What’s on Your Keeper Shelf? Part 2: Fiction

In Part 1, I shared my top 10 Non Fiction books, some are physical, and others are digital.

Fiction is another beast. I hoard fiction. I devour fiction. So, I’ve broken my keeper fiction into a physical (Part 2) list and a digital (Part 3) list.

Without further ado, here’s my Top 10 fiction — sitting on a physical shelf:

1. The Phantom of the Opera (Oh, come on, after this post, you knew that had to be on here!)
2. Harry Potter Box Set (Books 1-7)
3. Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffery (RIP)
   • Dragonsong (Book 1)
   • Dragonsinger (Book 2)
   • Dragondrums (Book 3)

   I love the whole Pern series but this trilogy was my intro and remains near and dear to my reader heart.

4. Karen Marie Moning (I have everything she’s ever written.)
5. Melissa Mayhue’s Daughters of the Glen series
   • Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Book 1)
   • Highland Guardian (Book 2)
   • Soul of a Highlander (Book 3)
   • A Highlander of Her Own (Book 4)
   • A Highlander’s Destiny (Book 5)
   • A Highlander’s Homecoming (Book 6)
   • Healing the Highlander (Book 7)
6. Diana Gabaldon (I have the complete Outlander series and want to get the Lord John series.)
7. Mary Stewart’s Arthurian series
   • The Crystal Cave (Book 1)
   • The Hollow Hills (Book 2)
   • The Last Enchantment (Book 3)
   • The Wicked Day (Book 4)
8. LaVyrle Spencer (Another author I have everything she’s written. I love her so much I’m actually working on replacing the few paperbacks I have with hard cover.)
9. Timeline
10. The Mists of Avalon (I never got into the rest of the series but love this one.)

Lots of romance because that’s my go-to genre. I can read it anytime, anywhere. And while I read all genres, I’m very much a mood reader.

How about you, what’s on your physical fiction shelf? And are you a mood reader?

A Phantom (of the Opera) Love Affair

A couple weeks ago I brought up the Phantom of the Opera in my What’s Your Inspiration post and I thought I’d share my love affair with the Phantom.

One night during high school, I believe it was, I stayed up way past my bedtime…shh, don’t tell!…and watched The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney.

I fell in love. The Phantom will always be the ultimate tragic hero to me. (The closest I’ve come to a similar reaction to a character would be Joely Sue Burkhart‘s Gregar.)

The fact that a movie — and a silent one at that — made almost half a century before my presence turned a stick blue, almost a decade before either of my parents were glimmers in my grandparents’ eyes, and spoke to my teenage self on such an elemental level, still resonates with me. Lon Chaney also had to have been one hell of an actor to convey all the layers of the Phantom without saying a word!

Thus started a love affair that’s been going on nearly thirty years. (Wow, I feel old now!)

I think I’ve seen every movie incarnation out there, including a bunch of foreign ones complete with subtitles. Of course, I’ve seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber version. The Broadway incarnation once or twice, the Vegas version once, and The Phantom of the Opera movie too many times to count. (If I was Christine, I’d have no problem being locked up with Gerard Butler’s Phantom for the rest of my life )

I listen to The Phantom Of The Opera CD a lot, too.

And what good reader, in the middle of a love affair, would miss reading The Phantom of the Opera? Not I. Sadly, I speak not a word of French, so have to rely on the translated version of Leroux’s work. *le sigh* I remember falling in love all over again the first time I read the book.

I’ve not got into all the reincarnations of the book — a little too fan-fic for my tastes — but do plan on reading Phantom by Susan Kay once I can lay hands on a copy. I’ve heard nothing but good things about her take on the original story. I’m on the fence about Love Never Dies. Though the music I’ve heard sounds amazing, sequels rarely live up to the hype.

I’d love to hear what story/character captured you mind, body, and soul?