Gift That Keeps On Giving

I have discovered that if I don’t force myself to write, then I won’t write. It is easier to talk myself out of writing than it is to string together a coherent thought.  I am going to go back to a blog post a day for a little bit to try and jump starts some good habits.  

I know I had mentioned in a previous blog a book gift idea list.  That is an incredibly hard thing to do. I have a love affair with books, and it is hard to pick a favorite one or two.  Instead I have broken it down into two lists.   One list is going to be a list of series to check out and which book to start with in that series and the other is going to be a list of ten books that I have most often gifted. I think between the two lists, that there is something for everyone. 

While composing this list, I realized that when I think of series, I mostly think of Science Fiction Fantasy. If you are not into Science Fiction or Fantasy this will hold no appeal to you and I recommend you to try back tomorrow on my most gifted books list. 

Book Series

1.        Dune- Frank Herbert- There is a total of 8 books in this classic Sci-Fi series.  I have probably watched every movie adaptation of this book, but I still have a love for the first book that set the entire stage. If you have someone just getting into Sci-Fi this is a great book to start with. 

2.       Small Gods- Terry Pratchett- There is a huge debate on where a person should start in the wonderful fantasy world of Discworld, and it could be a little daunting since there are 41 books within this series.  . Small Gods is the one that I started with and it opens the door to other characters without making you wish you had a back story. I look at it as the gateway book that ultimately lets you get a feel for the writers’ style and is massively entertaining. (In case you were wondering, a general search on the internet shows that Color of Magic is the book to start with, and I disagree.)

3.       Howl’s Moving Castle- Diane Wynne Jones- A fair number of people have seen the animated movie that was based off of the first book in this series. I have a great love for the movie (and almost anything Studio Ghibli) and a deep love for the book by the same name. Very rarely do I love a book and movie equally, but this is one of those rare times. There are a total of 3 books in this young adult series and each novel is a breath fresh air. 

4.       Summon the Keeper- Tanya Huff- I debated between two different series by Tanya Huff. I was debating between the Keeper Chronicles (3 books) and the Blood Books (6 books in total). I love both series and they are both radically different from each other. The Blood Books is a gritty vampire detective series and the Keeper Chronicles is a tongue in cheek sci-fi fairy tale romantic comedy. When it came down to it, I decided to go with the Keeper Chronicles, because I love the way that series makes me smile at the mental images it presents. 

5.        Darwin’s Radio- Greg Bear- There is only two books in this science fiction series, and it almost didn’t make this list. I put it on the lis///t because it isn’t light and fluffy. I read a lot of light and fluffy and find it relaxing, but this book is a far cry from my usual and if you like something a bit more serious and steeped in science then you will most likely love this book.  I like how this book made me think and is a good palate cleanse on some of the overly fluffy options out there. 

Tuning into Darwin's Radio

Last year for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I wrote about books that influenced my life in one way or another. I had near a hundred books that I talked about in my mini novella. I came to a realization that not only do I use books to escape from reality, but I use books as a way to connect with other people, most particularly I use books to be able to communicate with my parents.

I don't communicate well. I am at best passive aggressive. I don't like to rock the boat.  I  am not one to enjoy larges amounts of drama.  I don't think I have ever seen a family that hasn't rocked the boat, that isn't aggressive and that has mastered the avoidance of drama. My family is unconventional and full of anxiety and mood swings. The thing that we can do and do very well is read. My mother is a huge reader and so is my father, and when we need to find something to fill silence, we resort to one thing.

"What are you reading?"

My dad lives in California. I do not. I don't keep up on California politics. I don't read the LA Times and I don't really miss the air quality warnings, and the 9% sales tax. I sometimes miss the excitement of an earthquake, but not the chaos of the aftermath of a big quake. I do miss my dad. We don't get to see each other that often, but when we do we try to make the most of it, which is why it is so important to me that we talk on the phone often.

" The flat afternoon sky spread over the black and gray mountains like a stage backdrop, the color of a dog's pale crazy eye."

My dad recommended this book to me, Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear.  He went on about this book for months. I honestly have never read anything by Greg Bear, so it was foreign territory for me, but it sounded interesting.  Then one day it showed up in the mail. It was a hardback book, that had a library code on the jacket cover, and then another library stamp on the inside.  I love getting books in the mail, but for a small moment, I had to wonder if my father was a book thief. Did he steal this book from the library, because he thought I would like it? It was an autographed copy of the book that was in pretty good condition for being in a library. After a little bit of research I discovered, it was just a library book sale that my dad took advantage of to get one of his favorite books.  I did not dive into the book right away. I had other stuff on the night stand to read and that I was in the middle of.

"Bacteria made us. They take us back in the end. Welcome  home."

I am on vacation. It is beautiful  on vacation, and I have time to read.  I brought the book with me. I don't know if I am going to like it. I don't think that I will hate it, but it isn't my usual cup of tea. I just started it and am not more then two dozen pages in, but is makes me think and not in a bad way.  I can't wait to finish it, just so that I have yet one more thing to talk to my dad about, and in a small way feel a little bit closer to him despite our distance apart.