Desert Island Picks

If you were stranded on a desert island what 10 books would you want?

While browsing the responses to the question posed on Nancy Pearl's Book Lust wiki I found myself thinking, "Yea, right!" The responses included The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, T.S. Elliot and Charles Dickens. I don't know about you, but I'd choose those only if I wanted to bore myself to death! I had to read these authors for my undergraduate degree. As an English major, I knew what I was getting into and had no right to complain. However, if I were trapped on a desert island and was only allowed 10 books, they would not be books with serious literary value. No sirree, I would choose completely based on entertainment value. My desert island list does not include any staples of Classic Literature. Let's be honest here, when you go on vacation do you lug around a Complete Works of Shakespeare? Not normally! So, here is my completely non-Academic, non-literary(but by God, I'd be enjoying my self) desert island book list!

My preference for reading books in a series makes this difficult, as I'd want the whole series but sometimes we have to make tough decisions....here goes nothing!

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, the first in the Outlander series. While I love all the books in this series, none compare to how Jamie and Claire's story began!

2. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Crusie is a master of writing heartfelt stories complete with humor, sizzle and a dachshund or two. While I don't believe there is a dachshund in this book, it is full of humor and fun!

3. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich. The fourth book in her hilariously, quirky Stephanie Plum Bounty-Hunter series, I found the antics of Stephanie, Lula and Grandma Mazur to be particularly laugh-out-loud funny!

4. The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton. Book 6 in Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series, Anita struggles for her feelings between Jean-Claude, vampire and the Master of the City, and Richard, middle school teacher and leader of the local were-wolf pack.

5. Jamie by Lori Foster. This is the final installment of her Visitation series. Jamie, a mysterious, but appealing character in the other Visitation books, finally gets his story told and it couldn't be soon enough for the fans of this series. Throughout the series the reader's curiosity builds about the mysterious loner and finally, our curiosity gets satisfied!

6. Lucky's Lady by Tami Hoag. One of the first romance's I ever read, to this day it is still one of my favorites! Lucky, the Cajun hero, is one of the most memorable hero's in the romance genre. Gotta love a little spice in your life!

7. Heart of Fire by Linda Howard. Having read most of Howard's works I can confidently say this is by far one of my favorites! Heart of Fire is action packed with plenty of sizzling romance between the hero, Ben Lewis and the heroine, Jillian Sherwood.

8. Out of Control by Suzanne Brockmann. Part of Brockmann's Navy SEAL Troubleshooter series, Out of Control is Ken "Wildcard" Karmody's story. Throughout the series Wildcard was one of my favorite characters and it was good to finally see Wildcard get his own story.

9. Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips! She, perhaps more than any other author I've read, can create characters you both love and, at times, wish you could throttle. Case in point, Kenny Traveler. Immediately, his warped sense of humor appeals to me but his apparent laziness makes me want to smack him around a tad bit! In the end the chemistry between Kenny and Lady Emma is irresistible!

10. Open Season by Linda Howard. Yep, two from the same author! As a librarian, I couldn't have my top 10 desert island reads without representing my beloved profession! Daisy Minor, a mild mannered librarian turns out to be nothing but trouble for police chief, Jack Russo.

New Books in '07

Here are a list of the books and release dates for some of the books I am eagerly awaiting!

First up is Hot Stuff, the first in a new series by Janet Evanovich and Leanne Banks.

Dear Reader,

If you like hot men, hot action and hot attraction you’re going to love this HOT new series! HOT STUFF introduces Cate Madigan, a Boston native from a large and crazy Irish family. Cate has far too much going on to get involved in extracurricular activities, like men and marriage. She spends all day in school, earning her teaching degree, and all night working as a bartender in Boston’s South End. Ex-cop Kellen McBride has decided to make Cate’s bar his nightly haunt. He likes Cate’s sassy Irish spirit and wild red hair. He also has an ulterior motive for getting close to her. Cate has sworn off all things romantic, but when she comes home to a ransacked apartment, a roommate who has flown the coop, and a sleeping bull mastiff named Beast, Cate has no choice but to ask Kellen for help. Can Kate resist the charming Kellen McBride while keeping herself out of danger? Or will Kellen turn up the heat on Cate and everything in her life? We know you’ll have a blast with HOT STUFF!

Janet & Leanne

Check out Janet's newest endeavor April 3!


Next up is Lucy Monroe's Satisfaction Guaranteed the first in her Goddard Project series. The hero of Satisfaction Guaranteed, Ethan Crane, first showed up in Monroe's Ready, Willing, and Able series about ex-mercenaries. Monroe's new series center on operatives for the secret government agency The Goddard Project.

Anytime, anyplace, Ethan Crane's your man. An agent's agent, he’s tough, smart, and fearless. Exactly the guy you want when the stuff hits the fan—and precisely the kind Beth Whitney avoids like the plague. It took a fiancé (make that ex-fiancé) in the business to teach her, but she's learned her lesson: Don't. Date. Agents. Ever. It's this little rule that's kept her gainfully employed at the agency, doing her part for world security from behind a desk. So when a case throws the two together, Beth's determined to keep it strictly professional. So far, so good—except for the steamy kisses, the red-hot phone sex, and...What was that rule again?

Ethan's story hits stores April 24!


Anita Blake is back in Laurell K. Hamilton's 15th book of the Vampire Hunter Series, The Harlequin! Anita kicks butt and breaks hearts June 5th!

On July 1st fans of Susan Mallery's Buchannan Series will finally see Dani get her own HEA in Tempting! In the last few books Dani has had a rough go of it. But Tempting is sure to deliver delicious treats, irresistible characters, and sizzling romance!

Here's one author I wouldn't miss! Lori Foster's Simon Says, the next installment of her UFC fighter inspired series. Sexy Simon"Sublime" stunned the ladies in Dean"Havoc's" story Causing Havoc. Look for Simon's story in July 2007!



Lastly, we have Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter book #11, Forces of Nature. Brockmann's series about the Navy SEAL team are not to be missed!

Florida private investigator and ex-cop Ric Alvarado's life is spiraling out of control. His beautiful new Girl Friday, Annie Dugan, is far more interested in fieldwork than filing, an despite Ric's best efforts to ignore the attraction, sparks are flying between them. Then one of Ric's clients turns femme fatale and tries to gun down an innocent man. Thanks to quick thinking and even quicker reflexes, Ric comes to the rescue, only to learn he's done a very good deed for some very bad people.

Suddenly Ric finds himself deep undercover with Annie, working for notorious crime boss Gordon Burns. One mistake from Ric's painfully inexperienced partner and they're both dead.

FBI Agent Jules Cassidy's life isn't in much better shape. For years the FBI has been trying to prove Gordon Burns's ties to terrorist activity. Now, thanks to Ric and Annie, Jules has found a way into the lion's den. But in the course of his investigation, he comes face to face with Robin Chadwick, the charismatic but self-destructive and closeted movie star for whom Jules feels a powerful attraction. Robin's in town promoting his latest film -- and Gordon Burns is a star-struck movie buff.

With Robin and Jules's help, Ric and Annie are soon entrenched in Burns's organization, surrounded by killers who may already have executed an FBI infiltrator. Before long the couple realizes that many more lives than their own will be at stake if they make a false move. As the heat between them reaches dangerous levels, so do the risks they're willing to take -- in the line of duty, for the sake of loyalty, and in the name of something that runs even deeper...

The Trouble begins August 2007!