My Top 10 Most-Read Authors

It's been a while since I've done a Top 10 Tuesday post with The Broke and the Bookish, and Goodreads makes today's theme so easy! So here are the 10 authors I've read the most books from (since 2008, when I started using Goodreads, unless the book was one of my favorites so I added it anyway, e.g. Harry Potter or The Bridge to Terabithia):

Happy Birthday, Book Chat!

Can you believe it has been a year since Jessica posted the first-ever Book Chat prompt on Sweet Green Tangerine?? I always thought I had been part of the link-up since the beginning, but when I went back to look at my old posts, I was sad to discover my first participation was actually for the second prompt. So today, I'm going to go back and participate in that very first link-up:

Favorite tragic couple: Chris & Emily | The Pact by Jodi Picoult (I feel really weird saying that considering how messed up the relationship—and entire storyline—is, but I think I am biased because this is one of my favorite books of all time.)

The Book Chat: Books on the Big Screen

Today's Book Chat topic is a lot of fun: books I would like to see made into movies! Plus, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Melissa, is co-hosting with Jessica this week, so you should definitely check out her blog! If you like books, travel and/or music, both of these gals are great ones to add to your Google Reader. :)


I saw that Jessica cast the characters of the books she would want to see on the big screen, and I really wanted to borrow that idea, but I'm having such a hard time picking actors and actresses that would do my favorite characters justice. Kudos to you, Jessica, for picking such awesome people in your post! And, I realized there were several movies based on books that I wanted to mention in this post, so I jumped between a few different related topics. I hope you don't mind!

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 30

Day 30 – My favorite book of all time

Image via Goodreads

Les Miserables. Full disclosure: I don't know if this is my favorite book, but it is definitely my favorite story. I haven't read the book since I was 12, so I hope to be able to revisit it soon with my increased wealth of knowledge and maturity level, but when I read it back in the 7th grade, I remember there being a lot of long, boring chapters about the student revolution. I would get to one of those chapters, realize it was about the war and not my beloved characters from the Broadway adaptation, and skip it. But as far as stories go, Victor Hugo wove quite the tale of personal struggles, romance and societal challenges. I own a paperback version and downloaded a free version on my Kindle, so I definitely need to reread it soon.

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 27

Edited to add: Jessica at Sweet Green Tangerine chose endings as the topic for her April 5th book chat. I decided to link up with this old post because it already explains one of my favorite book endings and also mentions some of my least favorite. Head over to Jessica's blog and check out her post; she hosts a book chat link-up every Thursday!

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

Image via Google Images

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I know I said I wouldn't use the same book twice in this challenge, but there's a reason the third Harry Potter book is my favorite of the series - the ending is insane! Who would have ever guessed that Ron's rat was an Animagi? Who is actually a Death Eater and responsible for the Potters' murders, no less? Or that Sirius Black was Harry's godfather? And is actually a really nice guy? Or that Lord Voldemort was Harry's father?? (Just kidding!) But seriously, this was always my favorite book because of the sheer twists and turns the plot takes. (What ever happened to the Time Turner, anyway?)

Just to provide a little variety, I'll also share two of my least favorite endings ever, which happen to be from two of my favorite authors:

• Handle With Care, Jodi Picoult
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

I generally tell people just not to read the epilogues of both these books, because I think they're wonderful right up until the end of the last chapter. I don't want to give anything away in Handle With Care, but I'm assuming you all know how Harry Potter ends, so I'll just say it: I would have known who was marrying whom without J.K. telling me! I thought the epilogue was super cheesy and unnecessary. Although after seeing the epilogue in the movie, I do like how she included the part about Harry naming his son after "the bravest man [he] ever knew." That was sweet. I'm getting goosebumps just typing about it!

What surprise endings did I miss? Has the ending of a book ever ruined an otherwise great story for you?

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 14

Day 14 – Favorite book by my favorite writer

 
Image via Google Images

The Pact. Ahh, I love this book so much. It was definitely one of the saddest I've read, though. It centers on a teenage couple and the legal drama that unfolds after one of them dies from a gunshot. I don't want to get into too many details, but it is absolutely phenomenal if you don't mind having your heart wrenched out of your chest every 20 pages or so. Oh, Jodi. How wonderful you are.

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 13

Day 13 – My favorite writer

Image via SquidLit

Jodi Picoult! You might be surprised that I didn't say J.K. Rowling (considering two of my book challenges thus far - Day 2 and Day 3 - have been about Harry Potter), but though I love Rowling's characters and the magical world she created, I've never felt any particular attachment to the author herself. Jodi Picoult, on the other hand, absolutely fascinates me. But I guess if you've been a regular reader of my blog, you're already aware of my slight obsession. :) Her books cover a wide range of ethically charged dilemmas, from reproductive rights to assisted suicide and abuse to adultery. Her characters are always so incredibly well developed, and I've probably cried in at least half of her books. (I'm currently all up-to-date, having read all 18 of her novels, and I can't wait for Lone Wolf to be released at the end of this month!) I also follow Jodi on Twitter, and she seems like a pretty cool mom and person. So kudos to you, Jodi Picoult! You grabbed my attention when I read Plain Truth in 2004 and haven't let go since! Keep writing!

Anticipation seven months in the making.

I finally pre-ordered my copy of Sing You Home in paperback today!

(It's available for 50 percent off today only on the Barnes & Noble website.) 

Photo via barnesandnoble.com

The book is scheduled to ship October 18, which seemed way too far away until I remembered I've been waiting for this book since it came out in hardcover seven months ago! I suffered this excruciating wait last year, too, with House Rules, but it's worth it to me. Not only do I love reading Jodi Picoult's novels, but I like to own them. I have quite a little collection, and to keep them all matching, it's necessary for me to wait for the paperback version each time. Plus, I just don't really enjoy reading hardcover books.

Jodi Picoult has written 18 novels in the past 20 years (and a play and a graphic novel - neither of which I have read), and I have read 17 of them. When I get my hands on Sing You Home in a few weeks, I will have read every single one.

I first discovered the masterful writing of Picoult during my sophomore year of high school. I was an insatiable little reader back then, and I often borrowed books from my mom. During this particular year, she had copies of both Plain Truth and My Sister's Keeper. (The latter has since become one of Picoult's best-known novels. It has also been adapted for film, but I still haven't seen the movie for fear I'll be disappointed.) After that, I was hooked.