My 100-Book List - Part Four of Four

The Open Ended "End"

So we’ve arrived at the fourth and final part of my discussion of my 100-book list. In a way, I guess that list is open-ended, because as an author and a person, I’m always growing and learning, so books will continue to contribute to that in significant ways—I hope!

Prior to the social media presence we have today, where we can exchange book recommendations so much more quickly and easily, one of the deep pleasures of becoming a published author and having writing peers was discovering the gems in their work that found a spot on my keeper shelf. Books by Denise Rossetti, Charlotte Featherstone, Charlotte Boyett-Compo, Shelby Reed, Ann Jacobs…just to name a few. Almost everyone on that list took a chance with the early ebook publishers, including myself, and that’s often how we crossed paths and discovered one another’s work.

However, once writing deadlines and the business of writing took up the amount of time it eventually did, I often fell into the trap of writing/editing more than I read. I discovered a wonderful warning flag for that state, though. I’d note a staleness to my writing. The scenes would feel forced or formulaic, like I’m writing on auto-pilot. Writing is not easy, but the creation portion has a “flow” feeling to it that’s unmistakable, once you’ve been doing it long enough. Just as the absence of that flow is an alarm bell that tells you something’s off.

Sometimes the “off” feeling is because I’m not reading enough. When that happens, I go looking for stories to read that will jumpstart the creative juices, and not only feed into my existing style but improve and enrich it as well. It’s a very similar and vital need in all art or craft forms; the need to expose the mind to the efforts of others to keep evolving as an artist or craftsperson.

Over these last two decades, I have found some amazing sources of inspiration. I enjoy different approaches to storytelling, as long as the story offers wonderful characters and a good central love story. When it does, it motivates me to stretch my own talents as an author.

To this day, Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger has my awe, for its scrambling of timelines that put everything in its perfect yet completely out-of-order place to tell a haunting love story. Or My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale, which I discovered years after she wrote it. The courage to write a love story in Old English dialogue, and do it so well? Incredible. Then there’s Jodi Picoult, the master of taking a topic where everyone has preconceived notions of who is the villain, who is to blame, who is the hero, and looking at that topic from every player’s point of view. My Sister’s Keeper wins the award for spontaneous ugly cry from me, but Nineteen Minutes is a masterpiece of understanding a tragedy (school shooting) from so many different perspectives.

You’ve heard the question everyone asks readers; how do you choose your books? It’s of vital interest to those of us who market our books, so it’s probably no surprise that the primary way I choose stories to read is my preferred way of marketing my own—reader recommendation. I keep an Excel spreadsheet of my TBR. That list is 95% reader and fellow author recommendations for stories they’ve read and loved. I don’t really care about the genre, because to keep my style fresh, I read a wide range. For instance, in the last several weeks, I’ve read literary (All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve), historic/espionage/thriller (Archangel by Robert Harris), MC gritty romance (Fearless by Lauren Gilley) and Daddy Dom erotic romance (Control Freak by Brianna Hale). I’m currently reading The First Time by Joy Fielding, mainstream women’s fiction.

Having trusted readers/fellow authors who recommend the best titles for my specific reading interests and writing intentions is such a gift. My husband, a reader and fan of good storytelling, helps guide me too. While it was his father who brought me to Dean Koontz’s early works of Watchers and Strangers, it was Scott who brought me back to him to read Odd Thomas. And Scott as well who turned me on to Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series, which to me does an outstanding job of preserving the best elements of high fantasy and combining it with the romance and entertainment of urban fantasy.

Love stories will forever be my favorites (in case you haven't guessed that already, lol). Especially the kinds that are emotionally intense, with unexpected twists/approaches that skirt dark edges or dwell right in the abyss, but manage to come out with an HEA and a love to last forever. Dark Notes by Pam Godwin, The Mount trilogy by Meghan March, Control Freak by Brianna Hale as noted above, and Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone, come to mind as good examples of that. What will consistently draw me in, change my world view or reinforce it, is a wonderful story.

I’m glad that my 100 book list will continue to grow and change throughout my life, but I’m also glad that I have the books I’ve discussed over these four segments that have formed my course and preferences. Because I think that foundation will lead me to equally excellent books going forward. I hope you all have the same pleasurable experience on your reading journey. When my books make the cut, I’m grateful and deeply flattered to share company with so many incredible stories and authors.

Books were my first sense that there is a spiritual world. The crafting of words in ways that capture the heart and mind, speak to us so deeply in ways we can’t express…if that’s not evidence of a spiritual world, I don’t know what could be.

So here are the final books in my list. I may have gone a few over 100 if you add up the lists in all four segments, so don’t check my math, lol. However, as I said from the beginning, probably for every one of these books I remember, I likely read ten others, equally as memorable. “Rabidly avid reader” is a very common early description of most authors!

Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward

Dark Melody (plus a handful of others in the Carpathian series) by Christine Feehan

Glitterland by Alexis Hall

For Real by Alexis Hall

The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

The Phoenix Rising series by Denise Rossetti

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone

Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop (first trilogy)

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Bloodwind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Bittersweet Homecoming by Ann Jacobs

Rain and Whiskey by BA Tortuga

The Lover by Robin Schone

In Death series by JD Robb (yes, I know she's Nora, but it's a different style)

For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale

Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher

Shadowdwellers series by Jacqueline Frank

Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey

Sharing Knife series by Lois McMaster Bujold

Harry Potter novels by JK Rowling

In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Sabran Foer

Dark Notes by Pam Godwin

Earthly Joys by Phillippa Gregory

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