S. W. Raine

Where would we authors be without books?

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember.  I especially remember my teachers hating when I’d go hundreds of words over the limit they gave us… and I wasn’t even done!

I’ve also always been a reader.  Sure, I might have slowed down after High School- You know…  when they force you to read books that just don’t interest you- but I’ve never stopped.

Here are five books that I absolutely love:

5. Nefer The Silent by Christian Jacq

I read The Stone Of Light series by Christian Jacq in French, when I lived in Quebec (Random trivia for you: Jacq is French, and the series was originally written in French before it was translated into English!).

I was a huge fan of anything Egyptian (still am), and saw the first book of the series while at a Book Fair when I was in High School.  I read the first book and was instantly hooked.

4. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I had heard a lot of good things about this book when it first came out.  Many of my friends had read it before I did, and recommended it to me numerous times.

It was definitely an interesting read, and I loved it.  My favorite character was Silas.  I was a bit skeptical when they decided to make a movie out of it, as it goes, but got all excited once I found out that actor Paul Bettany (and the love of my life *cough*cough*) was cast to play Silas.

3. The Soulforge by Margaret Weis

Another series that I had originally read in French.  My boyfriend at the time had quite the collection of Dragonlance books, and thought that I might enjoy them.  Enjoy them I did.  So much so that when I was gifted little pewter figurines of a woman with a dragon and a mage, I ended up naming the woman Takhisis and the wizard Fizban, after the Goddess of Evil and Dragon Queen, and Fizban the Fabulous.

Raistlin Majere was, by far, my favorite character.  The Dragonlance Legends trilogy- War of the Twins, Time of the Twins, and Test of the Twins was my favorite trilogy because it was all about Raistlin and his twin brother Caramon.  I hadn’t read much more of the series after my boyfriend and I broke up, so I was ecstatic to see, several years later while in a book store, that there was a duo of books called the Raistlin Chronicles, comprising of The Soulforge and Brothers in Arms.   I immediately bought them both, and, despite the fact that I was now reading the series in English, fell in love all over again.

2. River God by Wilbur Smith

Another book centered in Egypt.  Another recommendation from a friend.

I loved Smith’s descriptions, especially of the hippos.  I would get so caught up in what my mind’s eye would see, that I had to constantly remind myself that it was just a hippo, not a thousand foot tall monster.  But my mind’s eye pictured it exactly as the Egyptians would, at seeing this beast up close and personal.  The whole book was amazing.

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Oh, how I love this book, let me count the ways.

American Gods was the first book that I purchased once I had moved to the USA.  My husband had taken me to Borders.  I remember seeing this green-ish paperback by the center counter, with lightning on the cover from an author that I hadn’t heard of, before.  The title was intriguing.  I picked it up and read the blurb in the back.  It seemed interesting, and so I bought it.  Little did I know that this book was going to change my life forever.

Neil Gaiman has since become my favorite author, and not only do I own almost all of his work, but I currently own six different versions of American Gods, and counting.  SIX!  But the very first copy that I ever owned will always be my favorite- and not just because Neil Gaiman, himself, signed it!

Someday I hope that my books hold a lasting impression on readers just as much as these books do for me.

What book made a lasting impression on you?  Let me know in the comments!

Raine