Top Ten Books With Awesome Friendships in Them (53)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love books with good friendships. I didn't always have the best time with friends when I was YA-aged, though. I think reading about them kind of makes up for it. Or gives me hope for the future. Or helps me reflect on my current friendships. I don't actually know. I just like friendship books (Although I also like when there's also a love-interest thing thrown in with all the friendship stuff. Delicious.)

PS: Please note - not all of the books featured below are book one in their respective series, but I decided to feature the book in the series that best shows the development of the friendship in question. So pay attention, okay?

Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Started Blogging (18)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic: Favorite Books I Read Before I Started Blogging. Given that I only started blogging 4 months ago, I feel like narrowing this list down to ten is going to be somewhat difficult for me, so I think I'll do 5 favorite individual books and 5 favorite series. Cheating? Yes. Acceptable? I make the rules here, so yes.

TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL BOOKS I LOVE

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I don't love cancer books, so I wasn't going to read this one, but I heard a million amazing things about it and I couldn't help myself, so I picked it up. To everyone who told me to read this: YOU WERE RIGHT. This book has made it onto so many of my Top Ten lists I can't even. It's just so wonderfully sad and funny and amazing all at the same time.

2. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

I love all of the Sarah Dessen books and I'm not even sure if this one's my favorite, but this one was my first. My friend pushed it on me in high school. I wasn't sure because back then I was very fantasy oriented and I felt like contemporary love stories were just fluff. But Sarah Dessen (and my friend) proved me wrong with this book. For that alone this book is a favorite.

3. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I cried like a small child when I read this book. The protagonist, Sam, is a little annoying at the beginning, but the way Lauren Oliver makes her likable by the end of the book is masterful. I mean, you know the how it has to end and you make peace with that, but by the end you're WISHING for some kind of bookish miracle.

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
There's something so different and so amazing about this book. It took me a while to get through, but I think that's just because the writing style is so unique. Not to mention the subject matter is so utterly fascinating (to me, at least), which puts it squarely on my favorites list.

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
So I know this book is part of a series, but I don't love all of the books in the series and I LOVE this one, so I figured it deserved special mention. There's just something about the familial themes and the noir that made me re-read this one a hundred times. Okay. Maybe not a hundred, but at least a dozen or so.

TOP FIVE SERIES I LOVE

6. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins 

I jumped on The Hunger Games train later than everyone else. In fact, the trailer for the movie was already out by the time I picked it up, which is why, when everyone was all "THAT'S NOT WHAT PEETA LOOKS LIKE," I was all, "uh, yeah it is," because Josh Hutcherson was in my head as Peeta from the start. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that The Hunger Games pulled me back into YA. Sure, I read in college, I even read YA, but THG restored the stay up too late reading, book grabby hands element to my life. 

7. The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

This is another series pushed on me by the same girl who pushed Sarah Dessen. I knew of Meg Cabot at the time (I mean, who didn't? The Princess Diaries owned teenage-land for a good couple of years) but I didn't like ghosts. But, well, I think Jesse is the exception to every rule. And Suze is the best. So double awesome.

8. The Year I Turned 16 by Diane Schwemm

My sister read this series when we were much younger. Since I had to do everything my big sister did (how else do you think I learned how to put on makeup?), I snagged these books as soon as she finished and I loved. I haven't read them recently, but all the good feelings definitely remain.

9.  Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

My blog has seriously become an ode to Tamora Pierce. But I'm going to keep listing her books as a favorite until everyone I know has fallen to peer pressure and read this book. Seriously. I'm not even kidding. Everyone, go read. 

10. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

This is another series that holds a very special place in my heart. I read The Golden Compass IN SCHOOL and loved. Who knew you could love school books? Well I didn't, at least not until The Golden Compass. It helps that my teacher that year was awesome. And that we listened to the audiobook in class. I'm pretty sure that was my only ever audiobook but as far as I can recall, it was made of awesome.

Sometimes I feel like my Top Ten Tuesday lists are a little repetitive, but I just can't help myself. What about you guys? More of the same? If so, let me know what you can't stop listing in the comments below. If I've already read it, we should talk. If not, maybe I should get to it! 

Top Ten Books I Recommend The MOST (16)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

There are a lot of ways I can take this week's Top Ten list. Is it Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most to Readers? To Non-Readers? To Contemporary Lovers? To Fantasy Nerds? To Paranormal Junkies? I always find that when I recommend a book, I have to be careful who I'm recommending what to because it could be MY FAVORITE but my reading taste isn't everyone's reading taste. Which just means I ask a lot of annoying questions and think VERY CAREFULLY before recommending books.

But instead of inserting a qualifier, I'm just going to make this a Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most BECAUSE I LOVE THEM list. I'll be sure to note genre, because even though I know Tamora Pierce if the greatest ever and I'd probably push all of her books on you even if you don't love fantasy books, there should be some kind of level playing field, right?

So here they are. My Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most based solely on my book feels and nothing else.

1. Anything set in the Tortall Universe by Tamora Pierce
Genre: YA Fantasy
I could list each quartet and cheat a couple of times but instead I'll just cheat once and put a whole universe up here. I think there are 17 books set in Torall? I haven't read all of them - just the first 13 - but I don't even need to read the last ones to tell you they're probably genius. Tamora Pierce just knows what's up. Her books are just MAGICAL. And if that's not enough, they're set in medieval times with knights and kings and castles. And if THAT'S not enough, all of her books are pro-feminism in a not-in-your-face kind of way (aka the best way). There's just so much amazingness in her series and I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to read them.

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Genre: YA Contemporary

I KNOW. I KNOW. Everyone else in the world ALSO has this book on their list but I can't help myself. This book was just SO FREAKING GOOD and I just want to stare at it slack-jawed all day. But I can't. Because I have things to do (stupid life). So instead I just go around trying to articulate the feels you WILL feel when you read this book. Inevitably I'll fail, show you a vlog brothers video instead, get you hooked on John Green as a human being and then guide you to his books (this is actually a thing I do. It works fairly often).

3. If I Stay + Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Genre: YA Contemporary

*More cheating lalala* but y'know what? You can't list one without the other. They are so very much a duology of feels and everyone should read these books. So good. So many feels. And honestly? Where She Went was so much better for me than If I Stay and you can't read the former without reading the latter first, so it's really, actually one book in my head. Does that make sense? No? Go read the books and get back to me, okay?

4. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Genre: YA Dystopian

I think this is my favorite dystopian out of the bunch. That's not to say I didn't love Divergent, Wither, Uglies and a whole bunch of other books full of awesome, but there's just something here I love so much. I would tell you what it is that makes me love this series so much, but it's really not just one thing. It's like everything. Together. Which I guess is the sign of a pretty decent series. ALSO, Unravel Me was possibly BETTER than Shatter Me, which doesn't happen often in second books of series. So yeah. Also. One thing I can tell you for real that made me love this book: SUPER. HEROS. *nerds out like whoa over this fact for the a millionth time*

5. All of the Sarah Dessen
Genre: YA Contemporary
The reason I say ALL is because I do obviously have my favorites, but I always recommend reading Dessen books in pub date order. This is because sometimes characters from earlier books will pop up in later books and it's just SO FUN when you can spot them. Seriously. But in general, I just love Sarah Dessen. Her books are so wonderful. And squee-worthy. I love a good squee, y'know?

6. Night by Elie Wiesel

Genre: Memoir

Elie Wiesel taught at my University until just recently. I was never able to take a class with him but he gives a series of lectures in the fall (seriously, if you're in Boston in November and he's still giving these talks, GO). He's such an adorable little old man (as pictured, because I couldn't help myself) who's been through SO MUCH. And he has this AMAZING voice and, well, yeah. I feel like so many people think The Diary of Anne Frank is the quintessential Holocaust book but then I read Night and, y'know, it's not a competition, but I think Night is the one I would push just a bit harder. It's also a bit easier to get through and it's about the actual camps. Which is terrifying, of course. AND it's the story of a teen told from the memory of an adult, so there's that element as well.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Genre: YA Historical Fiction (?)
Okay. This is another Holocaust book (Sorry guys, it's a combo of very much growing up with the topic because I'm Jewish and a bizarre fascination with the event), but this one takes a very different approach. This one's fiction from the perspective of Death. So it's kind of historical fiction but kind of not? I don't know. The writing is absolutely stunning either way. It took me a little bit to get into because of the different perspective, but it was totally worth it. But take this one slow. Don't get frustrated if you don't tear through it in a day. I know it took me a little while and that's okay. Because it's worth it.

8. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

As previously noted in this post, I'm Jewish. But if I'm being honest? I'm fairly religious. I went to a dual curriculum school nursery-12 and I guess I retained some stuff. This "stuff" includes the story of Dina. Or really, the lack of the story of Dina. So when I heard about this book I was like YEAH OKAY I WANT. I excepted it to be good, but I didn't expect to have my insides fall apart. It was brilliant because I wanted a fictional tale of Dina's life, but it was also brilliant because for a while I forgot that's why I picked up the book. As I tore through the pages I was like: THIS IS AMAZING on a secular level, not a religious one. Of course, whenever I paused for snackage or to explain to someone why I couldn't talk to them, my brain would catch up with me and I'd be like, okay, this story has religious significance, but really, it's for everyone, not just people who like bible stories.

9. His Dark Materials Series by Philip Pullman
Genre: YA Fantasy
I've already told you guys about that time I read these books in Middle School. Fantasy was my number one genre back then. It was pretty much all I read. So Pullman and Pierce were like my holy books. Fantasy worlds are so lush and complex and wonderful and when done RIGHT they're so amazing. They take you somewhere else. Pullman takes you somewhere else. He grabs you and drags you behind him and you don't WANT him to let you go because it's all so magical. Granted, I picked up this series because of my favorite English teacher of all time (it was required reading, but I read ahead and finished the whole series before the class finished the first), but really, it was just reaffirmation that reading was my THING.

10. Watchmen or V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

Genre: Graphic Novel

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" "Remember, remember the 5th of November the gunpowder treason and plot..." Yeah, that's right darlings, I read graphic novels (comics too!). Look, would I recommend this to first time comic readers? NO. PLEASE. NO. If you're not used to the format, it's tough and these are TOUGH novels to get through. However, I will say that these particular graphic novels are a bit more mainstream. You can find a lot of reviews and commentaries and MOVIES (shiny! - although, Watchmen was eh and the V for Vendetta movie kind of conveys a slightly different message than the graphic novels, but whatever). Alan Moore's a bit of a loon, so if you're interested in complex social commentaries, these novels are the bomb dot com. If you're looking for a superhero who saves the day, please turn your attention to Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis (aka my favorite) or any superhero originally created by Stan Lee, the coolest man to ever walk the Earth.

**BONUS**

11. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Genre: YA Paranormal

OKAY GUYS DON'T HATE ME FOR SAYING THIS but I my number one pet peeve is people knocking something they haven't tried. Oh, you think this book/movie is garbage and you want to trash it? BE MY GUEST, just make sure to read/watch it first, otherwise you're just a jerk who parrots other people's opinions. If you want to get on the bandwagon, at least do some research first and have real opinions instead of being all: "It sounds stupid" or "Well, everyone else hates it." Even if the product you're bashing is so awful you only make it through the first 20 pages or watch the first 20 minutes, at least you've earned the right to complain. Don't borrow opinions. Form your own.

This list is full of cheating, but I still think you should read all of these books anyways. Based on my feels, not on your personal preferences, of course. But since I do care about your feels and all that, let me know whats on YOUR list in the comments below - and how you feel about mine!

Top Ten Authors On My Auto-Buy List (12)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

There are SO MANY authors I would put on my auto-buy list. Mostly because there is so much awesome out there and I apparently ENJOY being broke (no, not really, I just like books more than I like money, I guess). But here are my Top Ten. I feel like a lot of mine will be on a lot of your lists.

1. Sarah Dessen
ALWAYS Sarah Dessen. She is a contemporary genius. It's like she helped invent the feels. Or the word squee. Or both. I just can't imagine not pre-ordering something she wrote.

2. John Green
John Green is a genius I haven't known about for nearly long enough. Not only do I love the stories he tells, I love HOW he tells them. Not to mention, every time I read one of his books, my fangirling gets more and more serious because I realize JUST HOW CLEVER this man is.

3. Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce has been on my auto-buy list since I was a tiny, itty bitty reader. The worlds she crafts are just so magical and I want to soak up EVERY BIT of it in hopes that one day I'll find myself in those worlds. But until then: EVERY SINGLE BOOK WRITTEN BY THE GODDESS SHOULD BE MINE.

4. Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is another author who probably helped invent THE FEELS. She's so awesome-pants I'm not even sure we're all worthy to read the words she puts on the page. She just knows how to tell a story, y'know?

5. Tahereh Mafi

I feel like there are a lot of authors who helped invent the feels. Add Tahereh Mafi to the list. I fall to pieces again and again with every word. I can't BELIEVE I waited so long to read her books, but I know I'm hooked now, to be sure, and will be buying everything she writes ever from now until the end of time.

6. Philip Pullman

I don't even know if Philip Pullman writes all that much anymore - a least not YA, but I DO know the man HONEST TO GOD knows how to weave an amazing tale. So I'll pretty much overlook any bizarre, angry undertones found in his work just for that.

7. Maggie Stiefvater
On more than once occasion I’ve noted that she could write about feet and I would still buy that book. And I meant it. Not to mention Maggie Stiefvater is entirely adorable, which makes me just LOVE HER EVEN MORE.

8. Rick Riordan
Honesty time: For the release date of the latest Percy Jackson book, I put an all-day event in my calendar entitled: PERCY JACKSON DAY. I regret nothing. But really, I just love what Rick Riordan does with mythology and I kind of hope he starts up another series about a different mythology group. Norse, this time? How many different mythologies are there? I don't even know, but I want this author to write a series about each one I can HAVE THEM.

9. Markus Zusak
I read The Book Thief and proceeded to buy everything else he’s written. Markus Zusak's writing style is SO DIFFERENT and so very heart breaking that I can't imagine my life without his books.

10. J.K. Rowling
But only if it’s YA. I took The Casual Vacancy out of the library a couple of months ago because I really wasn’t sure how I would like J.K. Rowling’s foray into adult fiction and, I’m not going to lie, I haven’t yet finished the book. But if she ever puts out another YA book, I assure you I’ll be buying it. And so will all of you, probably. And then we'll all freak out over it together. So I'm EXCITED.

HOW CUTE IS THIS MAN?

So that's the list. I know, I know, so many obvious choices, but it's the TRUTH and I would never lie to you guys! Now tell me, who do we have in common and what are your other choices?