Ever since I was a little girl I have loved to read. I mostly read in the vein of horror fiction, but I love to read just about anything. Below are just a few of my favorites. I also have a page dedicated to anthologies that lists some the collections of short stories that I particularly enjoyed and the stories that I considered best in them.

Stephen King:

Stephen King is my absolute favorite author of all time. He is one of the few people that can actually scare me with a scary story. The way that he makes all of his books relate to one another always delights me. Whether it be bringing in a character from one book to another or simply mentioning them, it all makes me feel that I have come home and am surrounded by familiar faces. His characters almost become like old friends, in a way. I would say that almost anything that he has produced is well-worth a read, but I do have my favorites. I am particularly fond of his The Dark Tower Series. They are wonderful books and, after a wait of about six years, Stephen finally finished the Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. I finished it a few days after reading it and I must say it was well worth the wait. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won't say anything in detail about it. If you've finished it and want to talk about it, or anything else for that matter, e-mail me. My favorite book, though, is probably It. I am also very partial to The Stand and Pet Sematary. I adore his short fiction and suggest to everyone Night Shift as the best collection to read. For those of you not into the horror genre, I would definitely recommend his The Eyes of the Dragon. It is a fantasy story and the wonderful tale of two brothers and the trials that befall them when their father, the king, dies unexpectedly. To read it is simply magical. By the way, King was recently awarded the O. Henry Award for his short story The Man in the Black Suit which was originally published in The New Yorker but can be found in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighth Annual Collection (I strongly suggest buying these editions when they come out every year). The Man in the Black Suit is another fine example of why Stephen King is such a wonderful writer. It's one of my favorite stories of his to date and is very powerful to read.

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Clive Barker:

Clive Barker is a talented artist and writer who is probably not to all tastes. His work is considered "splatterpunk" (especially most of his short fiction) and is too graphic for many. I just love his writing, though. He does amazing work that combines both fantasy and horror as evident in his masterpieces The Great and Secret Show and its sequel, Eversville. Weaveworld can also be considered one of his best and has the same combination of horror and fantasy. He also is an amazing short fiction writer and his Books of Blood should not be missed. His story Cabal, which was turned into the excellent movie Night Breed, should also be read. Finally, for the child in all of us, Clive Barker wrote a book entitled The Thief of Always, which is slightly different from the rest of his work. It is not graphic in the least and no one should pass up an opportunity to read this wonderful book. I have just recently finished Sacrament, and I feel that it's one of his better books. Great characters and wonderful mixture of both reality and fantasy.

Douglas Adams:

Douglas Adams is the creator of the inappropriately named Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy (there are actually five books in the series). These books are simply not to be missed! They are five of the funniest things that I've ever read in my life (I frequently find myself laughing out loud while reading them, especially when we're introduced to the Masters of Krikket for the first time). If you have never read them, run (and I do mean run!) to a bookstore and procure your copies! You may even discover the meaning of life. (Forty-two!)

David Eddings:

David Eddings is a marvelous fantasy writers and has penned twelve of my favorite books. These are the five books that constitute The Belgariad, the five that make up The Mallorean, Belgarath the Sorcerer, and Polgara the Sorceress. If you are a fantasy fan, you will absolutely adore these books! They are the story of a Sendarian farmboy and his destiny to be the Child of Light and to save all of creation. I have just recently reread them and fell back in love with them all over again. Please do yourself this favor and read these books!

H. P. Lovecraft:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft is the creator of the Cthulu Mythos. The Cthulu Mythos deals with the idea that our world was once inhabited and ruled by a powerful group of beings called The Old Ones. The Old Ones were banished and are constantly trying to reclaim the world. Their rule, though, will not be a kind one, and the focus of most his stories attempt to thwart their return. Lovecraft's writing is superb and his story-telling leaves the reader forever attempting to discover the reality behind the Mythos. He is excellent and writes more than just Mythos stories. I would suggest his work to everyone. Also, Stephen King's take on the Mythos, "Crouch End" which can be found in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, is a must for fans of the Mythos!

Christopher Moore:

Christopher Moore has written a rare gem among books. It is entitled Practical Demonkeeping and is a veritable comedy of horrors. For a brief introduction, the book jacket says it all: "You'll have power. You'll be immortal. But there's a Catch - And he eats people." This is a quirky little book (right over two hundred pages) about demonkeeping and what fantasy-horror fan can resist a book where H. P. Lovecraft is a cafe owner? Here's a fair description from the back of the book: "Stephen King, Douglas Adams, and H. P. Lovecraft go to a Frank Capra movie (It's a Wonderful Life). Thus inspired, they write a book entitled Practical Demonkeeping." I picked it up off of B. Dalton's Book Saver Table for $2.98 in hardback and just could not believe my luck. I was also lucky enough to find another book by him, Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, at a bargain bookstore for something like $4.00 which was even funnier than the first book. It's about C. Thomas Flood, a writer who just happens to fall in love with this amazing redhead named Jody who also just happens to be a vampire. Once again, this is a hysterical story with very witty dialouge and a cast full of nutty characters. I whole-heartedly suggest finding this book and reading it.

Daphne du Maurier:

I have only read one of Daphne du Maurier's books, but it has forever burned it's way into my memory since I read in eight grade. The book is Rebecca, and it is one of the finest that I have ever read. It is the haunting, gothic novel about a young wife and her new husband and his past wife, Rebecca. I really don't want to say too much about it, for I would hate to give away any of the book to anyone. It is amazing and the ending is a real surprise. The book also left one question that will probably drive me crazy until the day I die. When the young lady meets her husband-to-be, he says to her that she has a beautiful and unusual name. For the entire course of the book, her name is never mentioned. Du Maurier died shortly after I finished the book, so I guess we'll never know the answer. Read the book anyway. It is wonderful.

Dean R. Koontz:

Dean R. Koontz has been a favorite of mine for years. He writes wonderful horror/suspense novels that are really a joy to read. His books are usually a little on the dark side with conspiracy theories and the like included in them. They also contain amazing dialogue between the characters that is a delight to read. One of the main reasons that he has become a favorite of mine is the way that he makes his characters seem real and makes them come to life. My absolute favorite by him, and one of my favorite books ever, is Twilight Eyes, which is the story of a drifter who has a sort of second sight that allows him to see creatures that live among us. These creatures aren't exactly friendly, and they do everything in their power to cause destruction and pain to humans. It is an amazing read. Other favorites of mine that he has written are The Bad Place, Lightning, Watchers, The Eyes of Darkness, and The Servants of Twilight. He has written under at least four pen names and I spent one summer years ago tracking those down. I came across an illustrated children's book that he had written under the name Phil Parks. It's called Oddkins and it's about good toys and evil toys. I believe that I'm the only person that's ever read this book. I recently found a description for it in one of the online bookstores, so I know now that I am not crazy (well, maybe not, but I didn't hallucinate this book). Please e-mail me if you've read this book. I would love to hear someone else's opinion on it. I just finished his book, Ticktock, and I quite enjoyed it. He states in the notes at the end of the book that he was in the mood for a screwball comedy akin to Bringing Up Baby, and I believe he succeeded. It was a fun read and the ending will be quite a shock, I do believe. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Robert R. McCammon:

Robert R. McCammon is also a great writer and has penned one of my favorite novels and also a well-loved anthology of short fiction. The novel is Swan Song which is a book similar to King's The Stand. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I finished this book about six or seven years ago and can't describe the sense of relief that I felt when I finished it. It's a wonderful book which I think everyone should read. His collection of stories, Blue World, is filled with some of the most imaginative stories that I have come across. I particularly enjoyed the story from where the name for the book came from. It's very good and I think that most people will be able to find at least one story in there that they enjoy. I just recently finished reading his novel The Wolf's Hour, which is about a werewolf working with the Allies during World War II, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's full of action and the characters are great. It's one of the most interesting books that I've read in quite some time.

Robert Lynn Asprin:

Robert Lynn Asprin has written a wonderfully delightful series of fantasy-type stories known as The Myth Series. There are currently ten books in the series with an eleventh one due out sometime in the future. There is no release date as of yet available for it. This series is based on the actions of one half-trained magician's apprentice named Skeeve, the "demon" Aahz that he soon becomes partners with, and all of their friends including a baby dragon named Gleep. One of the best parts of these books is that each of their chapters is prefaced with a little quote. For example: "-Or was it unlock the safe and then swim to the surface?" attributed to H. Houdini. These books are fiendishly clever and there is almost always a crisis that has to be dealt with which will prove to be entertaining, to say the least. If anyone has any information on the new book, Something M.Y.T.H. Inc., please contact me.

Piers Anthony:

Piers Anthony is a favorite of mine in the science-fiction/fantasy category, where at least ten of his books have become some of my all-time favorites. He has written the enormously popular Xanth series, but I have never been able to get into them. The books of his that I enjoy are from his Incarnations of Immortality series and his Apprentice Adept series. All of these books use a marriage between magic and science in their respective worlds. In the Incarnations, the basic principle is that the "figures" of Death, Fate, War, and Time, to name but a few, are really people who are office-holders until their "term" (for lack of a better word) is over. In Death's case (who is the subject of the first book entitled On a Pale Horse) his term is over when the person he comes to collect kills him. They are all linked together through different people and are about keeping the planet aligned with good and out of Satan's hands. These books are really wonderful, the first five especially. The remaining two were still good, but not nearly as good as the previous ones. In the Adept series, the premise is that two worlds coexist together, one of science and one of magic. You have a "twinner" (borrowing the term from The Talisman) who exists in the world that you don't inhabit. If that person dies, you then can move between either plane. This series is about the struggle of a lowly serf named Stile who tries to become a Citizen in the science world and finds out that he is really a magician in the magic world. The books chronicle the journeys that he and his relatives and friends experience. I truly love these books and suggest them to all science-fiction/fantasy fans.

Alan Dean Foster:

Another funny science-fiction book is Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster. It's the story of two guys (one a nerd and the other a bored punk rocker) and one girl who meet an alien and end up traveling through space with him and the most sought-after object in all of the universes. Of course they aren't sure what, or whom, this object is or what it can possibly do, but what sort of fun would that be? This book is a great read with all sorts of wacky characters and events. I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone regardless of what genre that they prefer to read. It's just one of those books that you can't help but to enjoy.

More coming soon! Please come back again!

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