Too Many To Name

That was my original thought when I realized this week's topic was on our favorite books. I'm an avid reader, and there are many, many books that I've loved over the years. Narrowing them down to just a few is impossible. Seriously. I don't have a number one favorite book any more than I have a number one favorite author.

Not only that, but I'm always looking for new authors to add to my ever growing list of must read authors. So, rather than try to compile a ranked list of my favorite books, I'm just going to share some of my favorites...but trust me, this is no way a comprehensive list.

When I was younger, the first books that grabbed my attention were The Nancy Drew Mysteries. Likely, many girls can say the same. But I also loved The Hardy Boys Mysteries. And then I moved on to the Trixie Belden Mysteries. It's pretty obvious I loved my mysteries.

Other than that, though, I also remember reading The Hobbit and being completely swept away. Oh! And The Narnia series. Wow. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is still a favorite to this day. My Aunt Connie gifted me with a complete set of Narnia books for my birthday one year, and I still have that same set.

As the years went on, I found other books I loved. My first favorite author as a young adult was Danielle Steel. I loved so many of her books, but some of my favorites were those that mixed a bit of history into the story. I remember Zoya being a particular favorite. As was Wanderlust.

More years passed, and I found Nora Roberts. I can't really say which of her books I love the most, because seriously--I love them all. Though, I can say any of her trilogies that have a little bit of magic probably rank pretty high for me.

Other favorites of mine from the past few years include:

• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.D. Ward
• The In Death Series by J.D. Robb
• The Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Most especially Acheron)
• The Dirk and Steele Series by Marjorie M. Liu

Are you seeing a pattern here? I love series books with a passion. I love when an author creates a world and lets me visit it time after time. I have to say that if an author hooks me with the first book in the series, I will come back for every single book that follows within that series. But that doesn't mean I only love series, some of my favorite non-series, single title books are:

• Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
• Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
• The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner
• The Stand by Stephen King
• Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

And trust me, there are so many more I could mention here. But these are the titles/authors that came to mind first as I wrote this post. Also, my mood will often influence how well I love a book when I read it. I mean, sometimes I'm in the mood to laugh and/or fall in love. Other times, I'm in the mood to solve a mystery, or be a little bit scared as I'm reading. And then there are the times I want to be immersed in a fantasy land and read about elves or fairies or witches.

Aren't we lucky that we live in a world where whatever our mood, we can find the right type of book to match it? Books are an amazing way to fall into someone else's life for a little while and be carried away. With that in mind, I guess I have to say that my favorite books are the ones that allow me to forget about the laundry I need to fold, or the dinner I need to cook, or even the phone I should answer.

I'd love to hear about some of your favorite books. Even if you're like me and have way too many to list, what are the ones that come immediately to mind? The books that you remember year after year after year?