As the year is winding down and wrapping up, I reflect on how I have spent my time in 2015–and the pages stare back at me, full of wonderous, fulfilling things–between the pages of literature (when I am not working or out and about with enjoying life with other humans)

I am blessed with a long history of reading and share in the delights of a family of readers (which, by the way, really is a super benefit when playing Scattegories–literature provides a whopping amount of double and triple pointers  for the game). Books can be costly (oh but they never go out of style and require no batteries, chargers, or updating!!) but oh the wonders of family family book swaps, reading pools, thrift shops, used/second-hand book stores, and the list goes on and on and on–and yet, I continue to seek new material to enjoy, why??

Reading is an adventure–on cold days with a cup of coffee, summer evenings with a glass of iced tea, anywhere anytime. I often find I need to ‘snap back to reality’ when in the midst of a good book as I daydream about the plot, eyes glazed over, and pondering what will happen–even whilst I am out with others; alas, those whom know me well are also great readers and are happily willing to discuss books or anything read, regardless the source.

I stumbled upon this article (I am unsure of the author but here is the link from which it was derived as the author really does deserve due credit) upon the importance of reading.

Why is reading important? It is how we discover new things. Books, magazines and even the Internet are great learning tools which require the ability to read and understand what is read. A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in any area of life they are interested in. We live in an age where we overflow with information, but reading is the main way to take advantage of it.

 Reading develops the imagination. TV and computer games have their place, but they are more like amusement. Amusement comes from two words “a” [non] and “muse” [think]. Amusement is non-thinking activities. With reading, a person can go anywhere in the world…or even out of it! They can be a king, or an adventurer, or a princess, or… The possibilities are endless. Non-readers never experience these joys to the same extent.

I can not even being to list all of the books I have read over time–some linger still in the recesses of my mind and other, though good, left a smaller, less powerful impact and thus have been left behind.  Here is a list of books I personally recomment reading, although is not inclusive, I have read every one (and they are in no particular order.)

1. The Outlander Series, Diana Gabaldon

2. All Creatures Great and Small-James Herriot

3. All Things Bright and Beautiful-James Herriot
   

4. All Things Wise and Wonderful- James Herriot
   

5. The Lord God Made Them All-James Herriot
   

6. The Book of Secrets–Tom Harper
7. The Age of Innocence–Edith Wharton
8. Jude, the Obscure-Thomas Hardy
9. Dracula–Brahm Stoker
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde–Robert Louis Stevenson
11. The Scarlett Letter-Nathaniel Hawthorne
12. Treasure Island–Robert Luis Stevenson
13. Jane Eyre–Charlotte Brönte
14. The Grapes of Wrath-  John Steinbeck
15. The Alchemist -Paolo Coehlo
16. The Good Earth- Pearl S. Buck
17. Cathedral by the Sea-Ildefonso Falcones
18. Pillars of the Earth–Ken Follett
19. Pride and Prejudice–Jane Austen
20. Sense and Sensability-Jane Austen
21. Persuasion–Jane Austen
22. Tarzan of the Apes–Edgar Rice Burroughs
23. Robinson Curusoe–Daniel Defoe
24. To Kill a Mockingbird—Harper Lee
25. Frankenstein–Mary Shelly
26. The Alienist–Caleb Carr
27. The Secret Garden–Frances Hodgeson Burnett
28. Siddhartha–Herman Hess
29. Moby Dick–Herman Melville
30. The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Alan Poe
31. The Chronicles of Narnia–C.S. Lewis
32. Rebecca–Daphne Du Maurier
33. The Outsiders–S.E. Hinton
34. The Fifth Mountain–Paolo Coehlo
35. Leaves of Grass–Walt Whitman
36. My Antonia–Willa Cather
37. Oh, Pioneer!-Willa Cather
38. Pilgrims Progress–John Bunyan
39. Shepherd of the Hills–Harold Bell Wright
40. Wings of a Dove–Henry James
41. The BFG–Roald Dahl
42. The Old Man and the Sea–Ernst Hemingway
43. Alas, Babylon–P. Frank
44. Charlotte’s Web–E.B. White
45. Emma–Jane Austen
46. Bless Me, Ultima–Rudolfo Anaya
47. Like Water for Chocolate–Laura Esquivel
48. Running the Iditarod–Gary Paulsen
49. World without End-Ken Follett
50. Modoc–Ralph Helfer

Top Favorites

Dracula, Brahm Stoker

The Outlander Series    Diana Gabaldon

Modoc,        Ralph Helfer