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I've been on the lurk, here, and liked what I've seen, so here's the plunge, with an introduction.

Books have been part of my life since my father read Kidnapped and The Jungle Book to me and my siblings, as children. I went on to read everything I could snatch, from the library, and wore out a lot of batteries, reading by flashlight under the covers. Gollum from The Hobbit was quite terrifying, encountered that way.

For thirteen years, also, I rented the carriage house apartment of naturalist and author, Daniel P. Mannix, which involved every kind of craziness, including rescuing his hawks from the top of trees.

My neighborhood book club (I live in Florida) has led me through (among many) The Secret Life of Bees, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Skin Tight, Water for Elephants, and the latest, which all of us loved, The Tenth Gift, which was a fascinating historical with a modern tie, about a raid on a church in Cornwall by Barbary pirates in 1750 that took an entire village captive and sold them to slavery in Morocco.

My top favorite reads have included Summer of the Red Wolf A Novel by Morris West, The Horsemen by Joseph Kessel, The King Must Die A Novel and The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault, Rat Race by Dick Francis, The Silver Pigs A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery by Lindsey Davis, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, The Healer and A Sporting Chance by Daniel P. Mannix, and King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett.

My first love is fantasy, I've read that field in depth, my favorite authors being J R R Tolkien, Guy Gavriel Kay, Patricia McKillip, Carol Berg, Sarah Zettel, Jennifer Roberson, Stephen R. Donaldson, Roger Zelazny, Robin Hobb, and I'd better stop gushing, the list would get insufferably longer.

My other interests include riding, sailing, wilderness trips, travel, and music.

For those who just have to know, my profession is listed on my profile.

I am hoping to share good books, and particularly, discover choice titles to read. If your preferences overlap any of my favorites, please make suggestions. I've often found anyone's top ten list is always choice!

I like books best that balance introspection and great characters with well researched action, well thought stories, and creative use of language.

Hi Janny, Welcome. Wow, great list of books!

Welcome Janny! Nice to see that Tolkien is up there in your favs. He's one of my favs too.

Wow Janny. Something told me you were a writer :)
hee hee.

Welcome and thanks for posting!

Hi Janny! Welcome to the group!

Hello and welcome!

Lori wrote: "Wow Janny. Something told me you were a writer :)
hee hee.

Welcome and thanks for posting!"

Oh my, the Supermod herself! I should tremble?
hee hee

After 25 years in the biz I should think I have nothing to prove.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Thanks, also to Hayes, Atishay, Emilee, and Eric! I look forward to sharing discussion on some wonderful reads!

Hey Janny...welcome to the group! What a great list of books to introduce yourself.

Did you like The Tenth Gift? The premise sounds interesting.

Kevin wrote: "Hey Janny...welcome to the group! What a great list of books to introduce yourself.

Did you like The Tenth Gift? The premise sounds interesting."

Hi Kevin - I truly loved The Tenth Gift, for several reasons.

The writing was smooth and well thought.

The modern plot and the historical one woven through it were so well balanced, one did not detract from the other.

The "theme" of embroidery tying the two plots together was quite unusual.

The research behind the story was beyond superb. Not only did the raid on the church in Cornwall actually happen by historical record - the fact that Barbary pirates raided there regularly is largely overlooked.

The author's ancestress was apparently taken, then. Her research took her to Morocco, where she met, and married a Muslim man. This makes the cultural angles up front and vivid from first hand experience. Neither culture is whitewashed. It's intriguing to note that when one side is behaving barbarically, the other shines with humanity, and then, vice versa.

I enjoyed that complexity, since so many stories tend to fall for oversimplification.

Welcome! I'm new too!:)

Welcome, right back at you Molly!

Hi Janny and Molly,

Welcome to the group!!