Top Ten Tuesday (13)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books/Authors I'm Thankful For.


Erin's Picks:
1-2. Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices
I'm thankful for Cassandra Clare, because she is so awesome and she wrote two of the few series' that my friends and I fangirl over together. This is a two-point answer because I'm also thankful for City of Bones by Cassie Clare. It was the book that made me realize how bad Twilight was, and it's one of the only books that my bestie has INSISTED, to the point of being annoying, that I read. It (as well as City of Glass) is the book I re-read when I'm down (which you can totally tell if you look at my paperback).

3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
(Speaking of Twilight. . . :D) While I don't like the books now, I had to include them. The Twilight saga was the series that opened up the world of YA books to me, and I've so many GREAT books that I probably would have missed had I not read Twilight. It was also the first series that really made my best friend my best friend, because we were the only people in our group of friends that had read the books, and, therefore, could only fangirl with each other.

4. Susan Dennard, author of Something Strange and Deadly
Susan, in a way, inspired us to create Sir Wellington, so for that I'm thankful. She's also really nice, wrote an awesome book, and was the first author to sign Welly (on the day of his making, no less!).

5. Richelle Mead, author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines
Richelle writes such amazing books, and I'm thankful that she's allowed to write them. She is the author of the only book that made me tear up, and almost spill over. I have never cried because of a book, and at the end of Frostbite I came so close, because I really connected with Rose and felt what she felt—that rarely happens to me.


Amanda's Picks:
1. Tamora Pierce, author of the Tortall series of books including: The Song of the Lioness, Protector of the Small, and Immortals and also the Emelan series of books including: The Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens, and The Circle Reforged
I can't really say enough about about Mrs. Pierce, her books too up the entirety of my 8th grade reading time, and this was when I really got into reading. I remember staying up until 3am reading In the Hand of the Goddess because I needed to know what would happen!! Even now I still like to read them (though my copies are literally falling apart at the bindings), the worlds and characters are so well-imagined and lovable.

2. Laurell K. Hamilton, author of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and Merry Gentry series.
Mrs. Hamilton is nearly solely responsible for getting me out of the YA section and into adult books. In high school my friends and I had a "book club" of sorts and we passed every single one of the Anita Blake books around. Some of my favorite quotable lines comes from these books and I still use them to this day. Man, it's been a really long time since I started reading these...

3. Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files and Codex Alera.
First off, if you know anything about me, you had to have seen this one coming. Mr. Butcher not only a) Made me want to be a kick-ass awesome writer (a goal that I am now working towards and realizing) but b) Showed me that High Fantasy (which I've always had trouble getting into) isn't all dry boring military movements or trudging through dreary, desolate landscapes while lamenting at how difficult this journey is AND I actually found that I can enjoy the finer points of strategizing against an enemy force while still getting my fill of amazingly developed characters.

4. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
This book, let me tell you. I picked this up on a whim while book shopping one day without a clue as to what I had just gotten myself into. I cried, I laughed, I cried a lot more, and I watched the budding growth of love spread across the pages; it was beautiful and delightfully unexpected. Even this description doesn't properly encompass how much I love this book. (look it even made me wax poetic!)

5. John Green, author of Paper Towns, The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and more.
John Green always makes me think. Even when I'm throughly enjoying his books I'm still thinking about some deeper (or higher) message behind them. They make me want to go out and do good while living life to the fullest. Not only that but he's amazingly witty with a sarcastic sense of humor that I can relate to well. It just makes me love his books all the more!


What books/authors are YOU thankful for?

—Tea for Three Team