Good American | Watching the Words

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books. And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to pick a particular setting and then list our favorite books in that setting. Since my book choices tend to be all over the place I chose to list my favorite books that take place in the past, that have some type of historical setting.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Masterfully crafted (in case I haven’t said it enough!) story that takes place in Germany during WWII.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – Moving story about a Lithuanian family taken by the Russians during WWII.
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys – I loved the characters in this novel that takes place in French Quarter of New Orleans in 1950.
Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra – Beautiful yet horrible story about the wars in Chechnya. OK, so much of the story does not take place too far back in history (1994-2004), but there is much to be learned about the history of the area through this novel.
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty – A great look at the early twentieth century as Cora becomes a chaperone to the young Louise Brooks in New York City before she becomes a silent film star.
A Good American by Alex George – An epic novel following three generations of a family beginning with their immigration in 1904.
Thieves of Book Row by Travis McDade – An amazing story of a ring of book thieves during the Great Depression.
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham – One of my favorite figures in American history and a engrossing portrait of his life.
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick – A masterful work of art and a touching novel which travels back and forth between New York City in 1927 and Minnesota in 1977.
Onion Street by Reed Farrel Coleman – A gritty detective novel set in 1960’s Brooklyn by one of my favorite mystery authors.

So this week the challenge is to create a list of the books that were my favorite before I was a blogger. Since I’ve actually only been blogging for a couple of months most of my favorites are from before I was a blogger, and I’ve already talked about most of them in other top 10 posts. So I decided to change it up a little bit and make it a list of some of my favorites from before I was a blogger that I haven’t already mentioned in some other top 10 list.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye by Rachel Joyce – Harold is recently retired and living in a small English village with his cranky wife when he gets a letter from an old friend who is dying of cancer. Instead of stopping at the post office to send his response he keeps walking, deciding to walk across the country to deliver it personally. I found the book to be humorous, poignant, and charming.
Good American by Alex George – Frederick and Jette travel to America in 1904 and what follows is the story of their lives, and the lives of their descendants, as told by their grandson. I loved the story of this immigrant family against the backdrop of the history of our country.
Abundance of Katherines by John Green – I have admitted to a love for John Green and this is one of my favorites. Colin, a former child prodigy, has only dated girls named Katherine (and always with a “K”, never a “C”), and has been dumped by all of them, nineteen times. He takes off on a road trip with his best friend in search of a provable Katherine Theorem. What follows is funny and insightful, a story of friendship, love, and figuring out who you are.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall – I’m not a runner – I wish that I was – but that is not something my orthopedic surgeon would recommend. But you don’t need to be a runner to love this book. McDougall provides an engrossing story about ultra-runners, from scientific research to the Tarahumara Indians in an isolated part of Mexico that run hundreds of miles, to a race between those very natives and the world’s best ultra-distance runners. Makes me sometimes think that even I could be a runner…
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – I had to add this one – my favorite from the time when I was a little kid – one that I tried to re-read at least once a year while I was growing up. I always wanted to be Jo!
The Messenger by Markus Zusak – I have to give a shout out to my favorite author, even if I have stopped myself from carrying on again about my absolute favorite book (The Book Thief – in case you forgot). When Ed mistakenly stops a bank robber he receives his first playing card in the mail with an anonymous message – more will follow – a great adventure into the why and how and who… and does he change the lives of others or of himself?
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer – Artermis Fowl is a brilliant and evil criminal mastermind, and he is twelve. The first in this series is certainly the best as Artemis embarks on a plan to rob the fairies of their gold, combining fantasty, myth, adventure, and technology along with a good dose of humor this was a great read from beginning to end.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz – Odd Thomas is a 20-year old fry cook who can see the dead. Throughout the series, Odd Thomas will try to stop a number of disasters and resolve a number of mysteries, but what is greatest about these books is Odd himself, a humble and courageous character, and the humor that is combined with the grotesque.
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss – Probably my favorite Dr. Seuss book, and certainly one of my favorites to read-aloud (although they are all great for reading aloud!). “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – How can this not be on everyone’s list?? Of all the series, the first is still probably my favorite since it was what introduced me to the world of Harry Potter, a world I so desperately wanted to be real and wanted to live in. My eleven year old daughter has been reading the series for the first time and she wept when the first book was over and she realized that the world J.K. Rowling had created would never be real for her…