April 9, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger

Just a brief note about this one - I started my blog in January 2012, so these are all going to be books I read in 2011 or earlier. Take a look at my list and tell me what you think!

1. Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon - I was a big reader as a kid, and then I kind of got away from voracious reading for awhile. The Outlander series, which was recommended to me by some college friends, brought me back to my love of reading. I read the first book in the series in early 2006, and I immediately devoured the rest of them. The Outlander series remains one of my all-time favorite series.

2. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins - I started The Hunger Games around the same time that Mockingjay first hit the stands. All the hype surrounding its release made me check out the first book in the series, and to date, I had never read a dystopian book before. The Hunger Games was my first, and IMO, still the best.

3. Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling - I was one of the morons who watched the movies before reading the books. I loved the movies, so for awhile I thought I didn't really need to read the books since I knew how the story went. BOY was I wrong. Once I started them, I couldn't stop, and I did manage to get all seven books under my belt before the seventh movie came out. And after I finished the series, I experienced one of the worst book hangovers EVER. 

4. Vampire Academy series, by Richelle Mead - The Twilight series caused me to break my self-imposed vampire moratorium. But, after it was over, I was left feeling a little bereft. I wanted more fangs! I knew I loved Harry Potter, which takes place in a school, so Vampire Academy sounded like the best of both worlds. I had no idea at the time that not only would I love this series so much more than the Twilight series, but that the VA series would become one of my most beloved series of all time.

5. Fever series, by Karen Marie Moning - After I discovered Goodreads, I started checking out recommendations from readers who seemed to know what they were talking about. I saw the Fever series pop up in lists all over the place, and knew I had to try it out. I remember getting the first book out of the library and taking it with me on a business trip. I nearly finished it in one night, forgetting to even go out and get dinner (room service!!). Jericho Barrons remains one of my most favorite male characters ever.

6. River of Time series, by Lisa Tawn Bergren - Waterfall was the first book I ever read on my Kindle in the summer of 2011. What an INCREDIBLE book. It was a time travel book, and I knew I loved Outlander, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Lisa Bergren's characters and the medieval Italian setting were absolutely enthralling, and I continued on with the series, buying up every full-length book and novella she wrote. I was ecstatic to learn that Lisa will be writing one more full-length book in the series, so we will get more Gabi, Marcello, Luca and Lia to swoon over. Yay!

7. The Heir Chronicles series, by Cinda Williams Chima - This was a series that I started purely on cover love. I got The Warrior Heir for a cross-country plane ride, and I was finished with it before I returned home a few days later. This was the book that started my love for all things Cinda Williams Chima, and I went on to love her Seven Realms series even more in the tail end of 2011/beginning of 2012. Imagine my excitement when she mentioned on her website that the Heir Chronicles was going to continue, and I will be near the front of the line to get my copy of Enchanter Heir at BEA next month!

8. The Underland Chronicles series, by Suzanne Collins - This is the lesser-known earlier series written by Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins. It's more of a middle-grade series, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of it. This is an incredible series with characters and a setting that are so... alive. It's one I will definitely pass on to my kids when they get a bit older, and one I'm sure they will love as much as I did.

9. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan - I have been a huge fan of Greek Mythology every since I took a class on it as a 17-year-old high school senior. So, picking up The Lightning Thief was a no-brainer for me. The infusing of thousand-year-old myths with the modern world was ingenious, and Rick Riordan's delivery was flawless. I own all the books in this series, as well as the spin-off series, The Heroes of Olympus, and good thing too, since I've re-read them a few times in the past three years.

10. Any Nancy Drew book, by Carolyn Keene - This was the series that started it all. When I was around 10 years old, I discovered a box of my mom's old books from when she was a girl. Most were Nancy Drew books, and mom said I could have them if I wanted them. Well, duh! I can remember reading a few chapters before bed every night, and being just a little scared when I finally turned out my light. It was such a fun feeling! Before I knew it, I had finished the whole box of books and created a lifetime love for the written word.


33 comments:

Unknown said...

Ohhhh I seriously love this list! Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Vampire Academy and the Fever series??? They are all some of my favorites, and the only reason Fever didn't make my list is because I read it after starting my blog haha. Jericho Barrons...*sigh*.

My TTT

-Kelly

Unknown said...

I LOVE The Hunger Games and Harry Potter! Both are the best books EVER. I also like The Vampire Academy - the best vampire book ever.
Great list! Thanks for stopping by mine (:

My TTT


Sapir @ Diary of a Wimpy Teen Girl

alittlebookish said...

Oh, I forgot Nancy Drew! I loved her growing up. Also I've seen the Fever series everywhere so I think I'm going to have to read this series. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Unknown said...

Lol!!! We are twins today!!! I would've added The Vampire Academy to my list too but I read about half of the series while I was already blogging. Love them though. =)

Anonymous said...

Nice list!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. =) New GFC & Linky follower!

Jessica (Peace Love Books) said...

Harry Potter and the Vampire Academy are on my list too! Those books were so much fun to read. Great list :)

Here's my Top Ten!

Anonymous said...

Even though The Hunger Games and Harry Potter are the only ones I've read so far "Vampire Academy", "Darkfever" and "Waterfall" are all on my tbr list. :)

Thanks for stopping by my TTT at Read. Sleep. Repeat.

Anonymous said...

Great list!

I love Nancy Drew books. I got a box of them from a charity shop when I was little and just devoured them. I only learnt recently about how Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym for multiple writers, which really interested me in retrospect.

I didn't start reading the Harry Potter books until after the first film came out. Then I got given one as a present and became addicted.

Lauren x

BookInHand said...

I love VA! It's freaking great! AND YES! Read Sarah Dessen! If you ever want to borrow a book I have a lot of hers! Just email me amberlynnfitzpatrick(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Some great reads on your list :-) I have never read a Percy Jackson novel, although I do want to start!

Ciska said...

I really have to start Outlander. I have seen it around to many times now!

My Life With Books - Jennifer K Jovus said...

I've never heard of waterfall but I am headed to amazon right now to check it out. Great list BTW!
Jen K Jovus
My Life with Books

Anonymous said...

The Hunger Games is on my list too. Awesome list!

Anonymous said...

I love Percy Jackson! The series was so awesome! :)

Thanks for dropping by my post! :)

Julie @ Books and Insomnia

Anonymous said...

Great List - I've been meaning to read The Underland Chronicles for ages now!!

Unknown said...

I should've put Hunger Games on my list too, because I REALLY liked that series. And I'm probably one of the only people who has not read Vampire Academy...

Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

Julie

Hell-Bent to Read said...

I didn't even think about Nancy Drew! Those books (as well as The Hardy Boys) were some of the first books that I read when I was younger. This also just reminded me that I have quite a few ND and THB books on my shelf - I think I may need to do some re-reads!

Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

-Amanda

Girl!Reporter said...

I'd totally forgotten about the Nancy Drew books. They were amazing. And now that you've reminded me of them, I also have to cite the Baby-sitters Club and the Sweet Valley books, which I was reading around the same time. Memories...

Unknown said...

Great list! I remember when I was younger, I received a whole book of Nancy Drew books, from one of my parents, and one day, they were all gone :( that was so weird but I was def. read to read them.

Unknown said...

http://myloveforfilmsandnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-ten-tuesday-4-top-ten-books-i-read.html

Susan said...

I put OUTLANDER on my list, too, because I absolutely devoured the first book. For some reason, I didn't continue on with the series and now I'll have to go back and re-read the first one before I can go on, but I still want to finish all the books just to see what happens.

Happy TTT!

Unknown said...

Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Vampire Academy, Percy Jackson and Nancy Drew... Best. List. Ever.

:D Thanks for stopping by my TTT

Sheri @ Perks of Being a Bookworm

BookBreather said...

Whoo Vampire Academy. And of course, The Hunger Games. I actually picked that up from the library a couple times before I started blogging, I think. But I could never bring myself to crack it open. Then, once I got in to blogging, I saw all the hype and discovered they were making a movie adaptation of it, and finally read it. I stayed up all night reading it and obviously adored it.

Thanks for stopping by! :)
~ Gabbi

Unknown said...

I've seen Outlander in many lists, I guess I have to add it to my TBR list. I've read 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 from your list. I think HP is in everyone's list this week :)

Thanks for stopping by!

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