Ten 10 Tuesday: Authors I'd Put on My Auto-Buy List

Thank you to the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this fun meme!

This week's topic is: Top Ten Authors I'd put on my auto-buy list.

This should be pretty easy.  But I've noticed that I don't really have very many repeat authors on my shelves right now.  Not because I don't want to read more by them, but mainly because I am horrible and keeping abreast of what they are publishing.

1. Cornelia Funke-Without a doubt I buy anything of hers that I can get my hands on.  I've loved every book of hers that I've ever read so far.  My favorite is the Inkheart trilogy because it really makes you feel like you are in the Ink World.

2. Elizabeth Kostova-I loved The Historian and the Swan Thieves.  I know the Swan Thieves had very mixed reviews, but I read it after returning from France and taking a French Art History class, and this book was filled with interesting tidbits about French painters.

3. Jane Austen-I've loved everything I've read of hers so far, and if she was still publishing today, you bet I'd be buying each book as it was released.

4. Margaret Atwood-Okay, so I've only actually read The Year of the Flood, but I wanted to marry Atwood while I read it and after I read it and it was an amazing experience to read her writing.  I have Oryx and Crake now sitting on my shelf.  I'm hoping to slowly read all of her published stuff.  Love.  Her.  Writing!!!!!

5. Elena Mauli Shapiro-I adored 13, rue Therese, and I know she's working a new book right now.  I cannot wait to get my hands on it.  Even if the rest of her books in the future never add up to the greatness of 13, rue Therese, I will still be buying and reading every single one of them.

6. Libba Bray-I know I'm a bit behind.  I know she published a book that some people loved and some people hated after the Gemma Doyle books, and I do have to read it.  And then there's her knew one, which I really really need to read because it is exactly my kind of book.

7. Amelie Nothomb-I've read 2 of her books so far and loved them both.  I love how different her comtemporary writing is from the French literature I usually read, and how straight and to the point it is.  I have another one of hers on my shelf waiting to be read.

8. Thomas Trofimuk-Waiting for Columbus is one of my favorite books ever.  I remember the feeling I had while reading it that it was going to be a long time before I felt the same way about another book.  I have no idea if he has other books out, but I should find out.  Because his writing is superb.

9. Emile Zola-His books are actually at times a pain in the butt to read, especially if you're reading them in French like I would like to do.  But it is so worth it in the end.  I need to find my unread Zola books and get started on them.

10. Tatiana de Rosnay-I loved Sarah's Key and The House I Loved.  I have another one of hers on my shelf right now.  I just really love the atmosphere she's able to create in her books.  While reading The House I Loved, I felt like I was walking through the same streets of Paris with Rose before Haussman started his projects.  Same with WWII in Sarah's Key.  Even if her stories don't go exactly how I want them to, it's worth reading for me because of the imagery.

So what about you?  Who are your auto-buy authors? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters in Childrens/Middle Grade Books!

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!  This one is kind of bittersweet for me because last week I was off all week!  And now I'm back at work!!  (sad face)

Anyway, check out the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.  They do a great job hosting Top Ten Tuesday every week :)

This week's topic is top ten characters in x genre.  I decided to go with childrens and middle grade books, since these aren't types of books I often read.  When I do read them though, I tend to love them.

1. Mo from the Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke.  He is awesome!  He is just a dad who loves his daughter in the beginning, but then he slowly transforms into super dad.

2. The Adderhead from the Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke.  Because he was so damn scary.  I read these books in my late teens and he terrified me.  Just thinking about meeting him in person terrifies me. 

3. Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia-No explanation needed really.  She was just amazingly awesome.

4. Amelia Bedelia-For being so hilarious and helping me pass many an evening and weekend as a child.

5. Jacob Reckless from Reckless by Cornelia Funke.  I love him.  He is an adventurer and has a tough skin, but he's really soft underneath and cares a lot about his brother and his family.  Can't wait for book 2 to come out in April!

6. Piglet from Pooh Bear-Because he was such a great friend.  He always listened and was always there.

7. Peter Rabbit-seriously, no explanation needed.

8. Dorothy in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.  Dorothy in the book is a cute little girl, and nothing like the Dorothy in the movie.  She, to me, is braver and tougher and doesn't really seem to feel all that bad about killing the wicked witch.

9. Madeline-Who didn't grow up wanting to be her?? 

10. The kids from the Magic Tree House books-They got to go on so many fun adventures!!

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

In Thirteen Reasons Why, we meet narrator Clay when he receives a package containing cassette tapes.  On the tapes is the voice of his crush, Hannah, who has recently killed herself.  She uses the tapes to single out those people in her life that led her closer and closer to finally committing suicide. 

I wasn't a fan of this book.  I think maybe it was the disconnect between the high school aged characters and my 23 year old self.  I didn't realize just how far away from high school I was, and so many of Hannah's and Clay's problems are things that I don't even think about anymore.  I have a feeling if I had read this in high school or middle school, it would be really hit a chord in my heart and stuck with me more.

Anyway....the format of the book was interesting.  It was basically Hannah's voice on the tapes, and then Clay's thoughts as he heard what she was saying.  I thought this made the writing kind of choppy.  I understand why it was done, because then we really get to know where Clay is coming from, but the format didn't do it for me.

Clay and Hannah also annoyed me.  Hannah, to me, didn't really seem like she had any reason to kill herself.  Of course, as I write this I'm also remembering how much more every little thing got to me when I was in middle school and high school, so maybe in her adolescent brain she felt the need to end her life.  I can't really pinpoint why I disliked Clay so much.  I just got kind of annoyed by his narrating.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the book, I did enjoy it enough to finish it.  I also understand why so many people love it.  It has the message that you never know what someone else is going through, so treat them how you would want to be treated. 

I definitely think if I had read this book as a teenager I would have loved it.  It's weird how now that I'm an "adult" (ha right, I feel weird calling myself that), I don't like books and movies that I may have loved when I was younger.  Different perspectives, I guess.

Have you read Thirteen Reasons Why?  What did you think of it?  Maybe I should have done this review as: "13 reasons why I didn't really like this book very much."  Next time I guess.


Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Date of Publication: 2011
Number of Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal ebook

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romances

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.  Visit their blog for more information :)

This week's prompt is top ten romances.  Now, I don't read "romance" novels, but I have read many beautiful love stories.  Let me also say that a book with a really great love story makes you really appreciate how great your own relationship is (if you are in a wonderful relationship with the person of your dreams) because you compare all the great things about the book character's relationship to your own.  I am of course talking about book relationships that are real, grounded, relationships.  Not like the relationship in Into the Darkest Corner.  Here are my favorites:

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger.  I think I sighed through this whole book.  And cried.  The love between Clare and Henry is so beautiful and so strong.  I definitely think if you haven't read this one yet, you NEED to.  And read the book before you see the movie.  I liked the movie, but it left out some of my favorite parts from the book and didn't give me the intense feelings that the book did.

2. A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.  First, let me just say that the whole thing is amazing.  It's set in the 1800s, there's magic, and, of course, an unforgettable romance.  I get all shivery and teary eyed just thinking about these books.  Need to read them again.

3. Emma by Jane Austen.  I feel like I don't have to explain myself with Jane Austen :)

and...

4. Persuasion by Jane Austen

5. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  I know this isn't technically a romance AT ALL.  But the relationship between Corrigan and Adelita.  I guess you can't even really call it a romantic relationship, but the love between them was so strong.  And now I want to reread that book.

6. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier.  This was once by go to book when I needed a pick me up and wanted to clear by brain and read a story I was familiar with, one that I new the ending to.  I lost my copy a few years ago though.  I'll have to buy a new one so that it can continue to be my go to book.  I think I've read it like 4 or 5 times.

7. The Sally Lockhart books.  Remember those??  My Philip Pullman??  I devoured them growing up.  And I could never get enough of Sally and the main male character.  It's been so long that I forgot his name.  But I loved him :)  He may actually have been my first literary crush..

8. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman.  I loved that this was a love story but so much more.  And the relationship between Tom and Isabelle seemed so real, because they weren't always happy and super duper in love.  They had to work hard sometimes to stay together.  And then there's also the heartbreaking love between Lucy's birth mother and father.

9. The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay.  Though we never actually meet Rose's husband because he has been dead for years, he is ever present throughout the story.  Rose still thinks of him constantly and writes to him.  This book also had me sighing through most of it because you could feel how much Rose loved and missed her husband and it was heartbreaking.

10.  I'm going to cheat here and say Marius and Cosette from the musical Les Mis.  Because COME ON.  I can't leave it out.

Review: The Alienist by Caleb Carr

I love love love love LOVED this book, so this is more of a gushy you-need-to-read-it kind of thing and not so much a review.  My coworker and friend recommended this one to me, because it contains some of my favorite things: serial killers, criminal profiling (back in the day when it was not accepted by the police), and a setting back in the past.  So far every book she has recommended to me I have loved. 

So, since I'm not in the mood to write my own plot summary, here is the one from Amazon:
"The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over."

The writing was great and I thought that Carr really captured NYC from that time period very well.  I loved Dr. Kreizler, as well as pretty much all of the main characters.  I thought the author did a great job putting Teddy Roosesvelt pre-presidency in the book too.  Sometimes when I read books that fictionalize real people it's hard for me to really imagine that person doing whatever they are doing in the book.  Teddy seemed to come alive though and I loved his parts in the book.

The murder investigation was really well written and kept me on the edge of my seat.  I LOVED of course the fact that they use criminal profiling to narrow down their suspects.  I am a huge fan of the TV show Criminal Minds and I think that's one reason why my coworker knew I would love this book.  The fact that this all takes place in a time when the police force was pretty corrupt and did not accept profiling as a way to solve crime made the book all the more intriguing.  The main characters who try to solve the murders have to work in secrecy, and I loved seeing how much further ahead they were than the rest of the police because of the profiling.

This is definitely a book I would read again and again.  It is perfect for a cold automn or winter evening.  I read this on my Nook originally but I'd eventually like to buy an actual physical copy of the book so that I can lend it to my friends and family because it is THAT GOOD!

Have you read The Alienist or any of Carr's other books?  Do you have any recommendations of other books that might be similar to it??  I am always on the hunt for books like this so please do share :)

Title: The Alienist
Author: Caleb Carr
Date of Publication: 1994
Number of Pages: 512
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal ebook

Top 10 Tuesday: Best Bookish Memories

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.  Check them out :)

I really like this week's topic, best bookish memories.  I have so many wonderful bookish memories!  Here are some in no particular order:

1. Going to book stores in other cities on family vacations.  So this alone could take up way more than 10 memories, but I'll post it as one.  My entire family have always been huge readers, so when we go on vacation, we always need to check out the book stores!  I have so many wonderful memories of going to book stores in Mystic, Chicago, etc.  Makes me all happy just thinking about it <3 p="">
2. Reading the Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.  I finished this one when Twin was studying in France, and I NEEDED her to be home so I could cry and gush and just talk about the ending of the Gemma Doyle trilogy.  I remember my mom being like "well, she'll be home in a few days.  Why are you crying over a book?" and I just started crying more.

3. Going with the Little One to buy Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke when it came out.  My little sister is the one who got me into those books and we nerd out whenever we get to go to the store and buy new Cornelia Funke books.  We were the same when Reckless came out.  And I know we'll be the same when the sequal to Reckless is out in April.

4. Reading the American Girl books growing up.  I collect the dolls and I have always always always loved the books.  I'm a history nerd and I blame these books for that!  I have so many wonderful memories of snuggling up with my Felicity doll and reading her books.  And getting new dolls and reading their books on Christmas day.  I think a reread of the AG historical books is in order.

And I will leave it at that.  My most precious bookish memories are the ones in #1, with my family at book stores in different cities.  I miss those days <3 p="">

The Big Game's On Readthon

Jenn's Bookshelves is hosting the Big Game's On Readathon today and I am participating :)  I am not watching the game because I don't have a television, and honestly I hate football, so I wouldn't watch it anyway...  But it's a great excuse for a readathon!

I'm hoping to spend most of my day reading, though I do need to do my grocery shopping and a bit of cleaning up around the apartment as well.  I hope to finish Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison, which I'm about halfway through and really loving.  Then maybe on to a book my friend lent me: La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life.  Or perhaps Paris to the Past, which I blogged about yesterday in my most recent Shopping Indie post.

Food wise...well, I need to go grocery shopping because I am lacking in food.  Boyfriend will be home with bagels soon, so I'll have one of those.  And then I need to shop.  I want chicken wing dip.  It's best homemade but I don't feel like putting in the effort, so I'll get the hot cheesy dip from Wegman's instead.  It's amazing but pricey.  But worth it for a superbowl readathon :)

And Peabody will be beside me the whole time, probably chewing on a marrow bone.  He's a great reading companion.

Shopping Indie: Talking Leaves Books Elmwood

Now that I live in the city (and one of my bestest friends ever lives just a few blocks away!!), I am super close and within walking distance to one of Buffalo's most popular book stores.  Talking Leaves has 2 locations: 1 right in the city on Elmwood, and 1 in North Buffalo by the University of Buffalo.

Anna and I took a walk to Talking Leaves Elmwood a few weeks ago.  We had intended to find her 1 book and then go next door for coffee.  We instead ended up browsing for quite a while and buying 2 books each and then going back to her place for free coffee.  Because we spent more on books that we had planned.

As a side note, Anna left her hat, a lovely plum colored one that I bought her when I was studying in France, at the store.  We meant to call once we got home to coffee, but we forgot because we are easily distracted.  So that is disappointing.  But oh well...

Talking Leaves has a wonderful and large selection of books.  You walk in and you feel like you are surrounded because books are literally EVERYWHERE.  And there are so many different types of books that you could literally browse for hours.  So props to you, Talking Leaves, for having all the right books :)

Here are my purchases, which I will probably be hunkering down to read soon (maybe next week when I am off allll week??)

Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train

You know I'm a sucker for anything French.  And when I saw that this has a chapter on La Rochelle, my home for the semester I spent abroad, I just had to have it.  I CANNOT WAIT to read this one.  Especially because it's all places that you can go to by train from Paris within I think an hour.  La Rochelle of course was an exception because it's about a 3 hour train ride.  But SO worth it I would know.

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvous with American History

Props to you, Talking Leaves for having this one sitting on top of a bookshelf right at eye level.  I HAD TO HAVE IT.  I grew up watching Charlie Chan movies.  I think the book is about how they ended up making people think that Charlie was the typical Asian American who can't speak English well, is wise, and also recites proverbs.  I grew up with great parents and grandparents who never ever let my sisters and myself think that this is how all Asian Americans are.  I am excited to read this one to see what the author has to say.

So that was my most recent excursion to a book store.  I'm sure once it's no longer 14 degrees outside Anna and I will take many more walks to Talking Leaves. 

Check out Talking Leaves online: http://www.tleavesbooks.com
And on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tleavesbooks

Also on a side note, you can read an article by the store manager on Amazon's role in the "bookstore ecosystem" here.

Review: Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik

Knitting Under the Influence was just what I needed to read around the holidays.  I don't usually read chick lit-type books, but once in a while I just want to get lost in a girly story, especially one that involves 2 of my favorite things-knitting and alcohol.  (just an FYI, I don't recommend you drink while knitting.  You'll end up with one needle facing the wrong direction and will have no idea how it got that way)

Best friends Kathleen, Sari, and Lucy meet every weekend to knit and talk about life.  They are all in their late 20s, all of them not really feeling like the adults they're supposed to be.  And they're all in search of love (and Kathleen, some independant from her movie star sisters who have employed her for years as their assistant). 

Their stories were so much fun to read.  Each of the girls had their own distinct personalities.  Kathleen was my favorite character.  She was quirky and confidant and reminded me of one of my best friends.  Sari was also an interesting character.  She grew up with an autistic brother in a time when no one really knew what autism was.  Now, she works at an autism clinic.  I really liked reading about how she worked with the children and their parents.  Mainly because it all sounded so legit.  LaZebnik has an autistic child and I thought she worked in the whole autism thing really well.  I feel like a lot of people are still very hush hush about autism, and that was presented in this book as well.  Sari really struggled growing up with her brother, and she had to deal with her mother not wanting to get help for him.

I would definitely read more by this author because it was such a fun book.  I don't read books like this often, but when I do I tend to devour them, which is what I did with this one.  I stayed up well past bedtime to finish it :)  All in all, it was a really fun book with characters you will want to be friends with and some more serious issues that are touched on just enough to make you think a bit but not enough to get you depressed about things.

Title: Knitting Under the Influence
Author: Claire LaZebnik
Date of Publication: 2006
Number of Pages: 397
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal Copy