I love to read, and will read just about anything I pick up. I do, however, have favorite books, and now will enjoy the opportunity of sharing them with you. The following selections are listed first by Author, then again by Book Title. I've also included a section of Children's books.

Feel free to browse my pages. I'll be adding to the lists regularly (hopefully, weekly). I will also have a "Current Favorite" title that will be changed on a monthly basis.

Of the authors I feature I will include information as I find it on their personal background. Many of them have lived lives that are every bit as interesting--and sometimes more so--than even their works offer!

Classic Authors Jane Austin Charlotte Bronte Emily Bronte Pearl S. Buck F. Scott Fitzgerald James Joyce Leo Tolstoy Mark Twain

Contemporary Authors Maya Angelou Olive Ann Burns Laura Esquivel Nicholas Evans Fannie Flagg Connie May Fowler Diana Gabaldon Margaret George Kaye Gibbons Jane Hamilton Ursula Hegi Stephen King Catherine Marshall Richard Matheson Larry McMurtry Michael Ondaatje Naomi Ragen Anne Rice Barbara J. Scot Nicholas Sparks Naomi M. Stokes

All Things Outlandish
Anna Karenina
Anything for Billy
Autobiography of Henry VIII, The
Before Women had Wings
Bid Time Return
Book of Ruth, The
Buffalo Girls
Christy
Cold Sassy Tree
Comanche Moon
Dead Man's Walk
Dragonfly in Amber
Drums of Autumn
Ellen Foster
English Patient, The
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Good Earth, The
Horse Whisperer, The
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Julie
Law of Love, The
Leaving Cheyenne
Leaving Cold Sassy
Like Water for Chocolate
Lonesome Dove
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles
Memoirs of Cleopatra, The
Notebook, The
Outlander
Prairie Reunion
Sacrifice of Tamar, The
Somebody's Darling
Stand, The
Stones from the River
Streets of Laredo
Terms of Endearment
Tree People, The
Violin
Virtuous Woman, A
Voyager

The Dear America series is published by Scholastic, Inc., and written by various authors. These are excellent children's books, and my mother and I are hooked on them! Each is a fictional diary kept by a young person at some significant point in American history. Besides the journal section, which generally covers a period of one year, is a section that reviews the time period in which the child lived. They are quick reads, but well-written and enjoyable. Some of the selections in the series include:

• A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple; by Kathryn Lasky
  
• The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart; by Kristiana Gregory
  
• When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson; by Barry Denenberg
  
• A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, A Slave Girl; by Patricia McKissack
  
• Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell; by Kristiana Gregory
  
• So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl; by Barry Denenberg
  
• I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl; by Joyce Hansen
  
• West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi; by Jim Murphy
  
• Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman; by Kathryn Lasky
  
• A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence; by Sherry Garland
  
• Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan; by Mary Pope Osborne
  
• Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady; by Ellen Emerson White
  
• My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl; by Ann Rinaldi
  
• The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West; by Kristiana Gregory
  
• The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl; by Ann Turner
  
• A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin; by Karen Hesse
  
• A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska; by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
  

For literary search engines, not many can beat Amazon. At Amazon, you'll find any book you can think of with information on purchasing, if the book is still available in print. Selections for most books include printings in hardback, paperback and softback (where applicable). Many are also available in audio format. Check out the book bargains for even better savings. If you're interested in Oprah's Book Club, you can sign up for automatic monthly notification via email of new selections, along with reviews and recommendations for similar titles. You can also sign up for the Daily Scoop, for email notification of new selections for a particular genre of your choice. Take a look also at their Gift Center for great ideas on gift purchasing and giving.

Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite books stores whether on- or off-line. You can chat live with your favorite authors, browse listings by genre, and become a member of their Literature Networking Community. They offer VERY low prices on their publisher editions of classic novels, which allows you to build a library of your own classic literature at a very reasonable cost. For example, my softbound edition of Anna Karenina was only $5.95. While not a beautiful, leather-bound book, it is still very well printed and I plan to purchase other books in this line.

Another site to check out is Abika. They specialize in "free" books. Mostly you'll find downloadable versions of stories currently in print. If you like the idea of building your library on your hard drive, or can load the books onto CD-R disks, this site may be of interest to you.

Here is yet another site I've found: Peanut Press. This company specializes in downloadable books for either an ebook or your palm OS compatible hand-held device. I'm not sure the prices are really worth it as they seem nearly as high as buying the book the in print, but some people may find the idea worthwhile.

I've also found, while roaming around, that at Amazon and Barnes & Noble you can download a free Microsoft Reader for use on your computer. This is kind of neat, because then you can download books that are compatible with the Reader for use on your desktop or laptop. Both have free classics you can download to try out with the Reader (each have about 50 books to choose from), or you can purchase books for download at prices that are much lower than books in print. Some are abridged, so if you're not too sure about the idea of sitting in front of your computer for a great length of time to read a book, you may want to try out one of these.

Do remember, however: