Tuesday Top Ten

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 list the top ten books in a specific genre.  I chose historical fiction since it’s a genre that I never thought I really liked until it quickly became one of my favorites over the past couple of years.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – The most touching book I have ever read, it takes place during WWII in Germany and provides unique perspective and an even more unique narrator.
2. The Son by Philipp Meyer – The history of Texas, from 1836 through the present day, from the attack of Native Americans through the rollercoaster of the oil industry.
3. Belle Cora by Phillip Margulies – From early-1800s New York City to the farms of upstate NY to San Francisco during the Gold Rush this is the story of a woman and her life.
4. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys – A coming of age story in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1950.
5. Codename Verity by Elizabeth Wein – The story of two women, two friends, a pilot and a spy, during WWII.
6. Brewster by Mark Slouka – A beautifully written story of friends growing up in upstate New York in 1968.
7. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent – The last public beheading to take place in Iceland in the early 1800s.  A devastatingly beautiful story.
8. A Good American by Alex George – The story of immigrants to America in 1904 and their lives, and the lives of their descendants, as told by their grandson.
9. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – Ursula’s story allows you to travel through various scenarios throughout the early to mid-1900s as she is born and dies again and again.
10. Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert – Epic in scope, from the mid-1700s through most of the 1800s, this story also travels the globe, from England and American and Amsterdam to Tahiti and the jungles of the world.

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Tuesday Top Ten

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 list the top ten books that we read in 2013, and it was way too hard to pick only 10!  There were so many others that I loved this year, but my husband informed me that it would be cheating if I listed 20 books on a top ten list so I narrowed it down even though leaving some titles out was extremely difficult!

What were some of your favorites this year?  Would it be hard to limit your list to your top ten?

Tuesday Top Ten

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 list the top ten most memorable secondary characters.  Those characters in novels that were not the main focus, but that captured your imagination, made you want to see more of them.  Some of mine come from the same series of books, series that have wonderful casts of characters, which is part of what makes those series great.

1. Rudy – Liesel’s dearest friend in The Book Thief.  He is sweet and awkward, funny and brave.  Everything a first love and a best friend should be.
2. Neville Longbottom – Who doesn’t love this dorky and awkward wizard from the Harry Potter series?  Especially when he finds it in himself to become a courageous hero.
3. Professor Snape – The poor misunderstood and heartbroken seeming-villain of the Harry Potter series who is ultimately proven to be a hero.
4. Professor McGonagall – Another character from the Harry Potter series – tough, brave, smart, kind, and caring she really should have been the headmaster long ago!
5. Foaly – The geeky, arrogant, but utterly cool and brilliant centaur in the Artemis Fowl series.
6. Holly Short – The tough, determined elf police woman from the Artemis Fowl series.  Her relationship with Artemis is humorous, difficult, and touching.
7. Hassan Harbish – The funny, smart, witty sidekick in An Abundance of Katherines always made me laugh.
8. LuLu – How to describe LuLu?  This ex-prostitute who squeezes into spandex, eats lots of fried chicken and donuts, and manages to nearly kill everyone she tries to help is a laugh a minute in the Stephanie Plum series.
9. Hawk – I adore this funny, smart, tough, will-do-anything pal to Spenser in the series by Robert B. Parker.  You know he always has Spenser’s back and their relationship is both hilarious and touching.
10. Cokie – The mulatto driver for the madam in Ruta Sepetys’s Out of the Easy is ultimately the one who is there for Josie.  His constancy and his humbleness while doing what is right make him one of my favorites.

 

Tuesday Top Ten

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.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Masterfully crafted (in case I haven’t said it enough!) story that takes place in Germany during WWII.
2. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – Moving story about a Lithuanian family taken by the Russians during WWII.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. A Good American by Alex George – An epic novel following three generations of a family beginning with their immigration in 1904.
7. Thieves of Book Row by Travis McDade – An amazing story of a ring of book thieves during the Great Depression.
8. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power  by Jon Meacham – One of my favorite figures in American history and a engrossing portrait of his life.
9. 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.
10. Onion Street by Reed Farrel Coleman – A gritty detective novel set in 1960’s Brooklyn by one of my favorite mystery authors.

Tuesday Top Ten

 

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 list those books which I wish had sequels – those books that made me wish the story could just go on for at least a little longer.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – I know the story ended and that it ended well, but it just doesn’t matter.  It was so wonderful, so amazing, so all-absorbing – I just want more.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – I’m aware that there were seven books, but it may have been one of my saddest literary moments when I finished the last in the series.  I wanted that magical world to continue on so I could continue to be a part of it.
3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – Wonderful quirky love story.  I wanted to know what happened to Eleanor and Park in the future, I wanted to travel the path with them forward to a happy ending.
4. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – I desperately want to read more about these fun, intelligent, and quirky characters!
5. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys – A great historical novel and I fell in love with Josie – I want to see where her life goes from here.
6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – A beautiful book, and most likely a sequel would ruin it, but I always wanted to see what the future would bring for Guy and those in his world.
7. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green – Time for another road trip with Colin and Hassan!
8. Ungifted  by Gordon Korman – This one is for my kids – they loved the hilarity of the characters in this book and were left wanting more!
9. Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – I want to know where he goes from here and what his life brings him – does he ever go back to the graveyard?
10. Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – I want them to meet up again, to go on more adventures together now that he is grown – or is it just impossible for adults to have the same childlike belief and sense of wonder?