Thursday 13

Thirteen of My Favorite Non-romance* Novels *but possibly still romantic After writing my romance-novel TT last week, it occurred to me that there really are only two literary genres for me: romance and non-romance. So, here's my non-romance list. To make this list, a book had to move me considerably, one way or another. 1. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. With equal parts mystery, adventure, comedy, romance, and philosophy, this lovely little book is pure fun and a treasured friend. 2. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. This is a powerful story about how women shape each other's lives, but if I had to sum up its subject matter in one word, it would be "motherhood." Life altering. 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling. This is my favorite of the 7-book series, but it's here to represent a literary achievement that has enhanced our family experience since the girls were toddlers. 4. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. My 5th-grade teacher read this to our class. Dan and Ann have been with me ever since. 5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Time-travel adventure, enduring romance, political intrigue, roaring battles, bawdy humor, and sex scenes to make even a jaded romance novelist blush. Yes, this book has it all. The sequels are pretty good, too, but this one is the best. 6. A tie from the Cautionary Tale department: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Trinity's Child by William Prochnau. I probably won't ever read either of these again, but both were so compelling that, after reading them, I never looked at the world quite the same way. 7. The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough. Missy is a lovely heroine. "Will you marry me, Mr. Smith?" Sweet and shiny. 8. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. The ultimate murder mystery. 9. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. This thinly disguised Beowulf knock-off is an exciting adventure story tucked into a very clever "scholarly" format. The footnotes about Norse culture and the real Ibn Fadlan are endlessly fascinating. 10. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Wow! 11. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. Disturbing, scary, fascinating. I like Hannibal, too—it's much better than the movie—and Red Dragon creeped me out big time, but this one was his tour de force. 12. Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. I didn't find the world of "Interview" very comfortable; it took me a couple of months to get all the way through that book. But by the end of it, I was completely hooked. I might have gotten up off the couch once or twice while reading the other two. Maybe. 13. The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern and William Goldman. There have been ten great adventure stories in our time, but of all of them, this is the greatest. William Goldman guides us through "the good parts version" that inspired his screenwriting for decades. The ones I left off: "Holes," "The Outsiders," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "East," and probably a host of others that didn't leap to mind. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants