Amelia’s Favorite Things
A few of Amelia’s Favorite Things…
Like the song from The Sound of Music states, these are a few of my favorite things. Books and authors seem to dominate…I wonder why?
Top Five Non-Fiction Books
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, Eric Larson
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, John M. Barry
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, David McCullough
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, Eric Schlosser
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, Sebastian Junger
Top Ten Romantic Fiction Books
Morning Glory, Lavyrle Spencer
Bring Me Back, Karen Booth
Back Forever, Karen Booth
Cry No More, Linda Howard
The Golden Journey, Agnes Sligh Turnbull
The Wedding Bargain, Agnes Sligh Turnbull
A Woman of Substance, Barbara Taylor Bradford
Hiding in the Spotlight, Karen Booth
Simply Irresistible, Jill Shalvis
Red Adam’s Lady, Grace Ingram
Top Ten Georgette Heyer Books (in no particular order—my favorite keeps changing!)
Top Ten Category Romance Books (tough choice—so many great ones!)
Secrets, Jennifer Greene
Forget Me Not, Elizabeth Lowell
MacKenzie’s Mountain, Linda Howard
Lady of the Island, Jennifer Greene
Love Song for a Raven, Elizabeth Lowell
Midnight Rainbow, Linda Howard
Madam’s Room, Jennifer Greene
Chain Lightning, Elizabeth Lowell
MacKenzie’s Mission, Linda Howard
Night of the Hunter, Jennifer Greene
Top Ten (Non-Romance) Fiction Books (see a pattern developing here?)
The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Shogun, James Clavell
Noble House, James Clavell
The Firm, John Grisham
The Runaway Jury, John Grisham
Patriot Games, Tom Clancy
The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy
Executive Orders, Tom Clancy
Top Ten Authors I Loved as a Child
Laura Ingalls Wilder (the “Little House” series—The Long Winter is my favorite)
Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, An Old Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, etc.)
Noel Streatfeild (the “Shoes” series—Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes, Dancing Shoes, etc.)
Alexander Key (will never forget The Forgotten Door)
S.E. Hinton (same goes for The Outsiders)
Robert A. Heinlein (just about everything, but The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my favorite)
Carol Ryrie Brink (Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons, etc.)
Eleanor Cameron (the “Mushroom Planet” series)
Carolyn Haywood (the “Betsy” and “Eddie” series)
Donald J. Sobol (the “Encyclopedia Brown” series)
Top Ten Songs (another tough choice—music ranks right up there with books!)
Sand and Water (Beth Nielsen Chapman performing)
Long, Long Time (Linda Ronstadt performing)
Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers performing)
Open Arms (Journey performing)
The Dance (Garth Brooks performing)
Faithfully (Journey performing)
Yesterday (The Beatles performing)
I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner performing)
I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton performing, not Whitney Houston…sorry Whitney fans)
Heart of Gold (Neil Young performing)
Top Five Musicals
Phantom of the Opera
Les Misérables
The Sound of Music
West Side Story
The King and I
Top Five Movies
Casablanca
It’s a Wonderful Life
The African Queen
Seven Days in May
12 Angry Men
Top Five National Parks
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Yosemite National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Death Valley National Park
Top Five Cities Visited (but I wouldn’t want to live there)
Hong Kong and the new territories
San Francisco, CA
New Orleans, LA
Washington, D.C.
Portland, OR
Top Five Flowers (hmmm…blue seems to dominate, except for the first one)
Lily of the Valley
Forget Me Not
Blue Clematis
Blue Iris
Morning Glory
Favorite Time of Day
Wyoming sunrise
Arizona sunset
Favorite Color
Blue. Lavender blue. Cobalt blue. Baby blue. Teal blue. Royal blue. Sky blue. Forget-me-not blue. All shades and hues of blue, really. There’s just something so peaceful, so soothing about blue.