Books I love

Reading has long been one of my favorite pastimes. I don't remember the first book I ever read.... too long ago! The latest book I read was Robert Crais' "The Last Detective." I still haven't decided why it's called that. But I really don't care. Crais' writing is insightful and evocative. I really like his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike characters. The book reveals a lot of details about Elvis's past that my husband tells me is not in any of the earlier books. The plot is fast-moving and exciting. If you are a mystery fan in the suspense genre, you'll love this book.
A list of books I love would have to include as # 1, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I've read it about 9 times. The characters are strong and the story carries me along to some exciting places.
Barbara Hambly's Time of the Dark trilogy is also on my list of great books. This is a great "regular person placed in a fantasy environment" series. The lead protagonists learn a lot about themselves in Darwath, with magic and swords and lots of other great stuff. Another series, "The Silicon Mage", by Ms. Hambly has been on my fave reread list for 10 years! This trilogy takes another modern character to another reality, this one in a world just entering its own industrial revolution with magic falling into disuse. She has to be one of my favorite authors. I'm not as fond of her 'Dragonslayer' series, but every thing else, including her mysteries set in 1800's New Orleans, is great!
Fantasy is not the only genre on my favorites list. I like to read mysteries, some science fiction and some biographies. One author I enjoy who is hard to categorize is Bill Bryson. He's very funny as well as insightful into people's characters. Some of my favorite books of his include 'A Walk in the Woods'. 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid'. and 'Notes from a Small Island'. I'm sometimes embarassed while reading his books, because I'll start laughing out loud and can't stop.
Speaking of stopping, I gotta go for now. Read on!!