Top 5 for Friday - Where's the fire?

I found it a little more difficult than usual to find inspiration for this weeks Top 5. After my false start a week early for Mother's Day (check out the Super Six on Saturday blog post on the 30th of April, she says looking very red-faced), I could hardly use that again.

So I scanned the calendar of international events and discovered that Wednesday the 4th of May was International Fireman's Day. What a winner! After all the guys like fireman because they are action figures, dangerous and drive big trucks that make lots of noise. And the girls like fireman because, we like men in uniform.

So in honour of the brave souls who fight our fires (attend rescues, car crashes and this week, just for something different, tornadoes in Auckland) here is my Top 5 for Friday focused on our firefighters.

1. Chasing Fire. The latest by Nora Roberts which I haven't read yet but am dying to. It goes on the list because I have become a bit of a fan of Nora and who doesn't love a romance between a couple of adrenalin junkies. Montana wildfire fighter Rowan has a strict rule: never get romantically involved with anyone she works with. But the moment she meets new recruit Gull Curry that rule is severely tested. And when it becomes clear that someone blames Rowan for her jump partner's death, and is determined to get revenge, Rowan finds that she needs Gull's help and support more than ever.


2. "I'm a little fire engine. Flick is my name". You can tell this is going to be an eclectic (some would say eccentric) list when I follow a hot off the printer romance (every pun intended) with the traditional story of Flick the Little Fire Engine that I used to listen to on the Sunday morning request session. As well as the book and the Kit with the CD, this story is also in several different children's audio anthologies.


3. Fire Engines You can't talk about Fires and Fire Fighters without talking trucks. So here is an entry just for the boys with books on fire engines past and present for the kids and the grownups. If you want the comprehensive book on fire fighting appliances then try The world encyclopedia of fire engines & firefighting, which has over 700 colour photos and illustrations.


4. Fire! : the 100 most devastating fires through the ages and the heroes who fought them by Edward C. Goodman. There have been some pretty impressive but disasterous fires through history and here is one man's list of the top 100. A selective survey of some of the most destructive fires through time. It is organised chronologically and includes the progress of each fire, the stories of the victims and firefighters, and the results of the fire.


5. You cannot ignore the fact that a glance over our romance shelves will reveal more than a few fire fighters (generally with their shirts off). Titles such as Burning Up, Fire in the Blood, The fire fighter's secret baby and Flashpoint show virtually no subtlety but these books are great escapism and an easy read. So why not indulge yourself.

Of course there are plenty more than get an honourable mention. Smoke Jumper (Nicholas Evans), Fire (Deborah Challinor's novel based on the Ballantyne fire), Flashing Fire Engines (popular picture book series by Tony Mitton) and movies like Ladder 49. Plenty of fodder here to keep you busy over the weekend and to honour our fire fighters.