Stuff I've Read

I'm going to attempt to list all the FICTION books I've read, starting with the ones from my youth.  Why not all the texts and non-fiction?  Gah!  Boring!  However, you'll be interested in a FEW Non-Fiction titles that I think are worth mentioning.
These non-fiction titles are "Must Read" books for anyone, regardless of profession:
  • The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley / Danko
  • The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
These following are titles that I'm in the process of reading, to improve my skills at writing.  They came recommended by writers or as well-meaning gifts from family:
  • Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb.  This book is awesome.  I've used it a few times to guide my progress, and I'm not even half-way through it.
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King (2nd ed.).  Recommended by someone on AbsoluteWrite.com for seeking balance between "showing" and "telling"
  • The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, 4th ed.  Recommended by writers on AbsoluteWrite, while simultaneously being attacked.  85 pages.
  • Getting Your Book Published For Dummies by Sarah Parsons Zackheim.  Gift from my family.  I think I'm not quite ready for the lessons inside it!

With "no further ado"...
FICTION

Now, on to the Fiction.  These are the books that I read as a teen, and I credit them with leaving a lasting appreciation for eloquent expression.  Okay, that was a lot of big words to say "they stretched my vocab skilz, LOL" and I recommend reading them if you're a fan of action/adventure.

Almost the entire CONAN series by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague De Camp.  Love the way the author describes scenes and the action:
  • CONAN OF CIMMERIA
  • CONAN THE FREEBOOTER
  • CONAN THE WANDERER
  • CONAN THE ADVENTURER
  • CONAN THE BUCCANEER 
  • CONAN THE WARRIOR
  • CONAN THE USERPER
  • CONAN THE CONQUERER
  • CONAN THE AVENGER
  • CONAN OF AQUILONIA
  • (missed CONAN and CONAN OF THE ISLES)
Misc Conan books:
  • CONAN THE REBEL by Poul Anderson
  • CONAN THE LIBERATOR by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter
  • CONAN THE RENEGADE by Leonard Carpenter
  • CONAN AND THE SPIDER GOD by L. Sprague De Camp
  • CONAN THE INVINCIBLE by Robert Jordan
The entire "Hornblower" series by C.S. Forester, great historical fiction.  A "rags to riches" story that follows the development of a man whose values are something that we should all live up to:
  • MR. MIDSHIPMAN HORNBLOWER
  • LIEUTENANT HORNBLOWER
  • HORNBLOWER AND THE HOTSPUR
  • HORNBLOWER DURING THE CRISIS
  • HORNBLOWER AND THE ATROPOS
  • BEAT TO QUARTERS
  • SHIP OF THE LINE
  • FLYING COLOURS
  • COMMODORE HORNBLOWER
  • LORD HORNBLOWER
  • ADMIRAL HORNBLOWER IN THE WEST INDIES
The "Lord Of the Rings" series by the great J.R.R. Tolkien:
  • THE HOBBIT
  • THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
  • THE RETURN OF THE KING
  • THE TWO TOWERS
I think there were a few other books along the way, but I'll have to dredge my memory from 30 years ago... that's a lot easier to say than to do!

RECENT FICTION

Recent reading.  This is all from the last decade or so...

Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
Without Remose by Tom Clancy
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
Lords of the North by Bernard Cromwell

The entire "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling.  Reading these to the kids at night got me back into the idea of reading regularly; and gave me the idea that I could possibly do something like this too!
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
Then my wife got me a Kindle, and I started reading more and more...



  • Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer, read it because I was sick of waiting to see the girl turn into a vampire already!  Come on!  And now they make the movie into a 2-parter?  So we don't get to see the best part (Where she's finally a vampire) until next year?  Sheesh.






  • Bram Stoker's Dracula.  I could only make it part of the way through. The style is just too disjointed for my taste.








  • Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1) by Kalayna Price , Very interesting information about Fae worked in.  Alex Craft is a "Grave Witch", able to see grave energy, or the plane of the dead.  As apposed to the various planes of Faerie, or the plane which is the source of all magic: the Aetheric.  The main character has multiple cases to solve as a detective, which turn out to center around her.
  • Grave Dance: An Alex Craft Novel by Kalayna Price. Alex Craft is once again the target of mysterious forces bent on her destruction.  This time, it could cost her soul.







For more recent additions, see me on Goodreads!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/8174056-mark


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