Top Ten Tuesday: Most Owned Authors

This week, The Broke and the Bookish is talking about the authors we own the most books from. I’m going strictly by physical books, because I’m too lazy to go through my kindle books, but I don’t think it would change things too much. Since really all it takes is for an author to write a trilogy plus one other book to be included on this list, there is a distinct lack of YA because I either don’t own the full trilogy, or I own too many trilogies to include them all. These are all the authors that I own more than a trilogies worth of books.

1. Neil Gaiman – 18 – I’m counting the Sandman graphic novels
2. JK Rowling – 8 – Harry Potter + The Beetle and the Bard
3. Margaret Atwood – 7
4. Megan McCafferty – 5
5. Kurt Vonnegut – 5
6. Libba Bray – 5
7. John Steinbeck – 5: When I moved to Salinas/Monterey I went a little Steinbeck crazy trying to immerse myself in the town. It was the first place I’d ever lived that wasn’t the place I grew up, so I went a bit overboard. Plus, I love Steinbeck. I read The Grapes of Wrath in high school and briefly thought about becoming a long haul trucker.
8. George RR Martin – 5
9. Tom Robbins – 5
10. Laurie Notaro – 4
11. Catherynne M Valente – 4

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Covers I’d Frame as Art

This week, The Broke and the Bookish is asking for the Top Ten Book Covers I’d Frame as Art. These maybe aren’t all things I would frame and hang up, but they would be displayed somehow.

 

Wondershow by Hannah Barnaby. I love this cover – the muted colors and the way everything looks like paper cutouts.

 

The Fairyland Series by Catherynne M. Valente: I would LOVE these as plates or something. Eggs? DRAGON EGGS? I’m getting ideas.

 

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn: I love this paperback cover. This is only the first wolfy cover on the list, but they fit in so well with the decor I already have. Here is our decorating “theme”: wolf things because of the dog, cat things because I’m a weirdo cat lady, Smokey the Bear, San Jose Sharks. It’s a mess. But we just got some vintage-y Smokey the Bear juice jars that I’ve started using almost exclusively.

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: I think if this was hanging it my house my heart would break every time I looked at it (good boy, Manchee ilu).

 

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami: See? Weirdo cat lady. I would love a poster of this cat butt. I’m imagining it in my library/reading room. The walls are kind of minty green or light light gray and there are a lot of poster size covers that have white backgrounds and not much happening.

 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: This is probably my favorite cover EVER. I think it would be fun to get the pattern and make it myself and hang OR what about an embroidered throw blanket that has this on it? Obviously it would have to stay in my magical made up library/reading room.

 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: I really like this edition’s cover BUT what if that horse had a twin and they were book ends?

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: If it’s not already obvious, I just searched through “all editions” of books I love on Goodreads. I wouldn’t want art of books I didn’t like or haven’t read. I’m so drawn to this cover, but I can’t actually picture it hanging in the house anywhere.

 

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck: I love this cover, but Cannery Row is also sort of a sentimental place for me since Monterey is where Marshall and I met and got married and lived. We used to walk around Cannery Row all the time and he would tell me stories about growing up there.

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling: I don’t even want/like children, but if I was decorating a nursery or a child’s bedroom for some reason, I would definitely use the covers from this edition. It’s just so weird! Am I not remembering a part where Harry has to be disguised as a giant rat in order to infiltrate a giant-rat gang? Can we make that a thing?

 

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week, The Broke and the Bookish is asking us our Top Ten Most Intimidating Books.

1. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace – I had to create a whole new category just for this book called ‘Achievement Unlocked!’

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – I didn’t read this until I was already in my 20’s. While I would have enjoyed it much more as a teen, I’m glad I finally got over the fear of reading it.

3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck – I had just moved to Salinas when I read this. I knew it was well loved, but to read it where it was written is a whole different level of intimidating.

4. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – You know it’s bad when a book makes itself hard to read. I stuck it out, but I’ve never been entirely sure what actually happened. This one demands a re-read (but who has the time??).

5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Really anything by Jane Austen. I have a hard time with the classice.

6. Also, anything by a Brontë

7. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien – I’ve seen the movies, but the size and detail involved in reading still intimidates me, even after finishing the first book.

8. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin – Each one is over 800 pages, who wouldn’t be intimidated? I’ve read them and loved them and want to re-read but the time investment has been keeping me from following through.

9. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta – A book that is so slow for the first 100 pages, but is beyond amazing and a guaranteed 5 star read past that point? At least a little daunting, right?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week, The Broke and the Bookish want to know the “Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger”.

Um, do you even know how many books that is to choose from? I’ve been reading for maybe 22+ years, but blogging for about two months. WAY TO ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS GUYS.

WordPress, THE HUGE GAPING SHITHOLE THAT IT IS, deleted this post instead of scheduling it, AGAIN, so let’s see if this ever goes up. I actually took the time to write nice reasons why I liked all these books but now I hate everyone and these are all me, right now:

Now that I wasted a bunch of time looking for gifs instead of really re-writing this post, I will get on with it.

1. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
6. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valents
7. All available books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
8. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
9. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
10. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami