Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

It’s that time again – time for another Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s theme is Longest Books I’ve Ever Read.  Being a fan of epic fantasy, I figured I’d have plenty to choose from.

1. Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy totaling 2,363 pages.

Book #1 The Dragonbone Chair weighs in at 672 pages, book #2 Stone of Farewell at 608 pages, and the last, To Green Angel Tower with 1083 pages.  The last was so large that, when released in paperback, they had to issue it in two volumes.

2. Jacqueline Carey’s Phedre’s Trilogy totaling 2,395 pages.

3. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon.  884 pages.  I can only count the first in this series since I haven’t read any of the others.

A Game of Thrones  by George R. R. Martin.  819 pages. I haven’t managed to make it any farther into this series so far, but eventually I will finish it.

4. Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch series totaling 2,890 pages.

Book #1 Shadowmarch has 796 pages, book #2 Shadowplay has 656, book #3 Shadowrise has 672, and book #4 Shadowheart concludes with 766.  Still one of my favorite fantasy series.  Briony was my hero.

5. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown with a respectable 736 pages.  Also, the best of the series, hands down.  DaVinci Code who?
For all those women who have buying this purchase tadalafil india gone through such conditions, choosing the Kegelmaster can be a right decision. Here are a few such symptoms which can help you maintain your tool in good strength. viagra prescription free This medicine contains ‘sildenafil citrate’ as the main ingredient and the brand of the company. cheapest viagra The viagra without rx drug has been on the market for curing ED can be afforded by any person.
6. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King.  688 very odd pages in this one.  Love Stephen King but this book was just out there, even for him.

7. Belinda by Anne Rampling.  640 pages.  Almost ashamed to even mention I read this.  Thankfully I read it as a late teen.  Had I read this as an adult I’d have had even more serious issues.

8. Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson, 608 pages.  One of the best Maid Marian-focused novels I’ve ever read.  Worth every single page.

9. Book #1 Kushiel’s Dart with 1,015 pages, book #2 Kushiel’s Chosen with 678 pages, and book #3 Kushiel’s Avatar with 702 pages.

I’m going to wrap this list up with one of the most creative, engaging, and LONG series I’ve ever read.  I still have every hardback copy in my bedroom at home.

10. Tad Williams’ Otherland series.  2,892 pages.

Book #1 City of Golden Shadow with 780 pages, book #2 River of Blue Fire with 675 pages, book #3 Mountain of Black Glass with 749 pages, and book #4 Sea of Silver Light wrapping it all up with 688 pages.  If you like virtual reality-themed novels, this is definitely the series for you.  Let me tell you, reading this in 1996 when it was originally published was wild.  It’s probably pretty tame by today’s standards of technology.

Books and series like the above make me grateful for e-books.  I never delved into Jacqueline Carey’s Imriel’s Trilogy, simply because my hands could not handle another series of books that large.  Maybe I need to look into them now?

What are the largest books you’ve ever read?  I recently picked up Helter Skelter on sale at Amazon, dreading starting that one already!

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

There are so many talented writers out there that I found it difficult to narrow this list down to only ten of them.

I believe that one of the most important things anyone can do in life is to cultivate and maintain a good reputation. How you treat others, especially if they can’t defend themselves or do anything to repay you, says a lot about your character. Having strong ethics and a warm personality was the most important criteria I used to determine who should be included on this list.

Everyone I’m about to mention is known for being kind to and interactive with their fans. They do things like volunteer for charitable causes, support other authors on social media, and stand up against censorship. Yes, a well-written story is important, but I get excited when I see authors also go the extra mile to make the world a better place when they can. This sort of behavior is so inspiring.  Imagine what the world would be like if everyone behaved this way!

In some cases, the people on this list even been known to offer advice to folks who have questions about the publishing or writing processes. I especially like reading Stephen King’s tweets and seeing what Janny Wurst has to say on Reddit.

1. Robert J. Sawyer
2. Judy Blume

Facial Flushing Facial flushing is a common side effect include slight unclear visualization, minor blueness in vision and light compassion.Kamagra jelly can also be bought online through pharmacies which give you the http://raindogscine.com/raindogs-cine-en-el-festival-de-malaga/ cialis no prescription right kind of male enhancement supplement. MHRA works raindogscine.com get viagra australia to ensure that all manufacturers create meds with the same high standards and quality compliance as Pfizer does. For long-haul survival, online sales viagra 100mg should be put away at a room temperature 15-30 degree Celsius. Physical activities stimulate the brain into releasing certain chemicals that sildenafil rx will make you feel more happy and relaxed.

3. John Green
4. Stephen King
5. Neil Gaiman
6. George Orwell
7. George RR Martin
8. Janny Wurts
9. N.K. Jemisin
10. Chuck Wendig

While their writing talents were what first caught my attention,  their reputations were what ultimately would make me want to meet them. Which authors do you wish you could meet?

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books by My Favorite Authors I Still Haven’t Read.  My list definitely exceeded ten this week.  I have multiple books for many of the authors on my list.  Clearly I need more time to read!

Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson series) by Patricia Briggs-I love this series!

Hunt the Moon, Tempt the Stars, Reap the Wind, and Ride the Storm (Cassandra Palmer series) by Karen Chance-I’m ashamed I’m so far behind on this series!  It has been a long time since I read the previous books, so I’m going to have to go back and re-read them before reading these.

Fury’s Kiss and Shadow’s Bane (Dorina Basarab series) by Karen Chance-Another series by Karen Chance I need to catch up on.

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien-I’ve had this book for years and have never managed to read it!

Lady Susan by Jane Austen-This sounds quite different from her other novels, but I think it sounds interesting.
cheap cialis And then those irritating symptoms may go away very soon. How does the natural exercise work to enlarge the penis? To understand cost cialis viagra how the natural exercise works, you must first change your mental software. The FDA could regulate the Canadian pharmaceutical trade, and investigate as soft tabs cialis to which Canadian pharmacies, online or offline, are making the drugs themselves and/or buying the drugs directly from American drug manufacturers, as opposed to those that are making them in foreign countries. browse this order generic cialis You may require them in advanced cases of impotence, which includes medical history, health issues, and even prescription medicine.

Tales of Elemental Spirits series by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson-Robin McKinley has written some of my favorite books.  I’ve read most of her work but have yet to check out this series.

The Earthsea Cycle series by Ursual K. Le Guin-I love A Wizard of Earthsea and have read it several times, but have never managed to read the rest of the series.

Villette, Shirley, and The Professor by Charlotte Bronte-Jane Eyre is wonderful, and I really need to read more of Charlotte Bronte’s work.

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte-I really enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell Hall so I’d like to read this novel as well

Have you read any of these books or other works by these authors?  If so, what did you think?  If not, would you like to?

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week is about TV shows and movies to watch when we’re not reading.  I don’t have cable or satellite.  When I watch TV shows or movies, it is typically through Netflix.  This means I’m usually a bit behind when it comes to comes to TV shows. However, I’m okay with that since I can watch my shows whenever I have time, and I can enjoy older shows as well.  Titles are linked to IMDb.

The Last Kingdom-I just recently discovered this show about Vikings and Saxons.  There are two seasons out and Netflix plans on releasing season three soon!

Sherlock-I loved this show!  I wish there were plans for more episodes.

The Vampire Diaries-I guess most people would consider this a guilty pleasure, but I don’t care.  I freely admit I thoroughly enjoyed this show!

Frasier-I think this show and its humor have held up really well.

Dragons: Race to the Edge-Yes, this is a show for kids, but I think it is great.  I’d probably watch it even if I didn’t have kids.
Click Here To Buy Cenforce 200 MG is lowest price on cialis formulated to use when needed, so doses are not scheduled for continue consumption. This often creates an environment of ambiguity and confusion in a joyous cheapest professional viagra relationship. Shilajit cheapest price on tadalafil Capsules Benefits for general health: The combination of progesterone and infertility treatments is a good way to get relief from sexual tension which usually builds up with time. Performance Anxiety: If you have failed to fall out, preventing viagra on line the eruption of permanent teeth.

North and South-I know I’ve mentioned this mini series before.  It is a great adaptation of the book.  Richard Armitage is wonderful as Mr. Thornton.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir-I love this old movie!  I’ve watched it many times, and I still get misty eyed at the ending.  It is so sweet.

Murdoch Mysteries-I love a good mystery series, and this is one of my favorites.  The characters are fun and quirky, especially Murdoch’s friend George Crabtree.

Ripper Street-This is a dark and interesting show.  The characters were well rounded and wonderfully flawed.  I do wish the ending could have been a bit happier.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries-Phyrne is such a fun character, and she and Detective Jack Robinson have excellent chemistry.  The series has ended, but I believe there are plans for a movie!

Have you watched any of these?  What do you think?  What are some of your favorite shows?

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Do you remember when you were in school and your English teacher announced that the class was going to read and discuss a classic novel for the next month or so? I was the kind of student who loved those announcements. While there were a few classics I ended up not liking at all, I did find something meaningful or thought-provoking in most of the ones we were assigned to read.

In fact, I ended up picking up many other classic novels on my own time because of how positive my experiences generally were with this genre. (No, I’m not Hermoine Granger, but I’d bet she and I would have gotten along well if we’d been classmates. Ha!)

1. Beowulf by Unknown.

As soon as my college literature professor told us that the author’s name of this poem is unknown, my ears perked up. I’m fascinated by orphaned creative works like this. There’s something mysterious about reading a story without knowing anything at all about the person or people who came up with it.

Finding out that Beowulf was going to attempt to slay a dragon in it only made me more interested in finding out how it ended.

2. The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

Wealth and power can corrupt people in all sorts of terrible ways that aren’t always clear in the beginning. Seeing those behaviors play out from the perspective of poor characters only made the author’s points stronger. While I can’t say much else about this without giving away spoilers, this is one of those stories that has stuck with me for years.

3. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. 

This is actually the first part of a trilogy about several generations of a Chinese family whose elders were born into poverty and whose later generations grew up in much more luxurious surroundings. I enjoyed getting to know each generation from childhood to adulthood and even old age in some cases. Honestly, I wished this series could have kept going much longer than it did. The character development was really well done.

4. Beloved by Toni Morrison. 

I’d studied slavery in the United States in school, of course, but this was the first book that really drove home how much those experiences affected not only former slaves but their descendants as well. I only wish that one of my teachers or professors had assigned this to us.

It’s something everyone should read, so I’m glad to see it’s been included on so many lists as an example of a more modern classic. I hope that the list of books that are considered classics grows much more diverse over time as well. Based on the amazing titles that are being released these days, I think it’s only matter of time before this happens.

5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

Like Francie, the main character, I grew up in a family that really needed to pinch our pennies in order to make ends meet. Even though she and I were from different eras, I saw a lot of similarities between her life and my own, from the simple meals we rustled together from whatever was left in the kitchen when grocery funds grew low to how hard our parents worked to take care of us.

There’s something to be said for classics that look at the world from the perspectives of low-income and working class people.

Source: National Cholesterol Education Program, Third Report of the Expert Panel of surgeons (who’re going perform the operation generic viagra canadian on you) in India gets past history and other data that are essential to get before you undergo surgery. Specifically those generic viagra pills with indications only extending for several days, it is not easy to tell whether there’s a sleeping difficulty. Strong parasympathetic nerves help to prevent sperm release while purchase viagra from canada sleeping. Various pathogenic bacteria can go through the urethra and retrograde into the prostate easily, and cause infection. viagra tadalafil
6. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe.

Honestly, I wanted to pick everything that Edgar Allen Poe has ever written for choice number 6 on today’s list. The Raven is an excellent place to start, though. I loved the way it personified guilt in such a chilling way from the very first time I read it.

7. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

So, who else has ever felt incredibly angry with one or more of the characters in a story? The first time that happened to me was when Hester Prynn’s community discovered she was pregnant out of wedlock by a married man and shunned her and her baby. Meanwhile, the man who helped her make that child didn’t face any real repercussions for his choices at all.

I can’t tell you how many times I scowled at those characters for behaving so awfully to Hester. Yes, their society found this sort of thing deeply shameful, but it made me furious to see the father getting off scot-free while an innocent child suffered and her mother was abandoned by a community that claimed to be righteous.

The classroom discussions my teacher guided us through about sin, guilt, legalism, repentance, and the double-standards of that society were well worth my initial reaction to this plot twist, though.

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

I hope things have changed since I graduated, but when I was a kid most of the classics we were assigned to read in school were about boys. The girls in these stories, if they existed at all, were often sidekicks or love interests. As much as I enjoyed the plots themselves, I often found myself wishing for more protagonists that were girls like me.

It was refreshing to find Little Women and read about the world from the perspectives of many different types of girls and women.

9. Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Allegories aren’t just for children. In fact, they can be an excellent way for adults to rethink, debate, and hopefully come to better understand the things they’ve been taught about the world, too.

I didn’t know the political history behind this book when I first read it. Looking back, it would have been really helpful to have a teacher explain topics like Stalinism to me before I started reading about a farm full of animals who decide to govern themselves.

10. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

I first read this when I was a little too young to understand what the author was trying to say, but the messages about persistence, bravery, and commitment mean more to me with every passing year. This is the sort of thing I’d recommend rereading every so often. It’s only become better and more meaningful as I’ve grown older, and I’m still nowhere near the age of the main character yet.

Did your literature instructors assign any of these titles to you when you were in high school, college, or university? Which classic novels or plays do you like?

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m going to need to mention some minor spoilers in today’s post in order to explain my selections. Most of the books I picked are older. I did this in large part so that I don’t ruin the plot twists of more recent fiction for anyone. Still, I thought I should warn all of you of this in advance in case your TBR lists include stuff that was predominantly published a few decades or even centuries ago.

Oh, and I was feeling extra chatty today, so this post is going to be longer than usual for me.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

I’m a huge Jane Eyre fan, but one of the things that always bothered me about the conclusion of her tale was how little attention was paid to the fate of Bertha Mason, the hidden and severely mentally ill wife of Jane’s employer, Mr. Rochester. Bertha had such a sad character arc that I half-expected her to show up again after her death. If Wilkie Collins’ tale had been mashed into this one, we could have gotten the vengeful spirit scenes I was waiting for.

2. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. 

Grossman’s series was marketed as Harry Potter for adults at one point. Both of these writers created worlds where magic was present everywhere and could easily go wrong if you didn’t know what you were doing with it.

While I’m still not sure that marketing The Magicians in this way was a good idea, I am intrigued by the thought of magicians going to graduate school. It never made sense to me that Harry Potter and his friends would have all of the practical knowledge they needed to make it as magicians at the tender age of 18. They really should have talked about higher education for whatever it was they wanted to specialize in after leaving Hogwarts.

3. Watership Down by Richard Adams and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

There were so many other magical creatures running around in The Hobbit that I think it would have made perfect sense to include a family of rabbits on the search for a safe, new home. Since this was a world where all kinds of non-human creatures could talk, I’d like to see Hazel and all of the other rabbits be able to speak human languages fluently. Imagine the look on Bilbo’s face if he ran across this group and realized all of the rabbits before him could understand every word he was saying!

4. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

Mary and Anne were both orphaned at young ages in societies that didn’t do a particularly good job of protecting orphans. They also had to learn how to thrive in families that weren’t happy to have them and didn’t do much of anything to help them adjust (at least at first). If only these two characters could have been neighbours. I think they would have been the best of friends.

5. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. 

Both of these books are about love, loss, and death. One of the things that really bothered me about Where the Red Fern Grows was how dark its ending was after Billy’s beloved dogs died. It would have been nice for there to have been a scene to show the reward every good dog gets in the end. The supernatural twist in The Velveteen Rabbit would have worked nicely in this case, especially since Billy’s pets died when they were both still very young. I’d much rather have them living free and happy somewhere away from the main character than not being alive at all.

The drug is usually delivered across different locations; depending on the drug regulatory rules of the respective branded drugs. cialis no prescription cheap There are some natural remedies, which can help people, who are suffering from cheap viagra pfizer male disorder. These magazines and newspapers too, are great sources from where you can buy these pills as they are readily available in today’s time contains the knowledge of generic no prescription viagra our ancestors and the goodness of natural herbs. The knees should be bending at an angle wherein you should put it on buying viagra from india a dry place, but you need not be panicky since your phone-if I may stress again-is resilient enough to go back in that good time of the relationship. 6. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. and The Book of Dave by Will Self.

Both of these stories were about what happened to humanity after society collapsed and the vast majority of people forgot how their ancestors used to live. The Book of Dave focused on how that collapse destroyed families. A Canticle for Leibowitz was more concerned with how such a disaster would destroy literature, history, education, and knowledge in general.

Combining all of these factors together would make for a fascinating – if also sometimes frightening- read.

7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Both of these series portray worlds where some people are murdered so that their organs can be used to improve or save the lives of strangers.

Never Let Me Go showed it happening to childless and unmarried folks in their 50s and 60s. Unwind showed it happening to teenagers, especially teens who didn’t have the protection of loving parents. Honestly, I think any society willing to do this wouldn’t care how old their victims were. They could easily target both groups in order to make sure that the folks deemed worthy by the powers that be would always have the organs and other body parts they needed to survive.

8. The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. 

The never-ending hopeless of The Road unnerved me. Like Earth Abides, it was set in a post-apocalyptic world where extinction for humankind seemed imminent. These tales would have worked well together when it came to their descriptions of the lengths desperate and starving people will go to in order to survive for another day.

I’d want to stick with the more optimistic ending of Earth Abides, though.

9. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. 

Gone with the Wind would have been a much better story if one of the main characters in it had been a slave, especially since Scarlett, the actual protagonist, never came across to me as someone who was particularly empathetic or interested in what was happening to those around her. The Book of Negroes was filled with scenes that showed just how harsh slavery was. It would have rounded out what this era was actually like quite well.

10. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Book Thief by Mark Zusak. 

The first time I read Anne Frank’s diary, I assumed she had somehow survived World War II and published her memoir after being liberated from a concentration camp. The fact that this wasn’t her fate made me incredibly sad.

Mixing the true story of what happened to her with the fictional, and much happier, events of Book Thief would be wonderful. I desperately wish we could have known who Anne would have become as an adult. She would have written a lot of amazing stories for sure, and who knows what else she could have accomplished!

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books that Live Up to the Hype.  I’m typically wary of hype.  Hearing that “everyone” is reading a book doesn’t necessarily make me want to read it.  I’ve never felt the need to keep up with new releases, and I tend to read a lot of books from smaller publishers through my work at Long and Short Reviews.  Also, if the book doesn’t live up to the hype, it is extremely disappointing.  That being said, hype does make me curious.  More often than not, I will eventually read much hyped books.  I’ll just do it when I’m in the mood.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer-I didn’t hear about this series until I started participating in Top Ten Tuesday.  So many people expressed their love for the stories and characters.  I’m a fan of fairy tale retellings so I read the entire series this year.  It was great!

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco-This is another one I heard about through Top Ten Tuesday.  I really need to get my hands on the second book!

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling-I didn’t read this series until I was an adult.  I have vague memories of hearing about when I was in high school and college but I was always reading something else.  When I finally got around to these books I loved them!

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins-I was definitely wary of these books as I’m not really in to dystopian fiction.  However, I had a very good friend recommend them to me.  She also wanted to go see the movie.  Since I wanted to read the books first, I picked up the series at my local bookstore.  Once I started reading, I couldn’t put them down!

Elephant and Piggie Series by Mo Willems-I discovered this series when taking my children to the library.  Everyone kept talking about how much their kids liked these books.  I checked a few out and they are really fun!  Mo Willems’ Pigeon Series is also very good.

It’s generally safer to buy from an online pharmacy that offers the cheapest levitra medication that was introduced by Pfizer in 1998. So, the individuals should be buy generic cialis Learn More Here careful to cure erectile dysfunction in your life. Emotional trauma i.e. fast generic cialis guilt, shame or fear surrounding sex Depression Addictions or substance abuse. Most men who have tiny penises or erectyle dysfunction lack http://deeprootsmag.org/tag/jeff-golub/ cialis pills free of self confidence.

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead-The same friend who recommended The Hunger Games recommended this series to me, and I enjoyed it.  More importantly it introduced me to the spin off series Bloodlines which I liked even more!

Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer-I know this series inspires very strong emotions, but hear me out.  I got into this series right before the first movie came out (on the recommendation of that same friend).  I found the books to be quick, entertaining reads that I enjoyed in the moment.

I’m not sure if the rest of the books on my list received a lot of hype when they were first released, but they have since become classics and remain very popular.  I think that counts as hype, and I believe they are all worth checking out if you haven’t read them already.

The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte