Here are some of my favorite books.  I am a voracious reader, and often have multiple books going at the same time.  I like to have a “bathroom book” and a “bedside book”.

If I were marooned on a desert island and could take only one book, it would be Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin.  It is a paean to New York City, and artfully combines reality with fantasy, including time-travel.  My husband bought me a First Edition hardback copy, and it has a hallowed place on my nightstand.

I also love historical fiction, and in my opinion, the best historical fiction ever written is the two multiple-book series by Dorothy Dunnett, “The House of Niccolo“(8 books), and “The Lymond Chronicles”(6 books).  They are about the early Renaissance period in Europe, and follow members of a very extended family over two centuries.  Once you start the first book in each series, I guarantee you will be enthralled.

Another Dorothy whose books I have read and loved is Dorothy L. Sayers, the author of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.  Set in the early 20th Century, they concern a nobleman, younger son of a wealthy family whose purpose in life (after he returns, shell-shocked, from WWI) is solving mysteries.  Mrs. Sayers has created a real person in Peter Wimsey, and you will love reading about his adventures, including his personal ones.  A few of them were made into television movies for PBS’s Masterpiece Theater.  The best ones were the ones with Edward Petherbridge as Peter Wimsey-they are available on DVD and are excellent.

More recently, I have gobbled up all of Vince Flynn‘s thrillers involving his hero, Mitch Rapp, and Daniel Silva’s thrillers involving his character Gabriel Allon.

If you are interested in the story of King Arthur, you should definitely pick up Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles series, starting with The Singing Sword, and ending with The Lance Thrower. They follow Arthur’s story starting with his grandfather, who returned to Britain from fighting with the Romans in North Africa, knowing that the Empire was falling, and the Roman troops who had maintained order and civilization in Britain were about to leave. This prompted Caius Britannicus and his friend Publius Varrus to start the Camulod Colony of people who vowed to uphold the Roman traditions and knowledge in their corner of soon-to-be lawless Britain. Whyte is an awesome writer, and carries all his characters through their lives, and you will recognize some and learn new things about others. Highly Recommended.

This is in no way everything, but it’s a start!