TOP TEN TUESDAY: My Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme started over at The Broke and Bookish.  This week we are focusing on our top ten reads we plan on devouring during Fall.

1.  Dracula by Bram Stoker.  The perfect Halloween book, right?  And yet I've not read it!  I hear there's a pretty amazing audiobook of it featuring Allan Cumming and Tim Curry and ... I don't know, I might pick the audio over the written in this case, even though listening to classics hasn't worked out well for me in the past.  Either way, it needs to be read.  This fall.  Must happen.








2. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas.  I think I probably just need to give up on this series, but I've been persevering.  This might be my last Maas book unless it really starts to pick up.  I'll have to write a post in the future about why these books just aren't working for me.




 


3. Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas.  I read Dangerous Girls by this author and, other than the ending, I really liked it.  I think she has a lot of talent (but why that ending... I mean just why?) so if the ending for this one isn't a big "twist" I think I'll really like it.

4. Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama.  Beautiful writing + cursed love + mermaids = YES.  I've heard amazing, amazing, amazing things about this and am very eager to try it for myself.








5.  The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan.  I'm a little behind on the Percy Jackson series... but I'll get caught up!   To be honest, I'd love to get the original five read before 2015 but between other books + school, we'll have to see how that goes.

6.  Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  This is one of those books that has been on my shelf for far, far too long and I just need to get read already.  (To be honest, I have a lot of those...)






7. The Monk by Matthew Lewis.  Okay, "technically" this is a re-read, although not quite because I never finished it the first go.  Basically, this is a Victorian novel that is all flavors of messed up, mind bending insanity and I loved it.  I want to re-read it + finish it and it's very... Halloweeny?  It's dark is what I mean.  Perfect to read around the same time as Dracula.








8. Looking for Alaska by John Green.  It's no secret that The Fault in Our Stars didn't work for me, but I do want to try out more works by him before I decide whether or not I like him.








9.  Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake.  I read Anna Dressed in Blood back when it first came out and man, oh man.  That book was amazing.  It's sequel time.








10.  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Yet another creepy classic I've yet to read.  This is very short and very good.  Some of my friends have told me that it's really a pity she didn't write more. 

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TOP TEN TUESDAY: Authors I've Only Read Once

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's full theme is "Authors I've Only Read One Book From But NEED to Read More."  (I'm tweaking it a bit to include short stories.)

In no particular order, here are my Top Ten Authors I've Only Read Once:

1.  Joyce Carol Oates.  I read Oates's short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" in university and fell in love.  She has this magnificent way of creating a subtext that can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.  I ended up writing an entire paper on this short story and found that the interpretations are endless.  I actually own her novel, Mudwoman, and will hopefully get to it early next year.

2.  Cat Winters.  I buddy read Cat Winters' debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, with Brandi from The Book Geek a year or so ago and fell in love.  Both of us ended up tossing our read-a-long schedule to the wind because the book was just that good.  I've heard her new book, The Cure for Dreaming, is equally phenomenal. 





3. Elena Poniatowska.  Ms. Poniatowska was one of the only female voices being published in Mexico before the 60s and her work, Lilus Kikus, was originally mistaken for a child's novel.  If you were to read it today, however, the feminist subtext is so blatant that I'm still amazed anyone could have thought it a children's story to begin with.  She has been a fervent voice for Mexican women and was originally a journalist.  Since Lilus Kikus, which I read, she has published a number of different books, short stories and journalist pieces detailing the position of women in the Mexican patriarchy.  I've technically read more than just one book by her, because I've read a few of her stories too, but she is an author I desperately want to read more of, and I encourage you to do so, too. 





4.  Kathryne Kennedy. Diving into a few romantic reads, Ms. Kennedy has a beautiful writing style that I found easy to engage in.  I was interested in the characters, I thought her world building to be fascinating and all around just really enjoyed my experience while reading her.   I've only read The Fire Lord's Lover, which I recommend to anyone who's a fan of romance, but I cannot wait to get my hands on more from her.  It honestly was one of the most beautifully written romance novels I've ever read.

5.  Rainbow Rowell.  I posted a review of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, which I absolutely adored.  I have honestly only heard good things about this author.  I know she has three other books out, one YA and adult, and I have been anxious to read them.  And honestly, who couldn't love an author with an amazing name like "Rainbow."  She's already inherently fabulous by default.







6. Laura Whitcomb.  Laura Whitcomb is the author of the beautifully written YA novel, A Certain Slant of Light.  This novel was my favorite read of 2012 and made it onto my personal-favorites list as well.  The prose in this is just to die for and she tackles tricky subjects with elegance and grace.  I'm very much looking forward to reading more by this author.'








7. J.R.R. Tolkein.  He's a legend.  He's a master.  He's a genius.  And yet I've only read The Hobbit by him.  At this point, being a 24-year-old fantasy lover, there's really no excuse.  As you can imagine, The Hobbit is filled with fantastical world building, interesting characters and lack of women.  (I'll do a post on the underrepresentation of women in fantasy novels soon.)  Reading The Lord of the Rings is one of my goals for 2015.  Because the time is now, my friends.

8. Margaret Atwood.  Ms. Atwood is one of the greatest writers of our time.  The voices she gives to women in literature, the light she shines on the dangers of patriarchy and the heart-wrenching tales that she writes have all earned her a spot on the "Best Authors of the Era" list.  I've only read The Handmaid's Tale, but found her prose filled with fascinating subtext.  She's an author I've been meaning to read more of for years.

9. Gillian Flynn.  I had very mixed feelings about Gone Girl, some of which stemmed from the book itself and others from the expectations I had before going in.  I'm still torn as to whether or not I think she's a good writer, but I do think she's an interesting storyteller.  I won't say too much, because I do have a review of Gone Girl coming soon, but she is an author that I think it worth more than one read. 

10. Don DeLillo.  DeLillo has a lot to say and he manages to get his message across using a relatively short page count.  He just screams satire.  He's honestly one of those authors that I'd recommend everyone give a try.  Even though he might not be your cuppa, you'll probably still appreciate what he's trying to achieve.  I've only read his novel White Noise, but very much need and want to read more by him.

Who are YOUR authors you've only read once and need to read more from?