Personal Reading Profile
I have been a book-lover for as long as I can remember - even before that, as my Mom enjoys telling my sister and I stories of how we could occupy ourselves for hours "reading" books (before we could actually read), laying on the floor together, books all around us, as we slowly turned pages and examined the words, illustrations, too if there were any. Some of the fondest earliest memories I have are of going to our small public library, located in a historic building, full of big, sturdy wooden shelves, slightly creaky wooden floors, and (at the time, from a child's perspective) a towering, beautiful wooden card catalog with intricate and pretty metal fixtures. The librarians were like family, some I literally grew up around and considered as such, or at least very good, trusted, supporting friends, always ready with a smile and happy to help us whenever we needed it. With that foundation, it should come as no surprise that I consider libraries to be like a second home, a place where, no matter where I am in life, when I walk in, I immediately feel calmer and almost always brings a smile to my face, along with a feeling of contentment.
As for my reading habits, I enjoy so many genres, but Classic Literature, Fantasy, Romance (including Paranormal), Historical Fiction/Mystery, and Crime Fiction definitely top the list. I do have a habit of re-reading my most favorite series over and over, as comfort reads, rather than branching out and seeking read-alikes and/or new(er) authors and series. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but if pressured to list one for 2024, I would say that I want to make a concerted effort towards reading new-to-me authors, as well as new titles (published within the last 2 years).
Over the years I have also grown to love audiobooks (narrator-depending). I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that my younger (less flexible mind-set, we'll say) self, used to look down upon audiobooks, thinking they were a lesser choice to the physical copy. However, I'm proud to say I've completely changed my opinion on them after realizing that, with the right narrator, audiobooks can just as vividly bring a story to life!
Go-To Picks From Favorite Genres
Classic Literature
- Jane Austen
- Elizabeth Gaskell
- Charlotte Bronte
Fantasy
- J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings (series)
- J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter (series)
- Brian Jacques - Redwall (series)
Romance
- Nora Roberts - Inn Boonsboro & Gallaghers of Ardmore (series)
- Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake (series)
- Juliette Cross - Waking the Dragon
Historical Fiction/Mystery & Crime
- Anna Lee Huber - Lady Darby (series)
- Paul Gallico - Mrs. Harris (series)
- Laurie R. King - Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (series)
- J.D. Robb - In Death (series)
A+ Audiobook Narrators
- Jim Dale - Harry Potter (series)
- Susan Ericksen - In Death (series)
- Davina Porter - Outlander (series)
- Roy Dotrice - Game of Thrones (series)
- Heather Wilds - Lady Darby (series)
Hi Maryanne! I love that you got to spend so much time in libraries as a kid! It's such a valuable experience and I don't think most people realize how pivotal it can be in who we are as people, especially for those of us that already love books.
ReplyDeleteThank you for including your favorite audiobook narrators! I'll have to chack out Davina Porter for Outlander because I quit reading halfway through book 4 last year (oops). It just got too long for me at that time, but maybe listening will help! I do have a suggestion for another narrator for you: Kristin Atherton. She reads Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. It's a gothic fantasy romance with some murder mystery. Atherton's voice is AMAZING and I could listen to her all day every day.
I will admit that I haven't read past book #4 in Outlander... I found that the plot was slowly moving away from Jamie and Claire and more toward Brianna, who I don't like all that much as a character, unfortunately. I'm sure I'll pick it back up at some point, but it's not burning a hole in my To-Read list at the moment.
DeleteI'll definitely check out Kristin Atherton! Thanks for the recommend!!
Thanks for the compliments, Annaliese :)
ReplyDeleteI love Redwall for lots of reasons, but a couple I'll mention here - Jacques is incredible with descriptions (characters, landscape, emotions), but I was surprisingly most drawn in by how he describes the food cooked, presented, and eaten by the characters all throughout the series! It may seem silly, but it's done with such crafted detail that, I swear, every time I read a food scene from the Abbey I get hungry and wish I could cook all the dishes mentioned! lol
I also enjoy the relationships built and maintained by the characters, both within each book and across the series. There are familial and generational connections weaved throughout the series that provides an extra dash of excitement when reading (for example, a great-grandson of a character from previous books will be part of the main plot of "their" book, or connections from generations past will be mentioned, and you realize you know that past from reading their stories before, giving you a little more insight into the character's background, motivation, etc.
Lastly, I love that all the characters are animals, yet Jacques writes in such a way that brings them to life, that it doesn't seem odd at all that this is the case! Also, it's not at all "Oh, they're animals, so it's all cute and cuddly and sweet!"; there are sweet, cute moments, but there is definitely violence and fighting/battle/warfare involved, which also brings the added element of connection for the reader (as a human) into themes that we deal with in our lives.
I really enjoy that you created a separate section in your reading profile for audiobook narrators. I listen to a lot of books while I'm processing things at work and there are some that are just superb. One of my favorites (outside of Jim Dale, of course) is Imogen Church. She narrates all of Ruth Ware's books and just does an amazing job at it. In addition to that, Christopher Eccelston (Doctor Who) does some amazing mystery narrations as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Kayla! I'll have to look into Imogen Church's narrations and I love Eccelston (he was my first Doctor :) ), so I'd love to hear him narrate!! Do you have any initial recommends on where I should start?
DeleteI haven't read the Redwall series since I was a kid and now I want to reread it!
ReplyDelete