Kim said:

*taps foot*...  Okay, so is anyone else going to post a list of their keepers???  Inquiring minds (pimarily mine) want to know...

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Kim had posted a great keeper list on another thread, so I thought I'd start a new one where we could post our keeper lists and see what we all really love to hold onto and read again and again and....................

Mine are:

Always to Remember       Twice Loved   A Stranger's Wife

Truly Madly Yours (Avon Light Contemporary Romances)

Sweet Lullaby (Homespun)     The Bronze Horseman

Heart of the West      Texas Destiny   By Arrangement

The Outsider       See Jane Score    It Must Be Love

If you click on my Shelfari link in my siggie and then my Shelf under my name (Frogi) then click on Own, it shows that books I have read and kept. I'm a big Lori Foster fan so that makes up my "normal" romance. :)

Mine is too long, would take forever to make a list.

I agree, Willa, but I cut mine down a few that I really can't live without :)

kim's list is great.

my keeper shlf is listed on my shelfari or my blog -- http://www.shelfari.com/seton

I don't keep books, but only because there are so many out there that I want to read that I know I would never re-read what I have.  I'd rather post them for credits so I can keep fueling my addiction!  But I do like the idea of people posting their keeper lists here - it helps me find new books I might like too!

I own the complete series of  Diana Gabaldon, Jean M. Auel, Sara Donati, Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse Series), Kim Harrison (The Hallows Series), Laurell K Hamilton (Anita Blake and Merry Gentry), Karen Moning (her yummy Highlanders series), Kelly Armstrong, and Carrie Vaughn.

I've also kept quite a few of Laura Kinsale, Theresa Medieros, and I have some James Rollins, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, and Dean Koontz on my shelf.

I tend to keep series but trade in most romance and mystery/thriller paperbacks I read.

my list is actually similar to Sarah F. I keep everything by my favorite authors - including Jennifer Weiner, Diana Gabaldon, Sara Donati,  Karen Marie Moning, Sherrilyn Kenyon,  Jane Austen, Paolo Caehlo and Neil Gaiman.  I have an HUGE amount of other books from other authors too that I've really enjoyed and would never swap either.

Well, I'm copying and pasting mine in here because I did a lot of typing and looking up to put it together & don't want it to get lost in that thread, and also to shame the rest of y'all into doing it too - even if it's just a partial list, Willa, I wanna see it..:P  I'm adding to it and elaborating as much as time allows me to sit here and do that.  I know when someone tells me they like something, I wanna know why.

Here we go - In alphabetical order, by author:

The Lady in Question by Victoria Alexander.  I have actually only read a couple of Victoria Alexander books, but I really liked this one.  I have quite a few in my TBR pile, so this one actually ending up being a "permanent" keeper may only be a temporary thing:P  Once I read more of her books and decide how much I like her writing, I'll have a better idea of which ones I might like to keep & read again someday.

Perils of the Heart  by Jennifer Ashley.  I also really loved The Mad, Bad Duke , so I keep a copy of that one and Penelope and Prince Charming - the prequel to it.  Review-wise, I don't think these two got spectacular marks, but Mad, Bad Duke is just too cute, IMO, and H-O-T.

Stolen Charms by Adele Ashworth.  This one wasn't everyone's personal favorite of the "big 3" Adele Ashworth books.  This is how I think of My Darling Caroline, Stolen Charms, and Winter Garden.  The hype and reviews on these 3 specific books are the reason why I gave Asworth a try in the first place.  As I'm sure everyone knows, these books are usually hard to find and expensive, and almost all historical romance fans have either read them or are always on the lookout for good deals on them.  I liked this one the best.  My reasons why - While I thought the plot was a little complicated and not as well conceived as it could have been, it was very much secondary to the romance itself.  I very much got a sense from early on when Natalie tells Jonathan she's in love with him when she's only 16 or 17 (I forget which without looking it up), that he falls hard, whether he realizes it or not.  When he confesses to her much later in the book that he'd kept close track of her in the ensuing years, I thought it was sweet and enriched the story, but it really didn't surprise me - which was a good thing.  I know they do a lot of push-pulling before anything serious happens between them, and I know that's mostly Natalie's fault and because of a lot of emotional baggage she carries due to her parent's disastrous marriage.  This aspect of the internal plot and all of the angst associated with it, I could have probably lived without.  But Jonathan basically won me over with his behavior all the time Natalie was saying no.  I can see where this would put off a lot of readers, but for whatever that indescribable reason is that some difficult stories can keep me engaged and others can't, this one did.  I stuck with it and didn't get excessively irritated with Natalie, and I felt the payoff was well worth the wait.  But that's just me...:P

All of Mary Balogh's Bedwyn series, Slightly Dangerous  being my favorite, and the one I'd read again.  I should add to this that I keep 1 copy of everything I get by Mary Balogh - so I have a significant number that I don't have listed here.  Along with Marsha Canham, Candice Proctor, Judith Ivory, Laura Kinsale, Connie Brockway, and Loretta Chase, she's one of those authors whose books I collect and hang onto whether I consider all of them to be keeper quality (that means books I'll read again) or not.  Mostly, that's because so many are collectible or HTF.  I also have a copy of everything out of print by Karen Ranney - just because..:P  And everything by Laura Kinsale, because mine are mostly 1st editions, she's a great writer regardless, and several of the ones I have are still TBR.

Bewitching
and Dreaming by Jill Barnett.  I'm going to edit some thoughts on these in here at some point, just probably not today:)

 From her Malloren series:  Something Wicked  and Secrets of the Night  by Jo Beverley.  Most of the books in this series are good.  I was just very disappointed with Devilish, and ended up only keeping these two (I had all of them at one time).

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne.  Great book!

Connie Brockway:  My Dearest Enemy, Promise Me Heaven, As You Desire, Anything for Love, The Bridal Season, Bridal Favors, and from the Rose Hunters Trilogy, My Seduction (Rose Hunters) is my favorite - actually the only one of those I consider a keeper, but I kept all 3 just to have the set.

I keep everything by Marsha Canham just because she only has about 16 books published, but these are my favorites:

Across a Moonlit Sea & The Iron Rose.  My understanding - from her personally - is that she's currently writing a third book in this series.

The Robin Hood trilogy: Through a Dark Mist , In the Shadow of Midnight, and The Last Arrow

Pale Moon Rider, Under the Desert Moon, and Swept Away

Pride of Lions and Blood of Roses

Wind and the Sea - Very old school, and could seriously use some rewrites, and IMO, an epilogue, but still an excellent book.

The Devil to Pay by Liz Carlyle.  I like Liz Carlyle, but this is the only one of her books I've actually held on to.  I think she's very good overall, I've even kept several of her books for a year or more, and then eventually traded off for other things.

Loretta Chase:  Lord of Scoundrels (Avon Romantic Treasure)
The Last Hellion (Avon Romantic Treasure) 
Lord Perfect and Mr. Impossible .  I collect everything by Loretta Chase I can get my hands on, but these are my personal favs.

The Rose Red Bride by Claire Delacroix.  I read all of this "Brides" series a couple of years back.  they're mostly decent little reads, but this one stuck with me for some reason, and I've just held on to it thinking I might read it again someday.

Once a Knight, by Christina Dodd.  Dodd is mostly meat & potatoes, IMO, but this book is a standout.  The hero is basically a cock of the walk who is now past his prime & living on his reputation.:P  It's cute and endearing to watch him struggle with his limitations, and try to live up to the heroine's expectations of him.

The Suitor  by Sandy Hingston.  This is a neat little relatively unknown book.  Hingston reminds me in some ways of Judith Ivory, though not quite as polished.  I finally got the prequels: School for Scandal: How to Kiss a Hero, and The Affair.  None of these are easy to find, but I think The Suitor is available here.

Beyond Seduction by Emma Holly.  Loved this book!  And HATED the prequel: Beyond Innocence.  This is sorta funny, because I had been looking for Beyond Innocence forever because of great reviews, but couldn't find it.  This one reviewed fairly well, it just didn't get quite the high marks of the previous book.  It figures I'd get it backward.:P

By Judith Ivory (and probably in this order): The Indiscretion, The Proposition, Untie My Heart, Sleeping Beauty, although I have everything by her except the Judy Cuevas books, which I'd basically sell my children for..:P

Laura Kinsale:  For My Lady's Heart, Shadowheart, Uncertain Magic, Flowers From The Storm (even though I wanted to strangle the heroine), and an underrated one that I dearly love - My Sweet Folly.  The last line "Kiss your what?" makes it worth the aggravation, IMO:P

Lisa Kleypas:  Devil in Winter, Lady Sophia's Lover, Someone to Watch over Me, Then Came You, Dreaming of You, Worth Any Price.  I will basically give anything by Lisa Kleypas a shot.  She's usually worth the investment to me, even if they aren't keepers.

Stephanie Laurens: Devil's Bride (Cynster Novels), The Ideal Bride (A Cynster Novel), and All About Passion.  I've read most of the Cynster books except for the ones that got bad reviews at TRR, and these are my favs.  The rest aren't bad.  Mostly meat & potatoes, but none of them were truly awful.

Julie Anne Long:  The Perils of Pleasure and The Secret to Seduction - book 3 in a series (Holt Sisters), but this one is the best. 

Night Secrets by Kat Martin.  Not one of my favorite authors, but I liked this book a lot.  The hero won't appeal to everyone; he's a bit of a cad, but I did like seeing him humbled..:P

The Wild Child  by Mary Jo Putney.  I also had all of her Fallen Angels (thanks for the correction  Jess..:P) books in with my keepers until recently, but I've traded most of those off here.  I think it's a very good series; some of the books are really great, but I didn't think I'd ever read them again.  IMO, Putney is mostly a very good author, she just doesn't always hook me.

By Candice Proctor:  Night in Eden, Whispers of Heaven, Beyond Sunrise, September Moon, Bequest.  Have everything by her as well.  She's a very unique writer, and I think always worth checking out no matter what your preferences are.  Most of these are historicals set in Australia.  Bequest is a western.

Julia Quinn:  Romancing Mister Bridgerton, When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series), How to Marry a Marquis.  Have most of this set, but haven't read them all.  I think they're all mostly good.

Karen Ranney: My Beloved , My True Love, After the Kiss (Avon Romantic Treasures.), Tapestry.  I have keepers of most of her books except for the Highland Lords series, which I had and traded in.  She has several out of print, so I collected them.  Despised The Scottish Companion, btw...

Games of Pleasure and My Dark Prince  by Julia Ross.  I've read everything by her, and I either love them or dislike them.  There seems to be no in-between.  Just ordered The Wicked Lover, so we'll see...

Silken Threads by Patricia Ryan.  This is a very interesting book, btw.  It's sort of a rewrite of Hitchcock's Rear Window.  Neat concept.

Charm School by Susan Wiggs.  The only Susan Wiggs book I've ever read, and I loved it.

Ashes in the Wind, Shanna, A Rose in Winter , The Wolf and the Dove  and The Flame and the Flower  by Kathleen Woodiwiss.  My old sentimental favorites.  Not sure if I could read these again now, but that's okay, I read them all several times when I was into Woodiwiss.:P

* Will edit this more later for more details and more books.

The Wild Child  by Mary Jo Putney.  I also had all of her Company of Rogues books in with my keepers until recently, but I've traded most of those off here.  I think it's a very good series; some of the books are really great, but I didn't think I'd ever read them again.  IMO, Putney is mostly a very good author, she just doesn't always hook me.

Kim,

it's Jo Beverley who did Company of Rogues, not MJP.

Fallen Angels Series = Mary Jo Putney

I meant Fallen Angels - duh!..:P

What's on my keeper shelves?....notice the plural :p   BTW, this does not include any books I have in my TBR pile that I'm planning on keeping.

Romantic suspense category: Carla Neggers, Merline Lovelace (Cleo North series), Cindy Gerard (Bodyguard series),  Tara Janzen (Crazy series), Suzanne Brockmann (SEALs/Troubleshooters series), Marliss Melton

Paranormal: Keri Arthur (Riley Jensen series), the Raintree trilogy, Kerrelyn Sparks (Love at Stake series), Katie MacAlister (Aisling Grey and the Dark Ones series), Lynsay Sands (Argeneau series), Erin McCarthy (Vegas Vampires series), Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark series), Gena Showalter (Atlantis series)

Contemporary: Carly Phillips (Hot Zone series), Rachel Gibson (assorted books including See Jane Score, my fave by her),  Susan Mallery (Buchanan series), Kate Angell (Boys of Summer series), Nora Roberts (Chesapeake Bay series), Catherine Anderson (Coulter series), Pamela Britton NASCAR and NASCAR Harlequin series

Historical: Jo Beverley (Company of Rogues), Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers)

Others: Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs quartet), Stephen Woodworth (Through Violet Eyes quartet), Dragonlance (fantasy), Kathy Reichs (Tempe Brennan series), Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta series), Laura Lippman (Tess Monaghan series), JK Rowling (Harry Potter)

I also have assorted medical lab, physical therapy, and forensic textbooks, American Civil War books, WWII books (specifically Iwo Jima), sniper books...hmm, it's a good thing I have two large bookcases for all this!

I can do this.....it will take a while, but now my interest is out there.  It may make me post some more to......

On my keeper shelf there is:

Julie Garwood. I enjoy her historicals and her contemporaries. I believe I have all of her books on my keeper shelf. Some of my favorites are Ransom, Saving Grace

Julia Quinn. I have all of her books, except Brighter Than The Sun  and  Everything And The Moon, on my keeper shelf. I enjoy her style of humor and her characters.

Lori Foster. I have Jude's Law & Murphy's Law, Causing Havoc, Simon Says & Hard To Handle, and her Visitation, NC series: Say No To Joe?, The Secret Life Of Bryan, When Bruce Met Cyn, Just A Hint Clint, and Jamie  on my keeper shelf.

Jennifer Crusie. I have several of her books on my keeper shelf. Bet Me and Crazy For You  are my favorites.

Marianne Stillings. I really enjoy her books. She's an author I was clued into from posts on the L&R forum. I have all of her books on my keeper shelf.

Elizabeth Hoyt. The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince & The Serpent Prince. I enjoyed all 3 of these books. I also have her contemporary HOT written as Julia Harper.

Lucy Monroe. Touch Me, Tempt Me, Take Me. I enjoyed this historical trilogy and that the heroes weren't all rakes whose favorite passtime is sowing their wild oats all over London. I also have The Real Deal, Ready, Willing, and Able, Satisfaction Guaranteed and Deal With This.

Shannon McKenna. I have all of her books except the newest, Extreme Danger. Her heroes are troubled and may rub some people the wrong way but I like them. She does steamy/erotic with a good story really well.

Linda Howard. I haven't been crazy about her last few books(haven't read Up Close and Personal) but I 've enjoyed many of her other books. I have her Mackenzie series, Kill and Tell, Dying To Please, Cry No More, Shades of Twilight, After the Night, Open Season( this book makes me laugh every time), To Die For & Drop Dead Gorgeous(I usually don't like 1st person but I did enjoy these) and I think a few more I can't remember right now.

Nora Roberts. I have several of her books on my keeper shelf. I really enjoy her trilogies like The Gallaghers of Ardmore and the Born In... trilogy. some of my other favs are Three Fates, The Villa, Northern Lights, Angels Fall and Blue Smoke.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I have most of her books. My favs are Nobody's Baby But Mine and Dream A Little Dream

Catherine Anderson. I have most of her Coulter series on my keeper shelf. My favorite is Blue Skies

Karen Marie Moning's Highlander books

Tara Janzen's Crazy series

 I think that's enough for now

Wow!  OK - my desert island keeper list is:

Getting Rid of Bradley - Jennifer Crusie  (This book just makes me laugh out loud!)

In Name Only - Peggy Moreland (really good series romance)

Marooned with a Marine - Maureen Child  (really good military romance)

Heart of the Dragon & Nymph King - Gena Showalter

Robyn Carr's Virgin River series

Kiss of Fire - Deborah Cooke

True Honor & True Valor & True Devotion - Dee Henderson (Christian military romance trio)

Ready & Able - Lucy Monroe (HATED "Willing")

The Fall of Lucifer - Wendy Alec

Maiden of Inverness - Arnette Lamb

Highland Conqueror - Hannah Howell

Ransom & The Secret - Julie Garwood

A Dance Through Time - Lynn Kurland

Dark Highlander - Karen Marie Moning

And the entire 6 book Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Sherri

All of Janet Evanovich's books

all of the Highlanders by Karen Mooning

all of JR Wards

Contemporaries of Katie MacAllster

I'll have to buy a copy of HOT, loved it.

Black Ice

Joyce Burditt - Buck Naked

just some for now.

Julie Garwood will make you laugh, Judith McNaught will make you cry, and Elizabeth Lowell will make you cry while you're trying to cool yourself down.  It's no surprise that my keeper shelf is full of their books.  I've tried their newer "romantic suspense" stuff, but I'll stick with the oldies but goodies, thanks.

Historicals

Judith McNaught's Once and Always and Until You -- Great when you need a good cry.

Julie Garwood's "Crown's Spies" series (The Lion's Lady, Guardian Angel, The Gift, and Castles) -- They're a great laugh on a rainy day, especially Guardian Angel.

Elizabeth Lowell's "Only" series (Only His, Only Mine, Only You, Only Love) -- Love and romance in the Old West!

Contemporaries

Elizabeth Lowell's Mackenzie/Blackthorn Western series (Fire And Rain, Outlaw, Granite Man, and Warrior) -- Modern-day ranchers/cowboys ... where can I sign up?  (and also, prepare the Kleenex)

Day LeClaire's "Royals" series (The Forbidden Princess, The Prince's Mistress, and The Royal Wedding Night) -- I'm a total sucker for stories involving royalty of made-up nations. It's an odd hang-up, I know.

Judith McNaught's Paradise -- Granted, the premise has been done to death since, but it was completely new to me when I read it in the early '90s.  Young love, meddling families, and hmm, their divorce never happened!  And yet it manages to break my heart every time I read it.

The Silhouette Nocturne "Raintree" series by Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones and Beverly Barton -- my first "paranormal" series, although it's pretty light on the paranormal and pretty heavy on the H-O-T!

For me, my keepers are:

Daughters of the Grail - Elizabeth Chadwick

Entranced - Marion Clarke

Rosehaven, The Penwyth Curse - Catherine Coulter

Sweetbriar - Jude Deveraux (really, the only book I like from her)

The Prize, The Secret - Julie Garwood (I have to reread these every year)

This is All I Ask - Lynn Kurland

Love Only Once, Tender Rebel, Gentle Rogue, The Magic of You, The Present, A Loving Scoundrel, Captive of My Desires - Johanna Lindsey (My favorite series because I love the Malorys!)

Angel of Skye - May McGoldrick

My Wicked Enchantress - Meagan McKinney

Heather & Velvet - Teresa Medeiros

pictures of a shelf or two

http://coulditbeseton.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/keeper1.jpg

http://coulditbeseton.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/keeper2.jpg

Janet Evanovich: The Stephanie Plum Series & Metro Girl & Motor Mouth (these books are just a great adventure that makes me lol every time I read them)

Catherine Anderson: Always in my Heart (heartbreaking at time, but very good...)

Pamela Britton: The NASCAR Series (I love NASCAR and Pamela Britton makes them witty and somewhat suspenseful while she's at it)

Maureen Child: The Marconi Sisters (Witty, I like to laugh)

Parris Afton Bonds: Deep Purple (3 generations of women, each with a heartbreaking story. Lots of history entertwined with them)

Johanna Lindsey: A Gentle Rogue & A Marriage Most Scandalous

Julie Garwood: The Bride, The Wedding, For the Roses, Come the Spring, The Clayborne Brides, The Secret & Ransom (I just love her earlier historicals!)

Leslie LaFoy: Grin and Bear-It (Sentimental reasons:)

Judy Merrill Larson: All the Numbers (Signed copy ARC)

Nora Roberts: Cordina's Crown Jewel & Lawless (I have no clue why I love these two)

Linda Howard: The Blair Mallory books (LOL!)

Sandra Brown: Envy (so many twists and turns, this book kept me on my toes!

Julia Quinn: A whole slew of them (witty, funny historicals!)

I think that's it, I'd have to go look to be sure:)

I love seeing all these lists! I don't save many but here's what I have-

Historical romance- the only historicals I save are Georgette Heyer- I love her writing and still haven't found another writer who can match her for wit or authenticity of the Regency period and also for creating heat without even hinting at anything blatantly sexual. My favorites by her are:

These Old Shades, Devil's Cub, Venetia, and The Convenient Marriage

For romantic suspense I love Mary Stewart (yes, I'm old school). She was a well educated writer who incorporated her love of literature into her writing and also had the ability to make you feel like you were right there with her descriptions, whether Avignon or Athens. My favorites by her are:

Madam Will You Talk?, Nine Coaches Waiting, The Moonspinners, and My Brother Michael

I also love 2 by Rosamund Pilcher- The Shell Seekers and September

.eta- I forgot to add- I cannot let go of Dark Lover by J R Ward. I love that book! LOL

Great topic, I'll have to compile my list soon. I'm sorry to sound stupid, but I've heard so much about the Raintree books but in passing. Could someone please post the author/titles, I'm really interested in checking them out. Thanks :)

EDITED: Thanks so much Shari B. :)

Stephanie-- 1) Raintree: Inferno by Linda Howard; 2) Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones; 3) Raintree: Sanctuary by Beverly Barton.

I have on my keeper list:

 Years/ Morning Glory/ The Fullfillment/ The Endearment : All by LaVyrle Spencer

A Thousand Acres: Jane Smiley (loved this book, but cannot get into anything else written by her)

Message in a Bottle: Nicholas Sparks

The Horse Whisperer: Nicholas Evans

Heaven in Texas: Curtiss Ann Matlock (this was the first book of hers i had ever read and it just never left me, love this little known author)

Beyond All Reason: Judith Duncan - just a harlequinn series author, but something about this book and it's characters just captured me and i can't let the book go!