Top Ten Tuesday (September 18) – Bookish People I Want to Meet

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the people over at The Broke and the Bookish! After last week’s Super Heavy topic (which, granted, didn’t have to be Super Heavy, but it was for me), I’m glad this week’s is a bit lighter.

On a related note, I realized this week that I’ve been blogging almost six months now! This calls for some sort of celebration, or at least a dessert item of some kind. Preferably of the tiramisu variety.

And in that short/long time (depending on your perspective), I’ve met some truly amazing people. So many, actually, that I had a hard time with this week’s topic, simply because I’ve already met so many of the amazing bookish people who would have been on this list six months ago. They include Myra McEntire, C.J. Redwine, Amy Plum, Sharon Cameron, Kat Zhang, Ruta Sepetys (seriously people, Nashville rocks so hard), and a whole bunch of fabulous Tennessee bloggers. If you ever have a chance to meet any of these ladies (even if you haven’t read their books yet — which, confession time, I haven’t read all of them yet), I’d highly recommend it.

Some of these I stand a decent chance of encountering someday. Others fall solidly in the “one day if all my dreams come true and are sprinkled in fairy dust” category. You can decide for yourself which is which.

Oh, and disclaimer: I haven’t read all of these authors’ books yet either. Some of them are on here because while I’ve heard their books are great, I know they are pretty awesome from following them on Twitter. (Although some of them aren’t on Twitter, and are on here entirely because of their books). And of course, not all of them are authors at all.  This disclaimer is getting confusing. I should stop.

These are numbered so I can keep track of how many I have, but are in no particular order.

Top Ten Bookish People I Want to Meet

1. J.K. Rowling – You know she’s got to be on everyone’s list, because who wouldn’t want to meet the woman who created Harry Potter?

In related news, I dreamed last night that I was Harry, and Voldemort had agreed to have a nice little diplomatic chat with me, but halfway through our chat he figured out the twist ending. Guys, it is never good when the bad guy figures out the twist ending. I was really glad to wake up.

2. Suzanne Collins – In the same vein, I want to meet the woman who created The Hunger Games and singlehandedly brought about this crazy dystopian wave that we’re still surfing. And I would also like to thank her for creating Peeta, who may be my favorite YA male character ever. Or at least one of my top 3.

3. Lauren Oliver – She wrote Before I Fall and the Delirium series, and her writing is just so pretty. I just want to wallow in it.

4. Robin Hobb – No big deal, only the author of my favorite fantasy series of all time. I compare all other fantasy (and books in general, really) to this series, and while some are really, really good, her books stand superior.

A week or so ago, I opened my mailbox to find an autographed copy of the first book in the series, courtesy of Sarah, who had picked one up for me at Dragon*Con. I may have screeched right there at the mailbox.

5. Jessica Khoury – Her debut, Origin, just came out and I haven’t read it yet. I have an ARC (that I won in one of her contests, actually), sitting on my shelves begging to be read, but my life lately has not been conducive to reading. Hopefully I will remedy this soon. But she runs the best, most creative contests ever, PLUS she loves Robin Hobb’s books, and therefore I have decided we must meet someday.

6. Jodi Meadows – Her critique partners are Myra McEntire and C.J. Redwine. Considering how much I adore their books, I figure that loving Jodi’s books is pretty much a guarantee. And although I regret to admit that I’ve had Incarnate sitting unread on my shelf for months now (although sometimes I just have to gaze at the pretty cover), I know when I finally do sit down to read it, I’ll be in for a treat. Plus, I’m rather addicted to Jodi’s blog. And she is the one who introduced me to Lindsey Stirling videos. So I think we’d get along.

7. Veronica Roth – While Divergent was not my favorite book ever (although Insurgent was better), I love Veronica’s blog. I’ve spent so much time browsing her archives. She is responsible for a large percentage of my knowledge of the publishing industry (I’m not sure how vast that knowledge is — probably not very — but what there is, she planted). I would love to hear her speak and pick her brain.

8. Tahereh Mafi – Another author whose books I haven’t read yet (confession: I’m waiting until I can get them with the new cover, because I’m not a fan of the original Shatter Me cover), but her Twitter makes me laugh more than any other author. And anyone who can make me laugh that much is someone I want to meet.

9. Lori at Pure Imagination – She’s the only one of the Tennessee bloggers I regularly communicate with that I haven’t met yet. (Which is funny, because she was actually the first Tennessee blogger I started talking to when I started blogging). Thus far our interaction has consisted entirely of Twitter and blog comments. This needs to be remedied.

10. Sarah at Breaking the Binding – Sometimes you “meet” a person (and I put “meet” in quotes because as of yet, we have not actually met) and you just have to shake your fist at the sky and say “WHY WERE WE NOT RAISED TOGETHER FROM INFANCY?” And such is the case with Sarah. It is sad that we live in two different states, because if we were in the same town, I’m pretty sure great things would happen. Based on the sheer volume of cyber-communication that currently passes between us on a daily basis (a large percentage of which is geeky Tumblr links), I think we’d have no shortage of things to discuss.

Honorable Mentions (since limiting it to 10 is just…no):

Jennifer Nielsen, Rae Carson, Victoria Schwab, James Dashner, Julie Kagawa, Shannon Messenger

Top Ten Tuesday (July 24) – Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

It’s Top Ten Tuesday again, hosted by the fabulous folks over at The Broke and the Bookish! And the topic this week is one of those things that I think helps set “great” books apart from “good” books.

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

World building! That feeling that you’re actually in the setting of the story instead of simply reading about it. Sometimes a book has a really interesting plot that engages me, but I have a hard time picturing the world, making the book simply “good.” Other times, I feel transported to a different time or place, and those are the books that really stand out to me.

So here are my Top 10 books that have the best world building, in alphabetical order:

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Harry Potter (entire series) by J.K. Rowling

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (Yes, this is technically the same world as Assassin’s Apprentice, but the two series focus on totally different aspects of that world, so I think it’s valid to include both)

Top Ten Tuesday: #SYTYCD Routines that Could (and Should) Inspire Books (@DANCEonFOX)

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week is a FREEBIE topic, which is good because I’ve been cheating the last few weeks anyway. Best let me get it all out of my system at once so I can go back to playing by the rules ASAP.

I’ve been a little like a kid in a candy store trying to come up with a topic, but I kept coming back to the same thought after I saw Victoria Schwab mention on Twitter that her upcoming book The Archived was inspired by this dance from one of my favorite TV shows, So You Think You Can Dance. Then Myra McEntire threw more fuel onto the fire by letting me know that several characters in the Hourglass series are based on dancers and choreographers from the show.

And I started to think, what if more authors used this show as inspiration for their books? There’s certainly enough inspiration to choose from.

And thus I bring you my Top Ten list this week, in which I let my imagination run wild. I even pitch a plot for each book and pick an author that I think has the chops to pull it off (disclaimer: that doesn’t mean that the author has ever written anything like these pitches; I just think their their voices and strengths would lend themselves well to these stories).

Authors, feel free to take me up on any of these. My world would be a happy, happy place if you did.

My Top Ten Book Pitches Inspired by So You Think You Can Dance

(additional disclaimer: I could either have picked 10 dances, or done 10 book pitches. I did the latter, because that lets me use more dances)

1. Collide/How it Ends/My First Kiss, Season 7

Premise: After having his heart broken when his high school sweetheart is stolen by his best friend, an introverted teen begins an awkward and ill-fated relationship with his teacher.

Suggested Author: Lauren Oliver



2. Are You the One? (Two Princes), Season 3

Premise: Two childhood friends grow up to find themselves the reluctant heirs of warring kingdoms.

Suggested Author: Kristin Cashore

3. Comanche, Season 6

Premise: A retelling of the classic Romeo & Juliet story, set among the organized crime families in 1930s Chicago.

Suggested Author: Myra McEntire

4. The GardenSeason 4

Premise: Renegade wood nymphs decide to leave their forest home to live among the humans, but their mischievous ways and mysterious powers make them a target for dark forces that would harness their powers for evil.

Suggested Author: Victoria Schwab

5. Heaven is a Place on Earth/Battlefield/Coming HomeSeason 7/Season 5/Season 8 (yes, I know the gender of the soldier changes throughout these dances, but that’s why they’re inspiration and not a literal representation)

Premise: A young couple’s relationship struggles after one of them enlists to serve overseas, has an affair with a fellow soldier, and finally returns home to battle PTSD.

Suggested Author: John Green



6. Ramalama (Bang Bang)/Paris is BurningSeason 2 (this is actually the 100th episode version, which has the S2 dancers + choreographer Wade Robson)/Season 7

Premise: In an alternate Victorian London ruled by the undead, a small group of young aristocrats struggles to hide a dangerous secret: They’re still alive.

Suggested Author: Julie Kagawa


7. Ra, Season 7

Premise: In a post-apocalyptic future where intelligent robots have won the war against humanity, a small group of rebels fights back.

Suggested Author: Veronica Roth

8. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic/The DanceSeason 7 (sorry, I couldn’t find a higher quality video that allowed embedding, but if you want to go to YouTube, there’s a high quality version here)/Season 4

Premise: A teenaged Alice returns to Wonderland and joins forces with the Mad Hatter to raise an army and overthrow the Red Queen’s reign of terror.

Suggested Author: Marissa Meyer

9. Ordinary Day, Season 6

Premise: After being dumped by her boyfriend and shunned by her classmates following a vicious rumor, the most popular girl in school finds the only person that she can truly be herself around is her neighbor, a boy she has ignored since elementary school.

Suggested Author: Meg Cabot

10. Bleeding Love/Mad World, Season 4/Season 7 (This is the tour version of the performance, because I couldn’t find a version of the original that I could embed)

Premise: After his relationship with his wife falls apart because of his workaholic ways, a successful businessman re-examines his life when he discovers the beggar outside his office is his college roommate.

Suggested Author: Markus Zusak

If you liked this topic, I told my friend Shannon over at Stalking the Bookshelves that I was going to do this topic this week, and she asked if she could join on the SYTYCD fun. And of course, my thoughts were the more the merrier! We didn’t tell each other which dances we were picking, so head on over to her post and see if we picked any of the same ones!

Also, if you’ve never watched SYTYCD but now you want to (and you SHOULD want to), now is a great time to start! The first performance episode airs tomorrow (7/11) on FOX at 8 EST.

Sorry for the commercial.

Top Ten Tuesday (June 26) – Characters I Think I Know in Real Life

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, where the terrific team over at The Broke and the Bookish give us excuses to make lists and indulge our inner OCD tendencies.

I’ve got to be honest, guys. I looked at the topic for this week, and I just about skipped it, because I’ve got nothing.

But then I was sad, because Top Ten Tuesday is my favorite meme, and I always enjoy coming up with my lists and seeing what others come up with. Plus, I’ve seen Galaxy Quest enough times that “Never give up, never surrender” is kind of emblazoned on my psyche, so admitting defeat wasn’t really an option.

The good news is that my psyche is apparently not opposed to a bit of cheating, so I decided to tweak the topic to one I could do.

So here’s the topic I was supposed to do:

Top Ten Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself Or Someone I Know In Real Life

Yup, complete blank. Part of the problem is that most of what I read is YA, and I am just…A. But even if I think of myself and my friends from back when I was in the YA age bracket, I still came up blank. Not a lot of authors tend to write books featuring characters who enjoy Star Trek and Scrabble. Comic books, maybe, but that’s probably because characters in books are on the verge of developing superpowers, and my friends and I never developed superpowers. So. This topic wasn’t going to work for me.

Here’s the one I’ve decided to do instead:

Top Ten Characters I Think I’d Have Been Friends With If We Went to High School Together

(That’s close enough, right?)

1. Hermione GrangerHarry PotterI was a big nerd and a squeaky clean kid. So was Hermione. We would either have been BFFs or arch nemeses, because that’s the way it works with smart kids.

2. Simon, The Mortal InstrumentsI have only read the first book in this series, but Simon was my favorite and I could totally see us hanging out and not wanting to go to clubs together.

3. Kent McFuller, Before I FallI can’t say anyone I was friends with in high school actually wore a bowler hat, but I still think that Kent would have fit right in.

4. Angela, TwilightShe’s sweet and soft-spoken and kind of hangs back while her friends arm wrestle for attention. I can relate to that.

5. Peeta, The Hunger GamesOkay, it’s highly probable that Peeta would be too cool to be my friend because he’d probably be on the football team or something like that, and not in the marching band with me, but I’m going to hold out hope that we’d be buds.

 6. Chuck, The Maze RunnerGranted, we will probably never know what Chuck was like before the Maze, but he seems like the kind of kid I would have joked with in study hall.

7. Kate, Die For Me. Assuming her parents never died and she never moved to Paris and never fell for the undead Vincent, we’d probably have gotten along pretty well. She’s quiet and bookish and not one for large groups of people, and that was pretty much me in high school.

8. Beth, Little WomenI love Jo and all, but Beth is the one I think I would have clicked with. She was probably the type that was quiet in groups, especially when there were strong personalities present (like, you know, every other member of her family), but was lots of fun one-on-one. Some of my best friends are like that.

9. Inigo Montoya, The Princess BrideI’ll admit this one is probably just wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be great to be friends with teenage Inigo? Maybe he’d have been an exchange student. I never actually befriended any exchange students, but I probably would have if Inigo was one.

10. Marlee, The SelectionBecause honestly, Marlee would have been friends with everyone in high school.

So there you go. Sorry I cheated.

Top Ten Tuesday (June 12): Beach Reads

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by the fabulous folks over at The Broke and the Bookish!

In celebration of summer and sun and flip-flops, this week’s topic is:

Top Ten Books I’d Recommend As Good Beach Reads

Of course, I live in a completely land-locked state, so I’m going to have to think of these as pool reads instead of beach reads, but the concept is the same. Minus the sand and the salt.

Also, please forgive me for being a bit dense, but I’ve never understood the concept of “beach reads.” I will personally just take whatever book I’m currently reading to the beach and continue reading it. My reading environment plays a very small role in my reading selection.

So, that said, I tried to think of books that I enjoyed, and that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen reading in public, in a bathing suit. Because being in a bathing suit in public…that’s enough. I also tried to pick books that wouldn’t evoke any serious freak-outs, like ugly-crying. You could possibly do a dignified single-tear-trickle with a couple of these, but that’s not so bad in public.

I’m kind of all over the place with this list, genre-wise. We’re going to assume that’s okay.

 

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Gifted by Liz Long

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Do you have books you designate as “beach reads?” And what does that mean? Please help me clear up this mystery.