Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held over at the Broke and the Bookish where each week we list our top ten of a certain topic which is always book based! This week’s topic is the “top ten books I read before I was a blogger”. I haven’t been a blogger for very long so this is a very easy list for me!

1) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I think this will always be my favourite book. I’m sorry that it seems to be on my top ten list every week but I can’t help it! It’s a beautiful love story and is so much better than any film or tv adaptation.

2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Another one that is probably on this list every week! It’s up there at the top of my list of favourite books with Wuthering Heights.

3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

I wanted to be more specific than just saying “the Harry Potter series” but I did love them all! The Deathly Hallows had to be my favourite though.

4) Christine by Stephen King

This was the first Stephen King novel I read and I adored it. I couldn’t put it down at all. We were on a family holiday at the time and I was the most anti-social big sister ever! After this I started reading other Stephen Kings and he is one of my favourite authors.

5) Mort by Terry Pratchett

Still my favourite of the discworld series and one of the first I read! My favourite discworld novels are all the ones about Death so I also love Hogfather and Reaper Man.

6) Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris

Eric was always my favourite character in the True Blood series but in this book he is just so loveable! Definitely my favourite True Blood novel.

7) Room by Emma Donoghue

I read this just before I started blogging and it was an exciting novel for me as it encouraged me to branch out and try new genres! I bought it because everybody was raving about it but I was never really sure if I’d like it. I loved it!

8) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I read this in about 48 hours when I was ill. I’m pretty sure most people have read it by now but if you haven’t you need to try it! I spent the whole Christmas season working at Waterstones a couple of years ago encouraging people to buy this book for their kids but I still hadn’t read it myself. I’m glad I did!

9) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I remember staying up really late every night reading this book. The concept drew me in but it sat unread on my shelves for a while. When I finally got around to reading it I couldn’t put it down!

10) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Definitely my guilty pleasure. I know it’s badly written and that Bella is not a very good female lead. I know that vampires are supposed to be scary and not sparkly. Nevertheless I adored this series and I still do!

What books did you used to like before you were a blogger? Has blogging encouraged you to try different genres?

Top Ten Tuesday – Characters I Would Crush On!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book meme held over at The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks theme is the top ten characters from books that you would crush on if you were also a fictional character. Not a problem for me as I crush on them when I’m not! Here’s my list:

Heathcliff – Wuthering Heights

By this I mean the young Heathcliff rather than the older, slightly psychopathic Heathcliff! I can totally understand why Cathy fell in love with the young and wild Heathcliff and the love between them was amazing.

Sam – Wolves of Mercy Falls

Sam is cute and just lovely. Exactly the type of guy I’d have fallen for!

Eric – True Blood

While I do like a bad guy I think it is worth mentioning here that the Eric Northman from the books is a very different character to the vampire in the TV series! His love for Sookie is truly unbreakable and he’s not as arrogant either!

Fiyero – Wicked

I loved Fiyero (who again is not identical to the character from the musical!). This is a guy who can see past the fact that Elphaba has bright green skin. He’s also very political which I like!

Neville Longbottom – Harry Potter Series

Neville often gets forgotten while readers fantasise about Draco Malfoy (YES) and Harry Potter. He is one of the most brave and loyal characters in the series and he is the one that saved the day in the end!

Severus Snape – Harry Potter Series

I don’t think I need to say anything here apart from “Always…”

Morpheus – Splintered

The less obvious choice here I think. Morpheus would do anything for the women he loves and his dark side just adds to his charm.

Jeb – Splintered

I’ve made the obvious choice as well though! Jeb again would do anything for Alyssa (lucky girl!) and is exactly the type of guy I looked for when I was her age.

Finn – The Magic Toyshop

A little known book I think but one I found through an online book club. I fell in love with the cheeky Finn.

Yul – Magus of Stonewylde

Ahh Yul was perfect in the first few books. Brave, loyal and a total hippy!

Who are your book crushes?

Anne & Kristilyn’s 2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge – Update 1

In January I decided to take part in the 2013 Bingo Reading Challenge which is hosted over at Reading In Winter.

This is the first update in the challenge! You can see my scorecard below…

As you can see I’ve got the whole top line filled and have started on the second! Here are my reads:

Read 2 books from your TBR pile

Beauty by Robin McKinley has been in my TBR pile for years! I finally got around to reading it in January. My review is here.

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris is a library book that I’ve had for a year now! I finally read it this month and the review is here.

Read 2 books that are part of a series

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is a part of one of my favourite series, True Blood. It was actually a re-read as well as I’ve read this series a few times!

Marked by PC and Kristen Cast is a book I’d been wanted to try for a while. It’s from the House of Night series which I am now desperate to read. The review is here.

Read 1 book that is released in 2013

Splintered by A.G. Howard was on my list of 2013 debuts I needed to read and my spring to-read list. My review is here.

Read 1 book everyone but you has read

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a must read for all vegans and a book that it seemed every vegan in the world has read. I finally finished my copy this month and enjoyed it a lot. My review is here.

Re-read 1 book

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris is the second in the True Blood series. As above, I love this series!

Are you taking part in this challenge? I’m looking for a recommendation for the middle square which is a book chosen by another participant or a genre chosen by another participant!