Writer's Block: Book worms unite!

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I can't pick the three best, but I'll tell ya three of the books I actively recommend and lend out to people.

War for the Oaks - Emma Bull (and I'm so sorry I missed her at Darkover!)
The Glimmering - Elizabeth Hand
Sunshine - Robin McKinley

I love these for how vivid they are, for the way each writer approaches fantasy and their different visions of an alternate Earth. Hand's is the darkest, and truth be told it screwed up the way I look at the world for a while...but not necessarily in a bad way, more in a 'wow things could go so horribly wrong..I just want to hug the planet' way.

I do want to add Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey and the Lord of the Rings series because these were the first books I read that I could close my eyes and see these worlds. I was one of those kids that read LotR at a very young age - 2nd grade - and it is perhaps one reason I was always reading well above what was age appropriate. Beverly Cleary can't really compare to Tolkien.

Worst books are rather genre-specific..
Mastery - ?
I may have this in a box in the basement. I actually can't find a listing online. My dislike of this book is almost akin to the feelings one has for a lover that has betrayed you. The first chapter drew me in..it was beautifully written. My assumption is that the first chapter is what sold the book to the publisher, and either the author had no intention of following through (which would have made this book a must-read), because the tone of what follows chapter one is the stuff bad pulp fiction is made of. Mastery broke my heart a little, and I'm still angry about it well over a decade later.

Erebus - Shaun Hutson
Based on the idea that there is a link between porphyria and vampirism, this book is one of the few vampire novels I kept for years simply because it was so bad. A scan across the intarwebz will show that this theory has been exploited by other authors, and I personally feel that's rather irresponsible, as people afflicted with this disease have enough crap to deal with...being called vampires just makes an already difficult life that much more problematic.

Vittorio the Vampire - Anne Rice
I disliked this book so much that it almost turned me off to all of Anne's writings. I felt somehow unclean after reading it. I can't really explain to you why, and considering what a fan I've been of the Vampire Chronicles, my reaction saddened me. But I've not been able to pick up a new-to-me book of hers since, and I'm pretty sure I jettisoned my copy of Vittorio quite a while ago.

Ganked from emo_snal

When you know it's love.

Reading my friends' list today, I came across this pic and it rather took my breath away.

Hello, mountain that I love...