Meme time

OK - first the list, from A View from a Cube:

◦Day 01 – Your favourite series of books (with more than 3 in the series)
◦Day 02 – A book that you wish more people had read
◦Day 03 – Your favorite recent book
◦Day 04 – Your favorite book ever
◦Day 05 – A book you hate
◦Day 06 – Your favourite writer
◦Day 07 – A writer you don’t like
◦Day 08 – Your favourite work in translation
◦Day 09 – Best scene ever
◦Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
◦Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
◦Day 12 – An book you’ve read more than twice
◦Day 13 – Favorite childhood book
◦Day 14 – Favorite male character
◦Day 15 – Favorite female character
◦Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure book
◦Day 17 – Favorite trilogy or tetralogy
◦Day 18 – Favorite book cover
◦Day 19 – Best ensemble of characters in a book
◦Day 20 – Favorite kiss or love scene
◦Day 21 – Favorite fictional romantic relationship
◦Day 22 – Favorite ending/climax
◦Day 23 – Most annoying character
◦Day 24 – Best quote
◦Day 25 – A book you plan on reading
◦Day 26 – OMG WTF? plot
◦Day 27 – Favourite non-mainstream writer
◦Day 28 – First book obsession
◦Day 29 – Current book obsession
◦Day 30 – Saddest character death

This is one I should be able to do alright on, as I have been a prolific reader since early childhood. So, we will see what I can come up with - some of which may be repeats, or just what pops to mind at the moment, and all subject to change at a whim...

Day One: Favorite Series of Books, with more than three in the series:
This is a tough one - I have a handful of authors who I have followed over the years, and whose name on a title is pretty much a guaranteed purchase. Some I like for the characters and plot, some for the mindless distraction of it, some the setting - you get the point.

Just to share some of my thought processes - I ruled out The Lord of the Rings, as I consider that a single tome, not a series. I love The Dresden Files, but for some reason it just doesn't make number one on the list. Steve Perry's Matador Series are excellent, but there is a... depth... lacking which I feel appropriate for this choice (apologies if you read that Steve - and not meant as an insult to your fine work!) The early Robert Parker Spenser novels would have fit, but unfortunately he lost steam down the road with them IMHO. I can think of a handful of other authors who also do great stuff I always buy, but again none have quite the gravitas for this answer. Robert Jordan doesn't get the nod because while I still like The Wheel of Time, there is a point to wrap the gorram story up already! I even debated Calvin and Hobbes as a timeless classic, but felt that was stretching the definition a bit.

So, for my selection - the Burke novels by Andrew Vachss.

They will never qualify as lighthearted reading, and yes they can be bleak, blunt, and crude in some ways. Vachss discussed many topics before it was acceptable to face them in the open light. His "heroes" were anything but noble and pure, much like the world they moved in. The answers were rarely black and white, and sometimes the story ended with people worse off than it began.

But through the entire series Mr. Vachss drew me in; he imparts his thoughts and lessons amidst the drama of a well-tuned tale, and you come away from the book exhausted but feeling the better for surviving the event. You became invested in the characters and their world, and you understood a bit more what drives some of the things which occur. And in the end, maybe you even questioned a few of the things you thought before. Isn't that what all a good story is supposed to do?

Looking forward to seeing who else joins in on this...