Due to a lot of unused vacation time at the end of the year, I’ve had the chance to read a lot lately. I’ve been able to catch up on old favorites and new books that have been recommended to me. I’ve always loved to read, but unfortunately, I let my job get in the way of that for the past few years. I’ve finally decided that reading is good stress relief for me, and I can justify it that way for now.Â
So, since it would be impossible to list all of my favorite books (there are way too many), below is a list of my favorite book series:
Little Women, Little Men, & Jo’s Boys – Louisa May Alcott – these books are my hands-down favorite. They’re quaint but emotionally involved, moralistic without being preachy, and just all around fun to read. I’ve read them numerous times, and it’s the one series that I can pick up and read over and over while always getting something new out of it.
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis – the books, in their original order, not this B.S. order that they publish them in now. They’re so much better when read in the order that they were originally published, and not in chronological order. And they’re much better in book format than in the movie version that they’re releasing now (but what book isn’t better than the movie?).
Wizard of Oz and all of the numerous successive books – L. Frank Baum – these are just fun. I realized there were sequels to the Wizard of Oz when I was about 8, but never actually read them until much later in life. Brandon bought most of the successive books for me for Christmas a few years ago. The characters are just so loveable!
The Gunslinger series – Stephen King – Yeah, it surprised me that I liked it, too. But the story was pretty good. I had my gripes about it (like the fact that Stephen King can write 16 pages just describing the hair of someone’s moustache, and the fact that he wrote himself into the story), but overall, it was a really good series. It’s certainly epic, and there’s a great sense of accomplishment when you finish it. It’s definitely not like any other Stephen King work.
The Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling – I’m happy to say that I started reading these books when the first one came out; I didn’t just jump on the bandwagon with half the world later on. I was a fan from the beginning, even writing a few research papers in college on the topic of the books. It seems almost cliche to put the Harry Potter series on here now, but I have to remind myself that there’s a reason the whole world fell in love with these books. They’re just GOOD!
I’m working on adding somme new series to the list – my nieces have introduced me to Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, which is quite good, and to the Eragon series (Christopher Paolini), which is beginning to grow on me. I’ll update the list as others are deemed as “favorites.”