun. 30 days of answering questions about favorite books and things. I’ll put the whole list of questions behind the cut so people can nab it easily if they want, but day one is:

Your favourite series of books (with more than 3 in the series)

The Belgariad, by David Eddings: Okay, so maybe I’m still fourteen at heart, and maybe they’re classic predictable fantasy tropes, but I still love those books. Especially Silk and Barak, who remain among my favorite characters ever.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence, by Susan Cooper: I think part of the reason I love these above and beyond all the other fantasy I read as a kid is that the magic doesn’t…quite…go away. It more goes on hiatus, with the hope of returning someday. And this is the only series which ever inspired me to memorize poetry, which I can still quote, lo these thirty years later. Honestly, I think this is one of the greatest series in the genre.

The J.P. Beaumont books, by J.A. Jance: I actually need to go back and catch up on these, as it’s been years since I’ve read them, but these detective novels set in Seattle are among my favorites, for, among other reasons, the fact that J.A. Jance said, “I don’t know what happened. I sent them off on a cruise at the end of a book, and when I came back to write the next one they were married!” about a couple of the characters. That’s exactly how it works. :)

The Benjamin January novels, by Barbara Hambly (): set in 1830s New Orleans, these have not only a fantastic sense of the historical, but are terrific mysteries as well. The main character, Benjamin January, is a free man of color and a surgeon trained in Paris who has returned to his beloved, complicated New Orleans after his wife’s death. I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

The Anne Books, L.M. Montgomery: Though the later books are not as beloved to me as the first few, I still do love the Anne books. And I think they’re probably a good place to wrap up this particular blog, since I’m afraid I’d go on all day otherwise. :)

Day 01 – Your favourite series of books (with more than 3 in the series)

Day 02 – A book that you wish more people had read

Day 03 – Your favorite recent book

Day 04 – Your favorite book ever

Day 05 – A book you hate

Day 06 – Your favourite writer

Day 07 – A writer you don’t like

Day 08 – Your favourite work in translation

Day 09 – Best scene ever

Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Day 11 – A book that disappointed you

Day 12 – An book you’ve read more than twice

Day 13 – Favorite childhood book

Day 14 – Favorite male character

Day 15 – Favorite female character

Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure book

Day 17 – Favorite trilogy or tetralogy

Day 18 – Favorite book cover

Day 19 – Best ensemble of characters in a book

Day 20 – Favorite kiss or love scene

Day 21 – Favorite fictional romantic relationship

Day 22 – Favorite ending/climax

Day 23 – Most annoying character

Day 24 – Best quote

Day 25 – A book you plan on reading

Day 26 – OMG WTF? plot

Day 27 – Favourite non-mainstream writer

Day 28 – First book obsession

Day 29 – Current book obsession

Day 30 – Saddest character death