Books to Time Travel With #AtoZChallenge

I recently started reading/listening to the Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor and haven't been able to stop bingeing on them since. I'm now on book six of the series and am already looking forward to the seventh, which comes out next month.

I stumbled upon the series a few years ago actually, bought the first book (very likely on sale) and never got around to listening to it. Although I listen to audiobooks for two plus hours a day, I never get caught up because Audible has so many good sales.

The Chronicles of St. Mary's is centered around a group of eccentric, accident prone historians who travel back in time to witness historical events. They never intend to get involved, but often find themselves in some sort of trouble, right in the thick of things. The main character, Max, is hilarious; she's got amazing wit, is very smart and has me laughing and slapping my steering wheel every day. I like her so much, I want to be more like her.

I also recently read Jodi Taylor's The Nothing Girl, which was also fabulous. Jenny has a stutter and very low self-confidence and at the lowest point of her life finds a friend in a golden horse only she can see... ok, I admit that's a bit odd, but somehow Ms. Taylor makes it work perfectly. Jenny's family is overprotective and intent on keeping her sheltered, but a chance meeting has her breaking away from her solitary existence and taking a chance on actually living her life. I highly recommend it.

I admit, I've been a sucker for time travel books since I was a teenager. Do you like the genre? Which one is your favorite? Mine is Outlander, but I could rattle off dozens of others too :)

C is for Cloud Atlas #AtoZChallenge

I recently read (listened to) Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell. I admit, it started off not only a little slowly for me, but practically right in the middle of an ongoing story. In other words, it didn't start off with any real introduction or back story, but in the middle of a journal as it was being written.

That being said, I thought it was an excellent novel. I haven't seen the movie yet, but plan to. The premise of the novel is that everything is connected - our actions, good or bad, affect those around us and ultimately history. It also toys with the concept of reincarnation, without actually every directly discussing it.

These are concepts I've been musing about lately. I'm currently reading (listening to) Time and Again by Jack Finney and just finished To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Both are excellent, and both deal with time travel, which is a pretty interesting concept.

By the way, Time and Again by Jack Finney was recommended by Stephen King at the end of 11-22-63 (mentioned yesterday). Everything is connected... huh? huh? :)

So, do I think time travel is possible? Yes... I agree with the theory that time is not an absolute, but can be manipulated. Do I believe in reincarnation? Yes, I believe we have lessons to learn, and each life is a new lesson. This fits in with so much of what I have observed and what I believe.

Anyways, back to the books, I found myself sort of irritated with one of these novels in that someone went back in time and caught a bus, observed an event and left. They didn't change history... or did they? By catching that bus - no one got on the bus with them, so the bus stopped for them - the caused a string of small ripples that affected countless others. Perhaps someone had originally missed the bus, but now they made it. I think about things like this when I just can't seem to leave on time in the mornings, then pass a bad accident on the road that I missed by only moments.

Have you read any books lately that have challenged you to think outside of your box? What do you think about time travel?

Oh... and would you believe that today's photo prompt is "Future".

What better symbol of the future is there, than the face of our children?