~A Bitter Swallow~

According to a site I have previously linked all you folks- http://www.brownielocks.com/april.html the week of April 13th through April 19th is National Library Week. I thought we should celebrate this, seeing as how I work in a library, and I love to read. I thought I could start by listing some of my favorite books for you. You can also go to http://www.thaydra.com/ and read some of my book reviews of my recently devoured tales.



1. Right now, I am currently just over halfway through my most favorite book of all time, entitled "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon. It is a tale that tells about some special folks after WW3 wipes out the majority of America (and, it is implied, the rest of the world). It follows Swan, Josh, Sister, and a handful of others as they try and figure out where to go and how to continue on in a world that has been decimated by nuclear war. It conjures up versions of how good and bad people react to a world so instantly and drastically different, and how their personalities differ so dramatically in how they live. Mr. McCammon comes up with an ingenious way for Nature (or God, if you will) to be able to show peoples' true faces.



2. On the same line of "Swan Song", I also absolutely love "The Stand" by Stephen King. This is another book about how people struggle to survive and rebuild after the world as they know it, along with most of the people in it, is(are) wiped out. In this case, it is a fast-spreading super flu. It follows how the people are drawn together, good to good, and evil to evil, and how they battle it out to regain, or keep control of their lives and what they have left.

3. "Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel enraptured me in my late teen years. A tale (and subsequent series) of a young Cro-magnon girl, who is separated from her tribe as a very little girl when an earthquake strikes. She wanders aimlessly and is attacked by a cougar. She survives, and is eventually found by the medicine woman of a clan of Neanderthal people. The woman gets permission to keep the little girl, and it follows how the little girl, called Ayla, grows up in a clan so very different from herself, and how her "people" are enemies of the Clan. It follows Ayla as she grows and develops physically and mentally in ways the Clan do not, and how she struggles to fit in.

4. "Tales of the Brothers Grimm" retold by various different people, are in and of themselves priceless. I prefer the original, unedited stories, in all of their raw crudity and violence. They portray such a different picture than the remade "Disney" versions..

5. "The Hobbit" by J.R. R.Tolkien. The fantasy tale of hobbit Bilbo Baggins, and his quest to obtain the Dragon Smaug's treasure. He discovers a unique ring along the way, which grants him the ability to become invisible. It is also the story that spawns the Lord of the Ring trilogy, which follows the ring.

6. "Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen" by Nancy Wood is a children's tale of how Mr. and Mrs. God create the world and all of it's inhabitants. A beautifully illustrated book, with a whimsical view on creation.


Please visit my website for regular reviews on books I've entertained, and visit http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Thaydra to peruse books I've read, rated, and ones I plan to read in the future. LibraryThing is a wonderful place to keep track of books read, books you want to read, view other opinion on books, and get reviews and recommendations!

And of course, if nothing else, take a trip down to your local library and show some support!!