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Top Ten Tuesday (57)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun
1. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch: A princess must rescue her prince from a fearsome dragon–all while wearing nothing but a paper bag.
2. Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole: Princess Smartypants is to be married, much against her will. She declares a series of challenges that her suitors must overcome to win her hand.
3. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: Montgomery makes the world seem like a beautiful and magical place, and life a glorious adventure.
4. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg: A smart book about the power of friendship and one of my childhood favorites.
5. The Dot and the Line by Norton Juster: A line falls in love with a dot, but she has eyes only for a squiggle.
6. The Princess Test by Gail Carson Levine: A retelling of “The Princess and the Pea” in which the princesses must overcome a series of ridiculous challenges in order to be declared the bride of Prince Nicholas.
7. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine: A comedic retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” in wh
8. Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine: A retelling of “The Princess and the Glass Hill.”
9. Roverandom by J. R. R. Tolkien: A young dog offends a wizard and finds himself transformed into a toy as a result. To find the wizard and turn himself back, he will have to travel to the moon and under the sea.
10. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott: Orphaned at the age of 13, Rose goes to live with her aunts and finds herself slowly drawn into a new boisterous life surrounded by seven boy cousins.
Top Ten Tuesday (56)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Pick Up a Book
1. Shakespeare: Literary criticism, retelling, or simply a book with a character who reads Shakespeare–I’ll look at your book if his name is somewhere on the cover.
2. the Renaissance: Historical fiction or nonfiction–everything’s fair game. Mention the Tudors or sordid personal lives, however, and I’ll probably put the book back down.
3. Dante: Can I suggest some more historical fiction dealing with Dante? The amount of literary criticism is staggering, but I’d love to see more stuff like Kimberley Heuston’s Dante’s Daughter.
4. Dragons: They’re fairly popular right now, but I still can’t get enough of them.
5. Bookstores and/or Books: A book about books? Cool!
6. Fairy Tale References: I’ll look at the summary for any book that mentions it’s a retelling.
7. Science: Scientists aren’t portrayed enough in literature. It’s common for protagonists to be aspiring writers or English professors or basically anything people who like to read tend to identify with. Where are my chemistry heroes? My biologists? Mention science and I’m there.
8. Architecture: I know nothing about it, but buildings are pretty cool. I’ll read a book about buildings.
9. Spain: So much history and it’s beautiful.
10. Italy: See #9.
Top Ten Tuesday (55)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did
1. Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee: I had already read this and decided I didn’t like it, but then someone else opened by eyes to all the interesting themes raised by the story.
2. A Daughter of the Land by Gene Stratton-Porter: I thought this book would follow the general formula of A Girl of the Limberlost and Freckles. It defied my expectations so, though it was good, I found myself disappointed.
3. Pollyanna Grows Up by Eleanor H. Porter: I might have liked it if I had read it when I was younger, but after years of searching for this book, I found it overly melodramatic and even cliched.
4. New Chronicles of Rebecca by Kate Douglas Wiggin: I thought another Rebecca book would show her grown up, but instead it covers the same time period as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
5. The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden and A Little Princess are classics. I almost cannot believe the same author wrote this book.
6. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy: The book is a series of short mysteries solved by an armchair detective. They’re good, but they become repetitive.
7. The Emperor’s Candlesticks by Baroness Orczy: The characterization is the one strong point of this rather predictable story.
8. The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse: A retelling of Beowulf seemed like the perfect book, but the intended age range didn’t make sense to me and I missed the nuances of the original poem.
9. The Magicians by Lev Grossman: Someone told me it was Narnia and Harry Potter rolled into one, but the characters are disillusioned college students and the book didn’t resonate with me.
10. The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Barry: I didn’t find this retelling of “Cinderella” very original.
Top Ten Tuesday (54)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Rewind: Top Ten Books That Made Me Cry
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
5. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
6. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope
8. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
9. Unplanned by Abby Johnson
10. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
Top Ten Tuesday (53)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character
1. Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Intelligent with cute sticky-uppy hair. He also has a bedroom window within talking distance of Lola’s.
2. Hilary (Jingle) from Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery: Introspective, caring, and loyal. He’s smart and wants to be an architect to build Pat her dream house.
3. Mamoru from Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi: He’s a king with magical powers who wants nothing more than to protect his princess.
4. Garth from Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey: Sturdy, brave, and caring. He climbs a tree to talk to Tess when she’s scared.
5. Char from Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: It’s been awhile since I read this, but I remember Char as spontaneous, funny, and kind.
6. Faramir from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: The brave and noble younger brother who prefers learning to war.
7. Finn from Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood: His family owns a bookstore, and the feather scene is probably one of the most romantic things I’ve ever read. (Compare to the glory scene in Unearthly.)
8. Jack from Water Song by Suzanne Weyn: Jack actually has a bit of presumptuous attitude I might not like in real life, but watching his interactions with and growing affections for Emma is pretty fun!
9. Jase from My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: Part of a large family, he’s a protective and caring older brother, which I think is attractive.
10. Rhys from The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine: A clever and protective sorcerer.
Top Ten Tuesday (52)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most
I’m interpreting this to mean books I have recommended the most times.
1. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: For fans of epic adventure, language, and good stories.
2. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: For those who love humor, heart, and imagination.
3. The Chosen by Chaim Potok: For those who like classic literature and looking for truth.
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore: For fans of high fantasy and unique fictional voices.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis: For fantasy fans and children at heart.
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: For fans of imagination and aesthetic.
7. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: For those looking to start reading science fiction.
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: For those looking for a deep and moving story or good historical fiction.
9. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen: For those who like action, intrigue, and wit.
10. Villette by Charlotte Bronte: For those who enjoy Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
Top Ten Tuesday (51)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Books I HAD to Buy…But Are Still Sitting on My Shelf Unread
Not because I am not interested, but because I have so little time to read!
1. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
2. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
3. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King
5. The Drowned Vault by N. D. Wilson
Top Ten Tuesday (50)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Series I’d Like to Start But Haven’t Yet
1. Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles
2. Patrick Carman’s Floors Series
3. Althea Kontis’s Woodcutter Series
4. Jennifer A. Nielson’s Ascendance Trilogy
5. Rae Carson’s Fire and Thorns Series
6. Stephanie Burgis’s Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson
7. P. G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories
8. A. C. Gaughen’s Scarlet series
9. Diana Wynne Jone’s Howl’s Moving Castle series
10. Alexandre Duma’s The Last Valois trilogy
Top Ten Tuesday (49)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Top Ten Authors That I’d Put On My Auto-Buy List
1. J. R. R. Tolkien: Tolkien was extremely prolific and proved his proficiency writing everything from children’s books to scholarly articles.
2. L. M. Montgomery: Montgomery also wrote child’s books, adult books, short stories, non-fiction, and poetry and proved adept at each.
3. Chaim Potok: Potok’s writing is extremely thoughtful and provocative, no matter what his story.
4. Kristin Cashore: In the Graceling series, Cashore showed she knows how to write a great story in an original voice. I would trust her to do the same in any genre.
5. Shannon Hale: Hale manages to create unique characters and settings whether she is writing for children or adults.
6. Trenton Lee Stewart: The Mysterious Benedict Society is practically the perfect children’s book series.
7. Charlotte Brontë: Brontë wrote a variety of stories throughout her life. All are interesting, and all comment in some way on her society.
8. Stephanie Perkins: Perkins’s first two books have revealed that she can tell a beautiful, dreamy, and provocative story that speaks to the hearts of her readers.
9. The Gawain Poet: This poet did write a variety of texts. All are profound and have lasted generations.
10. Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus is such a beautifully imagined book that I will buy whatever Morgenstern publishes next.
Top Ten Tuesday (48)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Characters in Fantasy
1. Samwise Gamgee from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: Dependable and loyal to the end!
2. Reepicheep from C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: What’s not to love about a martial Mouse?
3. Lúthien from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion: She enchants Morgoth and moves Mandos to pity with her song.
4. Peter Pan from J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan: Peter breaks my heart every time.
5. Professor McGonagall from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series: A mentor to Harry, even if he doesn’t always know it.
6. Addie from Gail Carson Levine’s The Two Princesses of Bamarre: She starts out quiet and fearful, but soon proves her bravery and resourcefulness.
7. the Unicorn from Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn: A beautiful character from a beautiful book.
8. Ungoliant from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion: When I think about the expanse of the human imagination, I think of Ungoliant.
9. the Mouth of Sauron from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: One of Tolkien’s creepiest and most terrifying characters, he has literally lost his identity to evil.
10. Fëanor from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion: He has such a forceful personality that in many ways he almost dominates the story.
