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I went through a classics phase and read most books by The Brontës, Edith Wharton, Thomas Hardy, and William Makepeace Thackeray. (I have a gorgeous set of works by “The Sisters Brontë” in 10 small, pink-colored volumes, published in 1893.) I also have a book about Bramwell Brontë (the somewhat crazy brother), plus several biographies of the Brontë family – a family almost as fascinating as the stories they wrote.
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4 of the 10-volume set of Charlotte Brontë’s works, published in 1893 |
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I had a brief Russian phase and read Nabokov, Tolstoy, and Pasternak. (I found a gorgeous two-volume set of Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, published in the early 1900s, with gorgeous full-color illustrations that only added to my enjoyment of such an incredible story.)
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One of the stunning illustrations in my 2-volume set of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina |
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I’ve read almost all of the books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and considered that a phase unto itself, as it inspired me to read several other authors whose books were filled with magical realism.
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My collection of Gabriel Garcia Marquez books. Yes, you can see one in Spanish. No, I can’t read Spanish! It was a gift a friend brought back for me from Spain. |
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I read all of Tony Hillerman’s books, which then inspired me to read several other authors of Native American stories, as well as books about the myths, legends and stories passed down through generations of Native Americans.
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I went through a “chick lit” phase in my 30s, the funnier the books, the better to read! A subset of the chick lit books were the British chick lit books. There was a time when I was caught up with all of my favorite chick lit authors, and began ordering books from Amazon’s UK store just to continue to satisfy my appetite, as the British authors’ new books were released in England about six months earlier than in the US. India Knight and Marian Keyes are two of my favorites, although I think their books go beyond the label of chick lit.
Just a small group that remains of my once-much-larger British Chick Lit collection - I have a ton of craft books. Some of these books are pure eye candy, many of these books are filled with tutorials, and all of them help fuel my own creativity directly and indirectly.
- I have lots of gardening books. I use these books as reference in the Summer, and as inspiration in the Winter.
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Seafaring books – including one about women pirates! |
There’s also early American history, from the Native American tribes, to the first discoverers of America (was not Columbus as too many people believe), to the first settlers.
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Some of my early-American history and Arctic exploration books, both fiction and non-fiction |
I read two books just about the abandoned colony of Roanoke – it was that interesting to me. Whaling ships and pirate ships on the high seas, tales of mutiny and discovery: I can’t get enough. The current book that I’m reading is Fatal Passage: The Story of John Rae, the Arctic Hero Time Forgot by Ken McGoogan.