authors

Top Ten Authors I Want to Meet

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8a00a-toptentuesdayIt’s that time again, brought to us by the wonderful folks at The Broke and the Bookish, and after last week, I’m glad I can spend some time fawning over authors!  This was honestly a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.  There are so many authors I would enjoy meeting, narrowing it down to those who mean the most, the ones I would stand in front of and struggle not to cry, that took me a bit.  I think what is listed below, is the elite of authors for me…my own personal collection of Jimeny Crickets (my consciences on my shoulder).  So…short and sweet…well…for me…

1.  Jane Yolen.  Can I fawn over her enough? She may not be a big popular shiny new author, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, she changed my life as a reader and as a woman.

2.  Charlotte Bronte.  This is another non-shocker.  Bronte’s Jane Eyre changed my life as much as Yolen’s work.

3.  Ursula Le Guin.  I have only read two of her books, but Le Guin is the queen of science fiction and to meet her would be to meet a legend.

4.  Neil Gaiman.  I fell in love over his comics, and I’ve stuck around to fall in love with the rest.  I should add Amanda Palmer here as well since they are a dynamic duo, but independently I also find them awesome! They are both amazing, creative, and just plain likeable. I feel like meeting them, especially Amanda, would be like meeting long-lost friends.

4.  Patrick Rothfuss.  I’m a newbie to the Rothfuss fan club (in comparison to his millions of devotees).  However, not only is he a stellar writer, he seems to be one of the most likeable and human people out there. Plus, he kissed a llama. HE HAS MY VOTE!

5.  Virginia Woolf.  Talk about another huge impact on my life. Mrs. Dalloway remains one of my all time favorite books.  Woolf dealt with a lot, and meeting her would be an honor.

6.  Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas.  Okay, another one where it should be TWO, but I’m stretching it here. Really, authors or not, I would adore meeting both of these incredible and iconic women.

7.  Brandon Sanderson.  I have yet to read a book by him that I do not love.  World building, magic systems, religion, politics…yes please!

8.  Libba Bray.  Again, I’m fairly new to the Libba Bray fan club, but I love her writing style, her originality, and, of course, her sense of humor. She comes across as the crazy cool cousin that you see once a year and ask yourself why you don’t talk more.

9.  Mark Twain.  Okay, so I generally am not a fan of classical American tomes. However, meeting Twain would be an honor on many levels. One: I’m from Missouri…gotta love a Missouri author. Two: Huckleberry Finn is one of my favorite books.  Three (and most important): Twain was outspoken for his time and had a major impact on literature as a whole. How could I pass on meeting him!

10.  Hildegard von Bingen.  Okay, so most people own’t know who she is. If you do, it might be as a canonized saint.  Really, I fell in love with her when I read her 11th century Physica and Causae et curae back in college when I started my fascination in folk cures and the evolution of medicine.  In a time when women were rarely recognized or remembered, Hildegard was writing about theology, science, medicine, and music. I cannot help but be eternally impressed by her and grateful for her example.

Ten Books (or Authors) I Will Probably Never Read

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8a00a-toptentuesdaySo, I’ve slacked on my Top Ten Lists. Time to pay another visit to The Broke and the Bookish for this week’s list filled with fury and disgust (or rather just the knowledge that these are NOT books for me).  It is supposed to be about ten books I’ll never read, but I’ve expanded some to the author in general.

I’m honestly not really so hateful, but like most readers, I do form strong opinions and that includes some books or authors I just can’t bring myself to get into.  However, I realize saying you don’t like something is often fighting words for most avid book lovers, so be warned!

1. 50 Shades of Grey, by E.L. James. I just can’t even….I made myself read (or skim) Twilight, so I could understand the hype and argue why the series is just so maddening.  This one, I can’t even justify that little bit.

2.  Middlemarch, by George Eliot. This may not need to be on my NEVER list.  Indeed, I’ve read part of it, and hated it.  Still, the parts I did read caused enough of a strong reaction in me to make me never finish and want to never pick it up again.  I know it’s a classic, but it might just be the ONE English classic I can’t stand (besides Wuthering Heights).

by Gemma Doyle

3.  Anything by Cassandra Clare  (besides the first City of Bones, which I’ve already read).  I disliked her first hit SO much, I just can’t read anymore. Her writing may in fact improve, but I find her uncreative, and her online bullying in the fan-fic community is just a shame.

4.  Anything else by Stephenie Meyer.  As I stated earlier, I read Twilight to be able to fight against the series with clear arguments. I don’t want to suffer through read her stuff again honestly.

5.  Under the Dome, by Stephen King. I like King, but I couldn’t make it beyond the first few chapters of this book.  I’ve tried twice.  It doesn’t help that there is tons of imagery of people being sliced in half or losing limbs when the dome falls…and I tried to read this (the first time) only a few months after I sliced off my own finger and almost lost it completely. Bad Idea.

6.  James Patterson is another author I just have no desire to read.  I’m not much into straight mystery or what I sometimes not so lovingly call generic fiction.  He easily fits that category for me. Just boring.

7.  Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher.  This is more of a probably because my friend has been begging me to give the series a try.  I just don’t like the sounds of it.  We’ll see if I ever give in to her request.

8.  Any book (or movie) by Nicholas Sparks.  Just. No.  *shudder*

9.  The rest of The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I read Beautiful Creatures and it was okay, but it was also enough to let me know I don’t really need to read the rest.

10.  Lastly, Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin.  I do love the show, but I don’t feel the desire to read the books.  Maybe one day, but I think there are plenty of other books out there I’d rather read first.