Today's First, Last, Everything is Timy from the Rockstarlit Book Asylum blog.

Queen Terrible Timy (there is a story) is a smartass, music addict rocker and panda lover. Timy is one of the weird people called Hungarians, born and raised in Budapest. She loves everything mythological - and has a degree to prove it - especially if it's on the darker side of the spectrum. When she has free time besides her day job and freelancing, Timy entertains herself with crafting, watching movies, traveling and going to concerts. Provided she has the time besides maintaining her fantasy book blog, RockStarlit BookAsylum (https://starlitbook.com/). She can be found sitting on her throne supported by the mighty swords called Twitter and Facebook.

First of all, thanks to Dave for starting this series and inviting me to play. It was fun to dig up some memories and I’d like to say sorry, because I’ve been cheating through my teeth in almost all three cathegories… When I made my picks, I solely focused on fantasy books I’ve read (audiobooks and SPFBO slush piling not counting).

Technically, the first fantasy book (series) I’ve read was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – as it was for almost everyone in my age group – though I refused to read it for years, until Order of the Phoenix was released in Hungary and then I gave in. But that didn’t hook me to fantasy, and years had to go by until I really fell in love with the genre. I’ve read two books around the same time – Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay and Nightlife by Rob Thurman – in my twenties. I loved Ysabel, but it was Nightlife that really changed my life. Nightlife – as I later found out – is the first book of the Cal Leandros series. This was the one that pushed me to read in English for real (I've read manga before and the first Harry Potter book but those were easy). And look where that led me...

The Cal Leandros series tells the story of the Leandros brothers, Cal and Niko. They’ve been on the run for a couple of years now until they settle in New York. That monsters are real is nothing new for them, as Cal happens to be half human – half Auphe (you don’t want to know about them) himself. But apparently New York is the perfect place to run into all kinds of creatures and they have to learn how to trust in others and make friends. It’s a dark urban fantasy series, with an MC who is prone to be brooding (and annoying) and his shield is his sarcasm. My favourite thing about this series is the relationship between the brothers and the dark humor that always makes me chuckle. This series really put the bar high for me when it comes to urban fantasy, and I still didn’t find one that would top it. Sadly, the series never was finished, and the last actually released book ended with a cliffhanger, so if you ever give a chance to this series, I’d advise to stop at book 9. It’s an almost perfect resolution to the series which broke me in ways I never thought was possible. You know that episode in Friends when Joey puts The Shining in the fridge because it’s too scary? The only thing that stopped me doing that was the fact that my e-book reader probably wouldn’t have liked the temperature… Anyway, the Cal Leandros series always will have a special place in my heart no matter what. Not in the least because later in the series there are Hungarian references, which is the coolest thing I’ve ever came across so far.

Out of the three this is the hardest choice. The last fantasy book I’ve read (which wasn’t an audiobook or an SPFBO entry) was The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. As many others, I liked it and think it’s a really good debut, but I wasn’t as much in love with it as others seem to be. So, with a twist, I’ll be talking about the last book I’ve read which will stay with me for a long time. And that’s The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes. I’ve read it over the summer, though it was released on the same day as The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Both are debut novels too and absolutely worth your attention.

The Imaginary Corpse tells the story of Tippy, the yellow plush triceratops, who lives in Playtime Town and solves cases as a private investigator. I had the pleasure to interview him and he is just as loveable as the book makes him to be. He, as all of the characters in this book, is an imaginary Friend who lives in a place that was born out of an Idea. In this world everyone and everything is discarded, but they were loved enough to live on. I enjoyed reading about the different parts and Tyler Hayes created a great cast of interesting and unique characters.

The Imaginary Corpse without a question is one of my favourite books this year. It’s not perfect – there is no such thing – but it has ALL of the emotions. This book deals with anxiety, PTSD and the power of kindness. It probably hit me really hard, because I have anxiety issues myself and I know how just a little kindness and caring can change a person’s day or even life. What this book teaches us is that it’s OK to feel bad, to have a hardships and grieve what you’ve lost, but also that you have to know yourself and learn what helps you to get through those times. For some it’s a few turns in the dryer, for others it’s a cup of tea. You have to learn to move on, but that doesn’t mean you have to forget. Memories and experiences makes us who we are and no one can take that away.

[Note from Dave: You can read Timy's interview with Tippy here]

When I first agreed to write this post and started to think which books I’ll talk about in each cathegory, I had no question in my mind that my Everything is Lamb by Christopher Moore. I think I first read it around 2009 when a friend of mine recommended it to me. This is one of those books – along with the Harry Potter and Cal Leandros series – that I regularly reread. It was the book I took with me to my first ever UK trip too.

As genres go, it’s closer to historical fiction than fantasy, though it has plenty of elements from the latter. It tells the story of Jesus Christ, focusing on his childhood and those years that the Bible didn’t discuss in details. All of this is written from the point of view of a fictional character, Levi who is called Biff, Jesus’ (or rather Joshua's) best friend. Joshua wants to learn how to be the Messiah, so he and Biff go on an adventure  to find the three magi who came to witness his birth. Their journey takes them to Kabul, China and India, where they experience different religions and philosophoes as well as hardships. It is also a coming of age story as they grow into the mens they were destined to be.

Moore plays with the possibility of Jesus knowing about Buddhism, Hinduism, mysticism, all the leading ideas of his time. And when the time comes to go home, he uses all of the knowledge to make the people stand by his side. Lamb also shows that it wasn't as easy to do sp. We see Jesus' human side more than anything and it's easy to symphatise with him. I think Moore did his homework well and was able to bring that age into life on the pages.

Knowing me, it’s probably not much of a surprise that Lamb is my favourite book ever, as it has everything I love: great characters, humor, history, religion. No matter how many times I read it, I can still laugh and get all emotional toward the end even though I know what is going to happen. Plus, I can always find some small detail that I forget about and catches me by surprise. It also teaches me something every time and I can't wait to discover what else it can give me as I get older.

Thanks, Timy! Great choices.

Remember, if you want to take part I’ll post your entry. Just drop me a line on Twitter or via email to dave@dpwoolliscroft.com and I’ll send you some simple instructions.