Favorite Books in a Series

I just finished a book by one of my favorite authors in a series that I really love. It got me thinking about my favorite series and wondering if I could rank a top 10 list.

I think I can.

The order gets a little murky the farther down I go, but these are favorites from childhood up to now.  To be on the list I have to own every book in the series (or so far if they are still being written) and they have to have the same (or mostly the same) characters.

1. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

3. Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs

4. Vicky Bliss by Elizabeth Peters

5. The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

6. The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman

7. Lady Julia by Deanna Raybourn

8. Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews

9. Arcadia Bell by Jenn Bennett

10. Egypt Trilogy by Linda Lee Chaikin

Ok - I tried, but depending on the day the order can really change except for maybe the top 5, so here are the next 10:

11. Mag Force 7 by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin
12. Sword Dancer by Jennifer Roberson
13. October Daye by Seanan Mcguire
14. Every Trilogy by Ellie Marney
15. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
16. The Others by Anne Bishop
17. Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab
18. Art Lover's Mysteries by Hailey Lind
19. Dragonlance: Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
20. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Ha ha... I'll stop there. There are a few others that I could list or swap but this is good for today.

How is it March Already?

This year I bought the kids tickets to Disney on Ice for their birthday present. The ones old enough to go, at least. We went on Saturday. The kids had fun so I guess it was worth it. As an adult I would have liked to see more figure skating type of skating but that’s just me. Then yesterday after family dinner we played outside with bubbles. It feels so good to have Spring coming. It’s supposed to be a beautiful week here.

I tried to catch up on the news this morning and then after the first depressing story, I decided I’d had enough.  Some days I just can’t do it.

I’m not the savviest social media person by any means. I use Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, in that order. Goodreads is definitely the place I waste the most time. What can I say, when I’m not reading books, I’m reading about books. I save recipes on Pinterest but other than that, I don’t spend a lot of time there anymore. Instagram is fun but I don’t use it all that often. I’ve tweeted exactly 10 things in the 3 years I’ve had my Twitter account.  I get on FB when I get notifications, mostly to get rid of them. I’ve been cutting way down on social media.  I’m happier when I’m not constantly inundated with bad news and crazy goings on.  I like seeing family fun times and good things about people but any more, I feel like I have to wade through a bunch of junk to see that. So I just don’t and I don’t miss it.  Like everything in life, I suppose balance is key.  

So lots of family time this weekend and it was great. It’s definitely where I’d rather be spending my time. We have ideas of some things we want to do together this spring and summer and I’m looking forward to it.

It's February And That Means...

It’s birthday shopping month! My favorite time of year. :) Just kidding. But I do believe that I can celebrate how I want and I have to take care of myself since nobody else will.  

This year I’ve decided to start a new tradition, or I should say add to my tradition, and I’m going to be making some donations to a few organizations that help immigrants and refugees.  I’m still thinking about where to put my time, but while I’m deciding that, I can do this now. I’ve got a couple organizations I’m looking into and I feel good about my decision.  I regularly donate to a few other places plus my church humanitarian fund, but I think making this a tradition for my birthday will be a good thing. I have so much and others have so little, I really should have been doing this long ago, but at least I’m doing it now.

Since I just finished a big clean out of my house, I’m trying not to go overboard for shopping month.  There is a bottle of perfume I want. I need a new pair of walking shoes and I have a few books to buy. All right, who am I kidding; it’s a stack of books. But I’ve culled it down. Truly, I have. And some of them I’m going to go buy at local bookstores. By local, I mean in the same state as I live in. It’s so sad I don’t have a good bookstore in my city. Although probably much safer for my budget.  

Anyway, that’s the plan. Faith and action, tears and laughter, finding happiness and good in spite of all the sadness and anger I also feel.  

What To Do

The news this morning made me cry. I don’t watch or read news on the weekends because I need time away from all the bad stuff so this morning was a bit of a shocker. It’s like a crazy sci-fi or dystopian book except this is real life.  Sometimes I feel like I’ll wake up and it’s all been a bad dream, but I know it’s not.  He’s been in office barely over a week and look at the mess we’re in. I refuse to call him President. He doesn’t deserve my respect.

I’m a white, middle class, religious, and fairly conservative female and there are a lot of things that don’t personally affect me when things happen in politics. I’m also not that interested in politics. I vote and try to be aware of some of the things going on, but that’s usually the extent of it. I’ve already mentioned that I didn’t vote for him. My philosophy after the election has been to wait and see because there wasn’t much anyone could be doing it seemed, until after the inauguration. Now, I vehemently disagree with what that man is doing and I’m alternating between anger and anxiety about the future.

My typical reaction is to buckle down and wait it out but I don’t think I can do that this time so I’m struggling to figure out what to do. I mean I have to work and do all the things of life but I also need to find a way to stand up for what’s right. It might take me a little time, but it’s something I’m going to work on. Ha ha… this may make some kind of political activist out of me yet.

I read this thing on twitter that said something like if we must fight we must also sing (sorry, I don't know who said it). So I will keep buying books and going to the theater and take my niece ice skating and play playdoh with my nephew and all the things that I am blessed to be able to do. While I’m trying to figure out how to do my part for the here and now, I keep coming back to a recent Sunday school lesson where we talked about how God knows all things before they happen.  While the next 4 years may send the U.S. back to the dark ages politically, this is a tiny bit of time and not even a power hungry president can knock off track the things God has already planned out.  It does help, a little bit. Faith combined with action may be what gets me through it.

Just Some Stuff

Well, the winter blues have kicked in.  It’s snowing today which actually makes me happy. If it’s going to look gloomy, then we should at least be getting weather to go with it.

I did get released from being RS president on the 8th and then spent the entire rest of the week doing absolutely nothing useful. It felt kind of nice. This week I’ve been having fun, mostly at the theater. I have barely been home at all, which means this weekend will be laundry and cleaning and that’s ok too.

I’m one of the bazillion people who bought an Instant Pot during Amazon’s black Friday sales and I’ve been having fun with soup recipes. I’d like some accessories for it, but I’m also on a spending freeze right now (just because I can) and so those types of things will wait for February when birthday shopping month commences.

So yeah, life is ok in spite of the winter blues. One bright spot for sure is that Aunt Jenny (my Christmas cactus) is blooming. I took this picture over a week ago and now that bloom is finished but 2 others are out. And this makes me really happy.

Happy New Year

It seems like I can't get online or even go anywhere without people griping about what a bad year it's been. I could join them, I mean my dad died, tons of car problems, and then the election happened. But...

I'm joining the ranks of those that found something positive to say about the year. Looking back, a lot of good things also happened to me. Here are a few of them:

My nephew Alexander

Technically, he happened in 2015. He was born December 21. But I got to spend this year watching him grow into a darling cutie boy. I love all my nieces and nephews and I've got a fine crew of them.

I went to Paris!

Ha ha yeah, I went to Paris. France. And Mont St. Michel, so that's 2 more spots to mark off my bucket list. It really was a great trip and I got to go with a good friend. One day I'll go back with my sister and see more of France.

Family vacation to Oregon

This was my dad's dream and we had a fantastic time. He rented a house on the beach and the whole family was there. We made a photo album from Shutterfly and I love to look at it. So, so many good memories. 

Family time when dad died

I mean, it sucked. It really did. But on the other hand I am so blessed with my family and seeing all the friends and family at the viewing and funeral was more of a happy time than sad. 

Planning the next trip!

My mom, sister, and I are all going to on a trip together next year. To Scotland. We got a fantastic deal on the airfare and we spent Christmas day deciding where to go and where to stay. We are all super excited.

So yeah, some good things happened this year.  It seems like 2017 is filled with so many uncertainties and fear but I have hope. I have to have hope that good things will also happen. 

Best Books of 2016

2016 was a great book year for me, which is nice since it sucked in other areas. But this post is about books. I read 132 books of varying lengths (plus I re-read a few all the way though which is not in my count). I gave 13 of them 5 stars. I know it's a low percentage but I'm stingy with my five star ratings and kind of feel that I loosened up this year. I got 3 classics in with The Outsiders, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Hidden Staircase (I totally count the original Nancy Drew as classic.) I read 5 non-fiction books, including a book of Mary Oliver's poems that I enjoyed. Ebooks made up 55 of the 132. Nothing can really beat the feel of a book in my hands, but I also love the advantages of ebooks. I've especially loved that now I can borrow them from the library.


So here are my favorite books of 2016 in no particular order:

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
I decided to read this one before Halloween to get in the mood. I've had mixed results with NG in the past but this hooked me and I just loved it. There might have been a few tears shed at the end when Bod leaves the graveyard.


Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Definitely tears shed for this one. This book was everything I wanted it to be. One of my most anticipated and I was bereft when it was over.


A Darker Shade of Magic & A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
Both of these got 5 stars from me. It amazes me how authors come up with some of this stuff. I loved the four different Londons but I really loved Lila Bard and her determination to live life under her terms. I question some of her decisions in AGOS but I'm dying for the final book next year.


My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
It's hard to say but this might be my favorite MS book yet. There is a very, very subtle romance and fantastic nail biting scene at the end. I wish so badly that I could visit Mary Stewart's Greece.


Dark Horse, Dark Deeds, & Dark Minds (The Class 5 series) by Michelle Diener
I'm cheating and putting the whole series on here because it was my biggest book hangover of the year. I really just couldn't get them out of my head. Music played a big part of these books and it had me thinking about what songs I would have chosen.


These Shallow Graves, Revolution, & A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
I discovered Jennifer Donnelly this year and all 3 books have to be on the list. They are all so different and every one of them captured me from the beginning and wouldn't let go.
Read These Shallow Graves for a lighter historical mystery with a bit of romance, Revolution for some time travel with a moody teen and a fictional composer that I wish were real, or A Northern Light for an intense historical novel about a girl who has to make some hard choices. If I had to choose, Revolution would be my favorite but all of them are excellent.


Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart
Did I say My Brother Michael was my favorite? Dang! It's so hard to choose. I loved this from the start. It's a great old fashioned caper complete with mistaken identities and a car chase.


Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver
Relationship drama! Plus a society murder. I loved it and can't wait to read the next book in the series.


Marked In Flesh by Anne Bishop
This series is so different from a lot of things I read. it's slow moving with lots of details and I'm on the side of the Others all the way.


Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier
I loved the final book of this series. Grim is just the nicest guy and so patient and I loved the way the friendship between Blackthorn and Grim progressed in the series. It was rock solid.


One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews
I read this serial online and then bought the final published version and devoured it again in one night. Right now this series is my favorite of everything they write.


Whew! What a list. Like I said, it was a great reading year. Plus I have some notable mentions that just have to be here.


The Shadowy Horses by Susannah Kearsley
This is a "me" book all the way around. Girl on an archeological dig with a ghost, boy who can see ghost, handsome professor... it hit all the right buttons.


The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Two words: Peaceable Sherwood. I love book boys that know exactly what they want right from the start and book girls who are clever enough to fall in with their scheme.


My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
This one was just plain fun. I think the authors must have had a blast writing it.


Garden Spells & The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Another new to me author. I read 4 of her books this year and they are all keepers but I think these 2 might be my favorites.


As for 2017....


I'm looking forward to Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop, A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab, Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner, and Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs. I'm sure there are more that I can't think of.


As for what I'm reading next year, I found an old reading bingo card online that looks like it might be fun so I was thinking about challenging myself to a game of blackout. I changed it up a bit and got my niece and nephew to say they'd play along with me. I just have to think of an appropriate reward.