tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post5350840198169452625..comments2024-03-22T05:18:29.555-04:00Comments on Romance Bandits: The "Keepers"Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-64503962213113172052007-10-08T22:53:00.000-04:002007-10-08T22:53:00.000-04:00Ooooh, Belgariad over drinks... I like it *g*. jea...Ooooh, Belgariad over drinks... I like it *g*. <BR/><BR/>jeanne - I was wrong, there were about 6 books LOL. I pulled my old fan girl list to check. Thanks for the offer, though :-) You rock.<BR/><BR/>LOL on how many of us have don't touch shelves.Tawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076851566613018105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-7700817506156210572007-10-08T03:19:00.000-04:002007-10-08T03:19:00.000-04:00Oh and I forgot...the complete collection of Rober...Oh and I forgot...the complete collection of Robert Ludlum. As I've said before I hooked son and half an ROTC group on reading with Ludlum's stories!Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-8391744172424778722007-10-08T00:30:00.000-04:002007-10-08T00:30:00.000-04:00Caren a keep-your-hands-off shelf? :) :) Sounds li...Caren a <I>keep-your-hands-off</I> shelf? :) :) Sounds like a lot of inquisitive fingers in your house. :)<BR/><BR/><I>Nancy wrote, "I also like Elizabeth George, though she's a bit grim for me at times. Her book On Writing was fabulous."</I><BR/><BR/>Yes, I adored her book on writing. That's what got me interested in exploring a methodical approach to my mess-in-progress-that's-stalled-for-a-bit-right-now. And I agree. Her last book was scary and horrific all the way through to the shocking murder. I haven't recovered yet.Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-55788653832878316022007-10-08T00:07:00.000-04:002007-10-08T00:07:00.000-04:00Sorry I am so late to the party. I was working on ...Sorry I am so late to the party. I was working on my WIP and lost track of time. Over 2000 words today!! This is a great topic. I just have one question. You're supposed to get rid of books?? Nobody told me that, so I have all of them. I cannot remember when the last time was I got rid of a book. My brothers come into my house, look at the wall to wall bookcases and roll their eyes. I have even resorted to LibraryThing.com to help me keep track of what I have so I don't repeat buy. Of course almost any autographed book I have, I buy a second copy to read. My autographed copies go on a special reserve bookcase. Occupants include books by Anna Campbell, Nicola Cornick, Amanda McCabe, Kathryn Caskie, Julia Quinn, Stephanie Laurens, Victoria Alexander, Eloisa James, Teresa Medeiros, Kinley MacGregor, Cathy Maxwell, Sophia Nash, Cindy Kirk and I should have a Christine Wells in a few weeks. I have all the Enid Blyton books. I have my first copy of Black Beauty. I just love books. I love being surrounded by them. The bad news? you have all given me books to add to my list of things to buy and put on the TBR stack!! See, you are enabling my addiction and I wouldn't have it any other way!dogladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03392561174583932552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-10244907201440362772007-10-07T23:39:00.000-04:002007-10-07T23:39:00.000-04:00Anna--The wonderful people we get to meet are a gr...Anna--The wonderful people we get to meet are a great benefit of the long road to publication.<BR/><BR/>Jo--The contact paper sounds smart. As a comic book collector, I can't do it (makes the book no longer mint or near-mint*g*), but I have to admit it makes sense.<BR/><BR/>A new bookshelf, AC? At the rate the banditas are going, it'll require a new book <I>room</I>!<BR/><BR/>Caren and Jeanne and Tawny--I also have the Belgariad and the Mallorean (gave up on Sparhawk) and big chunk of Pern.<BR/><BR/>One of the biggest pleasures of today has been learning how many people love so many of the same books. Thanks for sharing, y'all!Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-45753130598340842642007-10-07T22:43:00.000-04:002007-10-07T22:43:00.000-04:00Tawny, you, Caren and I have to get a drink in SF ...Tawny, you, Caren and I have to get a drink in SF and just yak and yak about The Belgariad, The Mallorean, everything McCaffrey (dragons, Menolly, Stitch in Snow, etc.) Tawny, which of the two early Nora's are you missing. I may have them in the donate bin as we speak, so email me off loop and I'll check. :><BR/><BR/>Nancy, I'm going to the library to see if I can pick up Game of Kings. Thanks for the recommend.<BR/><BR/>Oh, Suz, how could I forget Anne? "YOU know, teacher..." I have read every one of them about 5 times. Never got into the Emily series, but Anne, well. She's Anne. My mother was quite like Marilla. :> The Scarlet Pimpernel is on my keeper shelf too, along with Captains Courageous. I'm hoping to hook my boy into reading that one when he's a bit older...bwah-ha-ha!<BR/><BR/>Caren, The Snow Queen was the only book Vinge wrote that I liked. I also loved all the Killashandra books and the Rowan series as well. I have an original paperback of the Ship who Sang and of the one that started the Rowan series. Grins.Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03492480881584553111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-53331413948740881272007-10-07T21:25:00.000-04:002007-10-07T21:25:00.000-04:00I just pulled out my tattered copy of Rosamunde Pi...I just pulled out my tattered copy of Rosamunde Pilcher's 'The Shell Seekers'. It's been years since I last re-read it, so it's time. It was my very favorite book until I read her 'Coming Home'. I've gone through two copies of that one already. <BR/><BR/>Tawny and I have discussed the Belgariad series before. And y'all know how I feel about Anne McCaffrey's Dragon books - all of them plus the Menolly books. <BR/><BR/>One I adore but rarely mention is Joan D. Vinge's "The Snow Queen" (have to love Starbuck!). Also Anne McCaffrey's Killandra/Crystal Singer books. <BR/><BR/>In romance, Liz Carlyle's books are on my keep-your-hands-off shelf. All of them! They are nestled next to my beloved Elizabeth Peters collection - all the Amelia Peabodys. <BR/><BR/>What makes a keeper? The characters, of course! I could never tell you the plot points of any of those books, but I remember the characters forever.Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-51504000873727687362007-10-07T18:56:00.000-04:002007-10-07T18:56:00.000-04:00I'm with Tawny... must get new bookshelves for Th...I'm with Tawny... must get new bookshelves for <I> The Complete Bandita Set</I>! <BR/><BR/>ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-70584141681326674452007-10-07T18:55:00.000-04:002007-10-07T18:55:00.000-04:00Interesting post, Nancy. It's very difficult for ...Interesting post, Nancy. It's very difficult for me to throw books away. When I was English Department Chair, we cleaned out our book storage room annually and (even though it's against CA law -- shhh, don't tell), we threw books by the score into the dumpster. It was a painful experience, even if the book was an old Warriner's Grammar copyrighted 1960 LOL.<BR/><BR/>Books that I know I'll keep forever I laminate with contact paper. That way I can read them again and again. I'm also pretty selfish about lending them out. Some of my children are harder on books than others.jo robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16824237193217632098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-67779846217655653542007-10-07T16:51:00.000-04:002007-10-07T16:51:00.000-04:00Keira, thanks for those recommendations. I'll chec...Keira, thanks for those recommendations. I'll check them out! Just what I need - more for the TBR pile!<BR/><BR/>Nancy, Isolde's The Maiden and the Unicorn was the book that inspired me to go back to writing after I'd decided it was a childish dream to want to be published. I'd been trying so long and not getting anywhere so I gave up for about 18 months. I think it was because it was great, it was a historical and she was from Australia (although she's originally English). Made me think perhaps my dream had a chance after all. And she's such a lovely woman - she's been a real supporter to me! You do meet nice people in this game, don't you?Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-88052771123890984842007-10-07T16:47:00.000-04:002007-10-07T16:47:00.000-04:00Tawny--my keeper shelf is not only "ask or else," ...Tawny--my keeper shelf is not only "ask or else," it's "mutilate and die." I hate having a book come home with a cracked back and puffy pages.<BR/><BR/>Keira--I also like Elizabeth George, though she's a bit grim for me at times. Her book <I>On Writing</I> was fabulous.<BR/><BR/>Anna--I read <I>King Hereafter</I> after Lymond, and I saw some of the same themes in it. I tried the mysteries but couldn't get into them. I met Isolde at RWA and enjoyed talking to her immensely. We share interests in English history. I reviewed one of her books for the Richard III Society (American branch).<BR/><BR/>Suzanne--I have fond memories of <I>The Scarlet Pimpernel</I>, too. Did you know that the Over Mountain Men made the difference in the Battle of Kings Mountain? We history geeks note such things.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-8270885704681099282007-10-07T16:34:00.000-04:002007-10-07T16:34:00.000-04:00My "keepers" are varied. I have every book by Juli...My "keepers" are varied. I have every book by Julie Garwood, even the Rose series that wasn't my favorite. We're talking original first print paperbacks to her hardbacks. <BR/><BR/>On my shelf I have a Harlequin book titled "The Over Mountain Man", can't quote you the author, because I'm up during my nap time, but the story is what's important. It takes place in my parents small hometown of Erwin, Tennessee in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I know every stream, river, and stop along the highway mentioned in that book!<BR/><BR/>There's a 1965 copy of "Anne Of Green Gables". It's well-worn from years of reading it as a kid. Several copies of Grace Livingston Hill's books and one Barbara Cartland, I snuck out of my aunt's huge library in Tenn as a kid. And recently I found a great copy of "The Blackhorse Inn" a book I devouered as a teen.<BR/><BR/>There's the copy of "A Scarlet Pimpernel" I helped hook my middle child on reading with. Hopefully she'll use it to teach her daughter to love books and romances, too.<BR/><BR/>Several of my good friends and CP are on the keeper shelves because they're excellent books and I know the authors. Then there's the standard mix of Kay Hooper, Johanna Lindsey, Amanda Quick, etc.<BR/><BR/>Hmmm...must remind DH I need two more book shelves for the dining room after we get the painting done!Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-21608623531401967452007-10-07T16:30:00.000-04:002007-10-07T16:30:00.000-04:00Foanna wrote, " I love PD James. She's definitely ...<I>Foanna wrote, " I love PD James. She's definitely carrying on that tradition of fantastic English female crime writers, isn't she?"</I><BR/><BR/>Absolutely. Adore her biography, too. In the same vein, I like Elizabeth George and Jill McGown.<BR/><BR/><I>Nancy wrote, "I loved Enid Blyton's Five Run Away Together!"</I><BR/><BR/>Ooh, the Famous Five series!!Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-64045373546537986072007-10-07T15:50:00.000-04:002007-10-07T15:50:00.000-04:00Oooh, keepers. I have a whole shelf in the closet...Oooh, keepers. I have a whole shelf in the closet just for those. My bookcase is open to anyone to peruse or borrow, but that shelf is "ask or else" *g*<BR/><BR/>I have all of Nora's except 2 of her earliest... they are pricey so I don't know if I'll ever have a "complete set". <BR/><BR/>The Harry Potter series, quite a few Julie Garwoods, Vicki Lewis Thompsons and Jenny Crusies. Also David Edding's Belgariad and Malloreon series are up there. <BR/><BR/>On the shelves above my desk are my friend's books... they are all keepers too LOL. Can't wait till I have the complete Bandita set.Tawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076851566613018105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-76383056027396011532007-10-07T15:42:00.000-04:002007-10-07T15:42:00.000-04:00Nancy, I'm with you on Lymond over Niccolo. Much l...Nancy, I'm with you on Lymond over Niccolo. Much longer and much lesser IMHO too! Loved King Hereafter which is about the real Macbeth and I know a lot of people have started with that because it's (slightly) easier. She doesn't tend to talk down to the reader, our DD! Yes, Isolde is great, isn't she? I'll certainly tell her she's got a fan! <BR/><BR/>Keira, I love PD James. She's definitely carrying on that tradition of fantastic English female crime writers, isn't she?Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-84628771615191074832007-10-07T14:07:00.000-04:002007-10-07T14:07:00.000-04:00Keira--I loved Enid Blyton's Five Run Away Togethe...Keira--I loved Enid Blyton's <I>Five Run Away Together</I>! I read it from the library as a teenager and, years later, found a copy in London. I treasure it.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-89594008506585049232007-10-07T14:04:00.000-04:002007-10-07T14:04:00.000-04:00Wow--There's so much variety in our reading! It j...Wow--There's so much variety in our reading! It just goes to show that we need choices in the market to satisfy everyone's taste.<BR/><BR/>Christine--I envy your ability to know a keeper right away. It would save me some time and tough choices on purge day.<BR/><BR/>Helen and Trish, I envy you having enough room to keep everything. I used to do that, and I still have books double-shelved (kind of like double parking) on our biggest, hidden-from-visitors bookshelf, but I just can't anymore.<BR/><BR/>Anna C. - I love Isolde Martyn's books! Please tell her hi for me. I'm sorry you missed Dunnett, but really, the flu is so devastating. Not to mention, depending on the variety, potentially embarrassing.<BR/><BR/>Kirsten - Yes, Jordan died a couple of weeks ago. I'd been buying the books but not reading them yet because I was awaiting the finale. I can't retain those complex plot developments in the intervals between books and don't have time to re-read such massive tomes every time there's a new one, so I was planning a straight-through blitz reading marathon for the final book's release. I assume Tor will make some sort of announcement eventually.<BR/><BR/>Joan - The world needs nurses more than it needs readers, alas. Now that you're free of school, all these books are just waiting for you!<BR/><BR/>Jeanne - I think you'll either like Dunnett or hate her. That seems to be the experience of the people to whom I've given the first book, <I>The Game of Kings</I>. Just be sure to start with Lymond and not Niccolo, whom I didn't like nearly as well. JMHO, of course.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for all these great responses!Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-60866824578861505352007-10-07T13:56:00.000-04:002007-10-07T13:56:00.000-04:00Banditas, I'm going to limit myself here to the to...Banditas, I'm going to limit myself here to the top five authors, because I have way too many keepers and I'm a hoarder to boot.<BR/><BR/>1. Enid Blyton (mais oui, Foanna)<BR/>2. Georgette Heyer<BR/>3. PD James<BR/>4. Lisa Kleypas<BR/>5. Jane Austen<BR/><BR/>I noticed that most of the mentions on our lists here are female authors. w00t!Keira Soleorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440213826734580889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-75629565502282063112007-10-07T10:42:00.000-04:002007-10-07T10:42:00.000-04:00Oh, Lord, now I have to go read Dorothy Dunnett. ...Oh, Lord, now I have to go read Dorothy Dunnett. Just what I need, ladies. Another keeper. Sigh. Nancy, I love the Darkover books too, but they've not been "re-reads" for me. Pretty much everything David Eddings has written I've read about five times. Same for Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Andre Norton. Harry Potter. I've about worn out Sorcerer's Stone. Eva Ibbotsen, as Anna and I have both raved over. Virtually every book ERB ever wrote. (That's Edgar Rice Burroughs, BTW, for those who aren't afficianados) Some of the JD/Nora books are keepers, but not all. I love Mitchell's incredible descriptive power, but Scarlet annoys me, so I don't keep her around, even tho' I'm a Southern Gal. Thurber. I love Thurber and can't part with my dog-eared copies. Then there's the non-fiction. I've reread Tony Robbin's Awaken the Giant Within about 9 times and refer to it often. Jack Canfield's The Success Principles is another re-read, but it's fairly new, so I'm only on reread #3. And Claude Bristol's The Magic of Believing. Like Helen says, too many books, too few bookcases. I'm getting good at weeding, but as a Librarian's daughter, it's so HARD to part with them...Grins.Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03492480881584553111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-10522945266729105482007-10-07T10:38:00.000-04:002007-10-07T10:38:00.000-04:00Great post, Nancy.Though I have to admit that many...Great post, Nancy.<BR/><BR/>Though I have to admit that many of the authors you cited I either a)have never heard of or b)have heard about from the other Banditas.<BR/><BR/>I can list scores of books I read in my much younger years but in high school....not so much. (The only literature course I took then included a bunch of literary fiction from the (mumble) '70's by a teacher who was "on the edge" of rebellion for the times)<BR/><BR/>Going onto nursing school the required reading was more "Grey's Anatomy" minus McDreamy.<BR/><BR/>My loss of a well rounded experience came into evidence when I tried to CLEP out of World Literature II. I didn't do it. (Darn poets).<BR/><BR/>Now romance fiction wise...any and all trilogies by Nora, Fires of Winter by Johanna Lindsey, Karen Marie Moning, Suzanne Brockmann, Sherrilyn Kenyon and increasingly every author who is a Bandita or has guest blogged for us!<BR/><BR/>And Gak! I've never read Harry Potter :-0Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12566704374877697300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-9887315600856718632007-10-07T08:46:00.000-04:002007-10-07T08:46:00.000-04:00Wait a minute, Robert Jordan is DEAD? I haven't ev...Wait a minute, Robert Jordan is DEAD? I haven't even read the most recent Wheel of Time book yet! How dare he! There's got to be a successor out there somewhere. <BR/><BR/>I have a collection of very unusual books I bought in college when I was studying with an Arab woman, Nawal Sa'adawi. They were all special order books from the UK that I doubt I could find again, and I treasure them partly just for the stories of the authors who wrote them (many who were writing under threat of death or imprisonment). I also have a few non-fiction books I love by authors like Barbara Kingsolver, Terry Tempest Williams, and Kathleen Norris. <BR/><BR/>I don't have many romance keepers, to be honest--Eloisa James (squeee!!), Mary Balogh, Johanna Lindsey, and of course, all the Banditas...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-6699141754277568582007-10-07T05:09:00.000-04:002007-10-07T05:09:00.000-04:00Nancy I can't purge my books I just buy another bo...Nancy I can't purge my books I just buy another bookshelf and squeeze it in somewhere I have to have them.Favourites is hard Gone With The Wind, all of Kahleen Woodiwiss, Shirley Busbee, Johanna Lindsey the first historical romance I read Sweet Savage Love Rosmary Rogers, Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught and of course a lot more authors Anna Campbell, Jenna Petersen, Jacquie D'Alessandro,Shana Galen,Christine Wells and the list goes on I am sure I have left some off and these are the authors I have read and have the books not the books on my wish list or the ones on order that I haven't read yet. If I keep buying books like I am at the moment I will need another bookshelf fairly soon. Great post Nancy.<BR/>Have Fun<BR/>HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03984438742736003285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-39086473142633375252007-10-07T01:41:00.000-04:002007-10-07T01:41:00.000-04:00Other that friends' books, my keeper shelves inclu...Other that friends' books, my keeper shelves include all of J.R. Ward's books, the Harry Potter series, all of Pamela Morsi's American-set historical romances, Gone With the Wind, Nevada Barr's mystery series (the only series I've ever bought in hardback), and a few other odds and ends.<BR/><BR/>I'm not good at purging though. Once I've bought a book, I just CAN'T get rid of it until I've read it.Trish Milburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812010789617982102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-68272013498609186432007-10-07T01:04:00.000-04:002007-10-07T01:04:00.000-04:00Wow about tea with Dorothy Dunnett. Do you know sh...Wow about tea with Dorothy Dunnett. Do you know she came to a signing in Sydney and I had the worst bout of flu and didn't go? Yeah, I know, I know. Hard to believe. But you know when you're SOOO sick, nothing matters. I've regretted it ever since because apparently only about half a dozen people turned up (including Isolde Martyn from my crit group which is where I got all this from) and it turned into a proper chance to meet her, not just a signing. She died about 12 months later, sadly. Believe me, I've kicked myself ever since!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-1974144474037213532007-10-07T00:55:00.000-04:002007-10-07T00:55:00.000-04:00Great post, Nancy! I know at the end of reading a ...Great post, Nancy! I know at the end of reading a book that it's going to be a keeper. I'm depressed because it's ending and I read far too fast and I want to start it all over again. <BR/><BR/>All of Heyer's books, Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, SEP's Chicago Stars series, Jenny Crusie's Welcome to TEmptation, Gone With the Wind (of course) my Austen collection, Queen Margot, Margaret Atwood, Anne Stuart. I have a LOT of keepers!Christine Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260589566405262159noreply@blogger.com