Sunday Snippet

The March Lists Edition

When I’ve got nothing, which is the situation as I sit here in front of my computer this morning, pal Liz always recommends doing a list or two. I figure why not? I was thinking maybe favorites books lists would be fun. What do you think? I’ll start.

Five Favorite Childhood Books (Too easy, but also fun to think about):

• The Bobbsey Twins books by Laura Lee Hope--I often pretended I was Nan, the oldest girl twin.

• The Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene--I loved her sporty little convertible and dreamed about a boyfriend like Ned (FYI, he’s fiction).

• The Jennifer Wish by Eunice Young Smith--amazing stories about a family who leaves the city in the early 1900s and moves to a farm. I was always so envious. I wanted to feed the chickens and ride the horse.

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery--from the moment Mom read the first Anne book to us, I knew that one day I would visit Prince Edward Island. I haven’t yet, but it’s out there, waiting for me.

• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner--Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Bennie’s adventures fascinated me. I was too young to understand they were homeless... not sure how I’d feel about those stories today.

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Five Favorite Romance Novels

• The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter--Mom read all of Gene Stratton-Porter’s novels to us, and although she might not be considered a romance novelist by today’s standards, David Langston is and always will be the ultimate romance hero to me.

• Class Ring by Rosamond Du Jardin--one of the first “teen romances” I read. I think I was maybe ten or eleven when my older sister brought it home from the library. I devoured every one of Du Jardin’s books the summer I turned eleven. I wanted to be a cool teenager so badly then, yet even as a real teenager, I was never cool.

• The Seagulls Woke Me by Mary Stolz--Even with all the angst, Jean Campbell, who was spending a summer working at a Maine resort, was living my fantasy.

• Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie--It’s hard to pick a favorite Jennifer Crusie novel because I love every last one of them, but Minerva Dobbs was the first time I read about a curvy heroine and the first time I ever thought my own curves as lush. Crusie is the master of quippy dialogue as well as yummy love scenes.

• One More Summer by Liz Flaherty--I don’t include this one because Liz is a bestie, although she is, y’all already know that. This novel is not only the book that told me she and I already had a magical connection, but it is and always will be my go-to comfort read. Grace and Dillon’s story pulls you in and hangs on tight to the very last kiss.

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Five Books that Left a Lasting Impression

• All This and Heaven, Too by Rachel Field--This book brought it all, a love story, a mystery, Paris, intrigue, a voyager plopped down in a foreign country, Paris... I read it in high school and loved it so much, I bought it from the Purdue library sale when I was a freshman there. I reread every few years. I think it was part of the beginning of my love affair with France. (FYI--The film with Charles Boyer and Bette Davis, not so much. The book lived my heart too closely and when I watched the film I was disappointed.)

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott--A coming-of-age novel that showed me how to believe in myself as a writer. There have been several film made from this book, but none of them beat Denise Di Novi’s 1992 version with Susan Sarandon, Wynona Ryder, and Christian Bale. I watch it at least twice a year and still reread the book when I need an anchor.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain--This one was my first introduction to the world of slavery and racism. It was eye-opening.

• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell--I think I was fifteen when Mom handed me this books. It was the first time I’d ever read such a long novel and I read it straight through barely stopping to eat or sleep. It started my love of American history. I’ve reread it several times since and the film, although well done, didn’t do it justice. How could it?

• The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier--I was pretty young when I discovered Daphne du Maurier--maybe eighth grade or so and her themes were often over my head. Mom never kept me from reading content that was probably too mature for me and I will always be grateful to her. This book intrigued me because it showed the budding writer in me that a simple idea--stolen identity--can take a character on an unexpected journey into someone else’s life.

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What Am I Reading Now?

Okay, confession time. Currently, I’m rereading Diana Gabaldon’s last two Outlander books--well, I’m working on An Echo in the Bone and will shortly begin rereading Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone. I do this when a new season of Outlander comes out on Starz just so I’m caught up on the story, and because I love these books. Editor Nan thinks they could be shorter, but reader Nan adores falling into Claire and Jamie’s love story and adventures.

What can I say? Gabaldon drew me in when I first discovered the Outlander books in 1998 and read all four of the first books in three weeks while I was in Florida helping my dad after his cancer surgery. Claire and Jamie kept me sane in the hottest September of my life as Dad was healing grumpily, the air conditioning went out in his condo, and I found out that in Florida they may call those giant cockroaches palmetto bugs, but they were still freakin’ cockroaches. Between the little lizards that jump across the bushes in front of your face, the humidity that damn near melted me to a puddle as I walked to the Publix, and those awful palmetto bugs living in the mulch in the gardens, it was a trying three weeks. But Jamie and Claire gave me a place to hide.

So tell me your favorites--childhood reads, romance novels, books that made a lasting impression, and what you’re reading right now. I’ve got a couple of e-books of your choice to give away to two commenters who join me. Let’s talk books!

Gratitude for This Week: Doc gave me some relief for the sinus infection I’ve been trying to ignore for the last week (ignoring didn’t work); Finished and invoiced my last editing gig for March; Found the perfect birthday gift for Husband (it’s tomorrow!); Only a week until Liz and I head out on writing retreat; Book 4 is started, new series proposal for Tule is brewing--I am a writer!

Stay well, keep speaking out--No Kings Day is March 28, always choose kindness, and most of all, mes amis, stay grateful!