Follow Friday Sept 23

This is Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read

Today's Question is:

Q. Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it?

Anyone who's been around here for a while knows my answer to this.

I own Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga in both print and ebook. Recently I've been making my way through at least 12 out of the 14 books (plus short stories) every 8-10 months or so.

I love this series not only because it's well written, exciting, moving, and extremely fun, but because every time I read them, I notice new things. I normally read very quickly, so with books that can take the scrutiny, re-reading can be very enjoyable for me, as I pick up on subtle details and turns of phrase that I missed the first time. Also, as time has passed I become obsessed with different parts of the series. I mentioned in a recent post that Memory, a book in the middle of the timeline, has recently become my favorite, because turning 30 and struggling with career change speaks very directly to where I am in my life.

In certain moods early books like The Warrior's Apprentice or Cetaganda, more about high adventure, espionage and finding one's feet, are more enjoyable, and at other times later books about mystery, adult romance and commitment (Komarr, A Civil Campaign) are just what I need.

For wonderful characters and a fascinating world, but most of all for the incredible range of topic and tone while remaining true to those characters and settings, The Vorkosigan Saga is the series I read over and over.

You don't have to take my word for it: download The Warrior's Apprentice as a free ebook from Baen.com

(Close Second place: The Complete Sherlock Holmes. For a while I almost had this memorized.)