Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

This book introduced me to the world of Historical Romance:)

anything by Lisa Kleypas

Jasmin wrote: "

This book introduced me to the world of Historical Romance:)"

I loved Kingdom of Dreams! I have this one as well, I just need to read it. :)

I love all of Judith McNaught's historicals. For her contemporaries, I love

best :)

Jasmin wrote: "I love all of Judith McNaught's historicals. For her contemporaries, I love

best :)"

I have that one too... a friend gave it to me. Is the fact that it was written in the '90's odd or does it still seem contemporary, Jasmin?

@alycia, err, maybe I just don't know what genre to put it under. Doesn't seem historical, but doesn't seem too contemporary.

could we make another genre? semi-contemporary romance? :))

Jasmin wrote: "@alycia, err, maybe I just don't know what genre to put it under. Doesn't seem historical, but doesn't seem too contemporary.

could we make another genre? semi-contemporary romance? :))"

That's perfect! Actually I think any post WW2 book is considered contemporary, I just think of recent contemporaries as more up to date than 10 plus years ago.

@alycia, i think we should make a new forum which tackles about romance genres. Though I'm such a noob to start it. To avoid confusion, we might as well generalize the genres to one w/c is "Romance". I need more education about the specifics. I read there was a regency genre, but it all seems like historical mush to me :))

Jasmin wrote: "@alycia, i think we should make a new forum which tackles about romance genres. Though I'm such a noob to start it. To avoid confusion, we might as well generalize the genres to one w/c is "Romance..."

Its a subgenre of historical romance because it refers to the time period. I just lump them all into HR. You can start a thread here in this group and we can talk about it.

will do :)

@riya, i dont think its embarassing. Twilight did make me think of vampires in a different light :)

@riya, dont worry, I'm basically the same. Twilight introduced the whole paranormal genre to me. and me too, went to see eclipse on the first day. and it took me 2 hours to get the darn tickets :))

@rachel, yes, riley was hot. Too bad he had to die, I however prefer the books over the movies :\

Riya wrote: "Is it too embarrassing to admit Twilight did, since it started me on paranormal, which led me to historical, contemporary and m/m romance?"

Riya, don't worry! I loved Twilight and it too started me on pnr and uf.

@rachel, well Jacob's abs are screamworthy. i dont like rob pattinson much since the Edward in my head is way hotter. :))

@riya, if i could grab my hands on the both of them, i gladly will. I'm on the neutral team

@rachel, you got to put a shield or something protective at least. we got to be extra careful. Who knows how many fans rob pattinson has? they might make a stampede and crush us to death :))

@rachel, thank you. I would like to think of that as a positive trait. But seriously, we must care for our health. Rob Pattinson really has some die hard fans who's ready to pounce and kill if we say something sacrilegious about him :))

I'm embarassed to say that Twilight changed my life. Even though I really don't like it much that more, I was in love when the books first came out. That book taught me what it was like to really LOVE a book and never wanting that book to end.

Jasmin wrote: "

This book introduced me to the world of Historical Romance:)"

Same with me.

Sorry for the long list!

Probably sounds lame, but The Bible, number one book that changed my life. My faith is my foundation in life, although I need to read it more than I do. Other books:
Andrew Lang's Fairy Books
The Gruesome Green Witch by Patricia Coffin (I used to read this book over and over and I loved the scary moments)
Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis (when I fell in love with CS Lewis)
Mythology by Edith Hamilton (where I met the Greek and Norse myths)
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Edward Cullen...enough said)
Fires of Winter by Johanna Lindsey (my first romance ever)
Enamored by Diana Palmer (such a heartbreaking story--when I became a DP fan)
Mackenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard (wonderful romance)
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (my favorite book)
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (first urban fantasy)
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon (made me a paranormal fan)
Shadow Game by Christine Feehan (first book by her, now I am a huge fan)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (first required read I loved)
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (when I became acquainted with magical realism)
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (Derek Craven..sigh)
Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (St. Vincent!)
Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell (something about Kylemore just clicked with me)
The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas (Carter was so unconventional and I loved him for it)
Special Gifts by Anne Stuart (start of my love affair with Anne Stuart's books..She's my favorite author of all time)

Jasmin wrote: "@rachel, well Jacob's abs are screamworthy. i dont like rob pattinson much since the Edward in my head is way hotter. :))

@riya, if i could grab my hands on the both of them, i gladly will. I'm on..."

Jasmin you are team Switzerland. :) As some others I had never read a Vampire book till Twilight. I love the books and the movies. Eclipse IMHO was really well done. I'm team Edward/Jasper!!!

was my first Historical Romance and fell in love with the genre and Her. I have read everyone of her books and there are very few I dislike. But KOD is my favorite historical for sure.

Those are great books ladies, some I want to read/haven't read yet.

@katherine, yes, team switzerland *waving flag* :)

A KINGDOM OF DREAMS is also a book i love. Goes second after ALMOST HEAVEN also by J. Mcnaught.

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer
April Fools Day - Bryce Courtenay
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

These two didn't quite change my life but I loved them so much! The Phantom Tollbooth and Charlotte's Web. They are so simple and beautiful..

For grown-ups: Stephen King's The Stand and The Eyes of the Dragons, Robert McCammon's Boy's Life and Swan Song..

I'm a fan of Judith McNaught, as well, but the book that changed my life and forced some re-evaluation was, and still is "The Walk" by Richard Paul Evans. It's an emotionally gripping love story that transcends life and what I thought I knew about romance. Once I read this, I had to get everything he'd ever written and they were just as good. I actually carry tis book around because it has some awesome quotes.

If we're talking major life changes, The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine totally changed my life: I was going into criminal law anyway, but now I know what to specialize in.. It's an amazing testimonial of strength and courage that had my crying 15 pages in..

Otherwise:

The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, also read at 12, which got me into the epic historical genre..
Gone With the Wind of course! The biggest book I'd ever read when I was 13.. Just fed my love of HR:-)
The Fire Rose got me hooked on fantasy like
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes got me hooked on mystery when I was 11:-)

Otherwise, romance-wise:
A Warrior's Way, lol.. my very first HR read when I was 12, in French (we were on our way to our summer house in Normandy... Long drive!):-)
Worth Any Price which got me started on english romance (instead of the French translations I could buy at the market here), and more specifically, amazing authors:-)
Fairest of Them All, The Duke, The Prey (my first foray into RS), and recently The Prize, Lawless, Lord of the Fading Lands (which is one of my all-time favorite books!)

This is going to sound stupid..but 2 books have changed my life.

The first one was Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. I read it in the 4th grade, and it has just always stuck with me. I guess it sort of taught me what to expect when I got a little older. Boys, periods, bras, friends, boobs ("we must, we must, we must increase our bust" I can't tell you how many times my friends & I did that in the girl's bathroom!! LOL!!). Are You There God had such a huge impact on my young life.

The other is Twilight. Now, before everyone starts on the hating Twilight bandwagon, let me just explain something. This saga came into my life when I needed it the most. My mom had just died, my husband was deployed. I was very lonely and depressed. I was suffering from panic attacks every single day. I had Twilight for awhile before I read it. I found it while cleaning and decided to start reading it. Something about the story just gripped me. It made me happy again. It reconnected me with friends who had read it too. It got me out of the house so I could buy New Moon & Eclipse. It gave me something to be passionate about again. Around the time the movie was out, I discovered a new world!! I've met a ton of wonderful people through Twilight. I'm so thankful for this book.

Francie, those are two good choices simply because they helped you in your time of need. I remember Are You There and loved it for so sweet and endearing. I started to reread the In Death series when my Mom was going through a series of surgeries and Eve's strength helped me.

Francie, thanks for sharing your story. It's great how picking up a book to read and open up so many other roads. I also have met some great people just because we have the same interest in a book suck as twilight and also Jane Austen books.

Thanks!! I think books are great for being there when you need them the most. Getting lost in a new different world is a great way to spend your time.

I have many but the main ones that I can think of right now are:
A Woman of Substance - Barbara Taylor Bradford (really the whole Emma Harte Series)
A Piece of Cake - Cupcake Brown
Still Alice - Lisa Genova
and pretty much every memoir I have read

Caroline_com wrote: "I have many but the main ones that I can think of right now are:
A Woman of Substance - Barbara Taylor Bradford (really the whole Emma Harte Series)
A Piece of Cake - Cupcake Brown
Still Alice ..."

I absoutly loved Still Alice! I was very scared for awhile that I might have Alzheimers because it runs in our family.

A Kingdom of Dreams it's the best! I cried when I was reading it. and also Once and Always it's make me understand how a man feeling.the last one isThe Bride because I read this book and then I realize that we shouldn't think about humans colours or humans language etc and also make me think about love,responsibility and the life....

So many books have changed my life but the main one would have to be Little Women my favourite :)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Debbie wrote: "Jonathan Livingston Seagull Jonathan Livingston Seagull"

wow! my teacher force our class for reading it and we read it nobody liked it at all but of corse I liked it:) anyway they said to me you're weird about reading you like everything but this isnt true. I just liked that the book make me feel like I'm flying, I'm trying everything. And I love being stubborn:)

Where the Red Fern Grows
This is the book that started it all. I got my love of reading and the world of books opened up to me. I was in fifth or six grade when I read this book. It was the first book that ever made me cry. My mother is an avid reader so I was a reader before then but mostly, I was just imitating her. Almost like a child playing with barbies. But with this book- it clicked. I knew what my mama was doing and I knew why she was doing it. I've been a reader ever since. Funny I would say I don't read animal stories but in the last few years Twilight and all that, I've been bitten by the vampire werewolf thing and lately I've been reading a lot of werewolf books - almost full circle : )

Chain Letter

Ok, so I'm sure I get some kind of prize for the most obscure book picked lol But let me explain :)
This is the first book I ever remember reading on my own. When I was in grade school, we used to have book fairs. Each of my friends (there was a group of about 7 of us) would each buy one book, and then we'd all trade until we'd read all 7!
Chain Letter was my first choice. Followed by all the Fear Street books. Its when I first found my passion for reading.

The One in the middle is the Green Kangaroo and Freckle Juice - both by Judy Blume that sparked my love of reading from a very young age.

OMG, I remember the title Freckle Juice by Blume but I don't remember what it is about. What year did it come out?

When you said Freckle I thought of Frindle... I remember reading that book in 2nd grade.

I am notbsure when freckle juice came out. I will have to look. I hand both books all beat up in my youngest sons bookcase. I can't wait to read them with him.

Harry Potter and Twilight changed my life.

Harry Potter introduced me to fantasy and Twilight into Paranormal Romance.

If it wasn't for these books, than I wouldn't have read the The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, The Demonica Series, and The Night Huntress Series. These books turned me into the obsessive reader that I am today.

The "His Dark Materials" Trilogy


I read the trilogy when I was 12 & it played a major role in helping me decide my religious beliefs. Afterwards, I read the Bible front-to-back & a year later I declared that I was Agnostic & I'm Agnostic to this day, 10 years later. I've read lots of books that changed my views of things but this is the one that's impacted me the most.

I know it might be a bit silly, but Inkheart was a huge part of my childhood and my "adulthood," for that matter. I can't even count the number of times I've reread this book and am thinking of doing so again in the near future. There's just something about the idea reading books and characters into life that still makes my breath catch in my throat and my heart beat a little faster. Must just be the bookworm in me. =p

Angie (Mind Malfunction) wrote: "Harry Potter and Twilight changed my life.

Harry Potter introduced me to fantasy and Twilight into Paranormal Romance.

If it wasn't for these books, than I wouldn't have read the The Black Dagger..."

That´s really nice, Angie, but what about reading some canon authors now for a change? Like Charlotte Brönte, who I am sure you will be able to relate to!

The because from beginning to end it has you looking at life in a way that has you appreciating it.

The books Go Ask Alice and The Glass Castel and Eleanor and Park made a huge impact with me. I'm sorry if I spelt thoose wrong by the way. They got me back into reading, gave me hope and inspiration and changed the way I look at life. : )

I was born reading. There was never a time I didn't have a book in my hands. But when I began reading Harlequin and Silhouette romance novels, that's when my life changed. An introduction to those books brought out the author in me, and I'll be forever grateful.