Jul 2 2010
Friday Top Ten by Liz Fichera
Liz Fichera is one of the new Carina Press authors. She offers up her following list of favorite stories with romance themes in them.
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My Top Ten List is a little bizarre in that not all of my favorite books are typically considered romance novels. Half of them don't have happily-ever-afters either. However, each book contained a romance that tugged at my heartstrings and kept me up reading till the wee hours. I also have a soft spot for Native American characters, rugged settings, and historical romance. In no particular order, my list is as follows:
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
- Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
- Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare (I still have my worn copy from high school.)
- Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
- Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
- I Am Apache, by Tanya Landman
- Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
- The Bridges of Madison County, by Robert James Waller
- The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
- The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean Auel
Liz Fichera
Author of CAPTIVE SPIRIT (Carina Press, June 2010)
http://www.lizfichera.com/
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Jul 02, 2010 @ 11:07:45
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gina Bernal, Liz Fichera. Liz Fichera said: RT @dearauthor: New post: Friday Top Ten by Liz Fichera http://bit.ly/8X0FLr [...]
Jul 02, 2010 @ 11:51:52
yay for number 10 – that’s where my name comes from. My mum has good taste in books
Jul 02, 2010 @ 11:58:24
Ayla,
I agree that’s a very intriguing name. Very pretty.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 13:11:33
I just purchased this recently with an eye toward reviewing it sometime. Good to hear you liked it!
Jul 02, 2010 @ 15:16:38
Cool list! I love Ayla. And Jondalar from Valley of the Horses. *giggles* I’m a big fan of R&J and Bridges, too.
I think I’ve seen one of Alexie’s films, Smoke Signals?
Congrats on the Carina debut. :)
Jul 02, 2010 @ 15:43:26
Sherman Alexie came to speak at my son’s high school and was wonderful. I keep the program from that lecture above my desk at work to remind me of how powerful and moving words can be. He began by talking about several seemingly unrelated topics (Oprah Winfrey, his father’s crush on Irene Bedard, being “ethnically ambiguous”, and more) and then wove them together in a warm, funny, and personal narrative. I realized that if his books were only half as good as his talk, they would all be keepers.
And yes, “Smoke Signals” was made from one of his books. Irene Bedard was the main actress in the film.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 17:28:56
Liz, how can you love a book without a happy ending? I still haven’t forgiven Black Beauty for dying.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 18:52:29
Janine,
I love Alexie’s voice. It’s raw and rich at the same time. So authentic. I’d love to know what you think after you’ve read it!
Jul 02, 2010 @ 18:55:52
@Liz Fichera: I’m not sure how soon I’ll get to the Alexie book, since I just finished reading a YA and I like to switch genres, but I do really look forward to this book.
Also, I forgot to say earlier that Clan of the Cave Bear is my favorite of Jean Auel’s books.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 18:57:43
Jill,
Thanks so much! Seems we have similar book tastes. :-) Smoke Signals also happens to be one of my fav films. That’s where I fell in love with Adam Beach, who I think is all sorts of hawt, not to mention a fabulous actor. In fact when I wrote Honovi in CAPTIVE SPIRIT, I wrote it with him in mind. In my head, Honovi looked like him.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 19:00:53
Susan,
I’d love to meet Alexie some day. He’s an inspiration! He fills a gap, particularly in YA, that is just not there, in my opinion.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 19:03:12
Jenny,
LOL! I LOVED Black Beauty. I remember devouring that as a kid when I went through a stage where I would only read books with animals.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 21:10:37
Count me in as another Alexie fan. I enjoyed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Jul 02, 2010 @ 21:38:07
Keishon,
So glad to hear it! Another really good Alexie read is WAR DANCES. After all this talk of DIARY today, I now have a sudden urge to re-read it. :-) And then watch SMOKE SIGNALS.
Jul 03, 2010 @ 08:12:06
So glad my daughter thinks I have good taste in books – she steals enough of them from me to read :D
You have some of my favourites there too:
Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon; Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper and The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean Auel.
Two others with a romance theme but are not technically romances that belong on my list are Damia and Restoree both by Anne McCaffrey
Jul 03, 2010 @ 08:19:23
Ilona,
I’ll have to check out Anne McCaffrey, especially since we have similar tastes in books.
What did you think of Gabaldon’s later books in her Outlander trilogy? I thoroughly and completely loved Outlander and the next book or two that followed. Lately, though, I feel like the story of Jaime and Claire has gotten lost. Still, her writing is so wonderful.
Jul 03, 2010 @ 11:52:24
To be honest I only ever reread the first three as I was so upset at the loss of Jaime and Claire in the later books.
Jul 03, 2010 @ 12:58:21
Me, too, Ilona. That’s kind of how I felt. I read the rest of the books in the series but they did not hold my attention like the first ones. I wanted more story, less history lesson.
Jul 04, 2010 @ 17:55:37
Seconding Ilona’s recommendation, definitely check out Anne McCaffrey, Liz. Strangely, although she made her name writing fantasy and science fiction, my favourite book by her is “The Mark of Merlin” which is romantic suspense set in America during WWII. A keeper (but then, I love german shepherds–the Merlin of the title).
Jul 05, 2010 @ 11:47:32
Jenny – I loved Mark of Merlin. I think like you I fell for the dog :D
Jul 08, 2010 @ 21:27:28
Clan of the Cave Bear was one of the first ‘grown up’ books that I read and remains one of my favorites. I love that you have Sherman Alexie on your list!