Book List

Image via Luna!

If you know me, then you know of my love of the written word. I have been a hardcore book junkie since elementary school when I devoured the entire Little House on the Prairie series in a little over a month one winter and then progressed to ripping my way through Nancy Drews so quickly that my mother had to actually ration out the purchase of the 3-book-sets they sold at (what is now) Costco. I have been an avid reader for years; cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, TV Guides, any magazine in the doctor's waiting room. I don't do aimless sitting well. And as much as I love TV and movies and video games, I will ultimately retire to my bedroom to curl up with a mug of something hot and my current book. My wonderful husband has graciously adapted to my most introverted habit over the course of our 2 1/2 years together, and is even turning into a book junkie himself; although his genres of preference rarely overlap with mine. Our dream home will contain a very substantial library someday since we both prefer to own actual paper books opposed to the digital variety; and while I am a huge user of both library books and Barnes & Noble's rather generous lounge-around-and-read-for-free policy I absolutely must own my favorites.

I'm also partial to book series. I imagine this is the result of becoming so invested in the characters that I hate to say goodbye. I always want to know what happens next. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite book series:

Harry Potter: If you could see my copies you would have no question about how much I love these books. I have reread the entire series at least 6 times now. Also, the film series is probably one of the best book-to-film adaptation I have ever seen.

Mary Russell: I love all things Sherlock Holmes, and when I stumbled across the first book in this series on a sale table, I was hooked. Mary Russell is a brilliant young woman coming of age during the Great War in southern England who happens to, literally, stumble across the great detective. Their relationship and cases are the subject of these books. Laurie R. King does an excellent job of staying true to the essence of Holmes and of writing the books true to Russell's voice. Ms. King is still writing new additions to this collection too!

Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit: Confession, I had read the Hobbit prior to seeing Peter Jackson's most excellent adaptation of The Fellowship in theaters, so I had an idea of Middle Earth, but I did not pick up a copy of the trilogy until after the second film was already on its way to DVD. Tolkien created a whole new world with this series which is rich in languages, peoples, histories, and settings all of its own. If you've only seen the films, you are depriving yourself of so much more if you don't read the originals.

The Parasol Protectorate: This is a new series for me, and one I'm still reading my way through. It's a bit more campy than my usual choices, but with vampires, werewolves, Queen Victoria, steampunk and a good dose of mystery I can't resist. Gail Carriger is a very witty writer, a fact that is evident just from reading her author bio, and these books are definitely ones I'm thrilled to have discovered.

The Looking Glass Wars: This is a three book series based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It's an alternate reality/fantasy that focuses on the adult Alyss (as it is correctly spelled) who finds herself removed from the protection of Victorian British society to return to her rightful place on the royal throne in an alternative dimension and the ensuing battle for power with her Aunt Redd. If you love all things Alice like I do, then you must check out this series by Frank Beddor.

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What are some of your favorite series? Have you read any of these?

Obligatory Introduction Post

Hello World!

[Rewritten 04.08.2014]

I'm rewriting this little intro to reflect the nature of what my blog has evolved into. When I first started this blog, it was called No Map Provided and was intended to be a general lifestyle blog. I was a newlywed who was still in school and unemployed who needed an outlet. I'd tried to maintain blogs in the past and had failed due to, what I thought, was having to narrow of a scope. So I set no scope except for my likes, life, and interests and set sail. I was much more disciplined and committed to posting and I gained a small following. 

In late January of 2013 I became a bookseller at the amazing Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia. The story of how I stumbled into the perfect profession for me is convoluted and filled with serendipitous happenstance, but is ultimately thanks to Amanda over at Dead White Guys. As I began learning the ropes of bookselling I began incorporating more bookish posts and news into No Map Provided. Then my mister and I up and moved across the country to Seattle, Washington and I was lucky enough (and pimped out enough by Kelly, the owner of Fountain Bookstore) to score a coveted position at Elliott Bay Book Company.

By the Fall of 2013 I had decided that my career would be with books and bookselling in some capacity and the blog was evolving into being purely a book blog. By early 2014 I had changed the name and url to reflect the dominant posting format, Book Styles. If you're reading this now, know that this is not the original introduction post I ever wrote. It was rewritten on the date above when I started deleted older, irrelevant posts, tweaking formatting issues and really investing myself into making this blog something I was proud of again. I'm a bookseller, my best friends are booksellers or publishers and books are kind of my life. (Besides for my furry children and my amazing husband, natch.)