Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I'd Put on My Auto-Buy List

This week's topic over at The Broke and the Bookish is authors you'd put on auto-buy. I divided my list into two, one dedicated to children's book authors and the other to writers who pen for adults.

Authors Who Write for Children
1. Jack Gantos
Everything I've read of his I've loved. Gantos has a unique voice that captures children the way they really are, not how adults want them to be.
2. Kevin Henkes
From picture books to easy readers to middle grade fiction, Henkes does it all and does it well.
3. Polly Horvath
Horvath's characters are quirky, but in a believable way. And she's laugh-aloud funny.
4. Sara Pennypacker
Her Clementine books are some of the best early chapter books around.
5. Mo Willems
The mighty Mo. 'Nuff said.

Authors Who Write for Adults
1. Kate Atkinson
She's got a new novel on the horizon and it's already on my pre-order list.
2. Alison Bechdel
Bechdel can't write--and illustrate--them fast enough for me. My all-time favorite graphic novelist.
3. Amy Bloom
A master of the short story, Bloom writes about people you won't soon forget.
4. Ruth Rendell
Even though I've sometimes been disappointed by her work, I still read every Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine novel that comes out. When she's at her best, no other suspense writer can touch her.
5. David Sedaris
Who could pass up a David Sedaris collection? Not me.

So that's my list. What authors make your cut?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books I've Read for my Blog

The folks at The Broke and the Bookish selected a retrospective list for this week's top ten--your favorite books since you began your blog. I started mine almost two years ago, so I had to do a lot of soul searching before I came up with my final list. Click on each title for my original review.

1. Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows

Why? Great friendships are a staple in early chapter books. This series introduces two girls with big size personalities that perfectly mesh.

2. Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

Why? Two very different friends put a new spin on dynamic twosomes for beginning readers.

3. Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker

Why? My favorite in the series about Clementine, an irrepressible third-grader, who learns she will once again be a big sister.

4. Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

Why? Readers get a front view seat to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and how it began in this award-winning nonfiction picture book.

5. Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke

Why? Atinuke is a natural storyteller. Anna, a young African girl, is an engaging character who lives with her extended family in an unnamed African village.

6. The No. 1 Car Spotter by Atinuke

Why? An eyeopener into the world of a young African boy and his extended family.

7. Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins

Why? This hard-to-classify story stayed with me long after I read it.

8. Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

Why? One word--Hysterical. Bad Kitty rules.

9. Duck, Death and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch

Why? A picture book about death like no other. Wow.

10. Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones

Why? Diana Wynn Jones' last book proves why this author excelled in writing fantasy.
 

Top Ten Characters I'd Want as Family Members

This week's meme over at The Broke and the Bookish concerns families in literature. At first I thought about picking the individual characters I'd want, but that didn't feel right. Which March sister would I select? The reason why so many people love Little Women is because it's the family unit that works. You can't separate Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They belong together. Better by far to simply insert yourself into their happy mix. So that's what I've done.

1. The March Family (Louisa May Alcott). This choice is especially appropriate for me because I am one of four sisters. Since childhood my sisters and I have compared ourselves to the March girls in Little Women. Since I'm the eldest I get to be Meg. I don't think I'm particularly like her, but there you go. That's part of being in a family.  You have to compromise, And at least I'm not the one who dies.

2. The Melendy Family (Elizabeth Enright). Another family much beloved by my sisters and me. The premise of their first book, The Saturdays, is that the four Melendy offspring--Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver--form the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club. Each week they pool their allowance money into one pile and one of the siblings uses it to have an adventure on his or her own. Great fun.

3. The Moffat Family (Eleanor Estes). It's been many years since I last read The Moffats and its subsequent spinoffs, but I remember loving the working-class family of Slyvie, Joey, Janie, and of course Rufus. Time to reread them all.

4. The Bagthorpe Family (Helen Cresswell). I didn't read the Bagthorpe Saga, a series of ten books, until I was a grown-up. No matter. I want to be adopted into this extremely dysfunctional British family. Dad, a grumpy television writer for the BBC, works from home and is constantly annoyed by his pesky brood. Mom writes an Agony column for a newspaper and is a part-time magistrate. The four kids have numerous Strings to their Bows (except for Jack the hero of the first story, Ordinary Jack). Add in the wacky extended family members and mayhem is the result. Hilarious.

5. The Blossom Family (Betsy Byars). Another wacky, yet lovable group of eccentrics, the Blossoms have all sorts of adventures. In the first book, The Not-Just-Anybody Family, Junior tries to fly with a pair of homemade wings and ends up in the hospital. Meanwhile his brother and sister try to get Grandpa out of jail for breaking the peace.  A very, very funny series.

6. The Darling Family (J. M. Barrie). When I was five, I wanted nothing more than for Peter Pan to fly through my bedroom window (I kept it open just in case) and take me away to Neverland. Nowadays, staying put with the Darlings seems much more appealing. Sure, the father can be a drag at times, but all in all the family was a happy one. Plus I'd have Nana as my dog!

7. The Morland Family (Jane Austen). With all the families to choose from Austen's novels, the Morlands from Northanger Abbey might appear an unusual choice. Yet I think I would prefer them to the Bennet household.  True, it is a large family and they don't have much money and time for their brood, but Mr. and Mrs. Morland are both sensible, caring people. Catherine, the heroine, has deep affection for them and her siblings and they for her. When she comes back home in disgrace, it is her family's love that comforts and soothes her wounded pride. Can't ask for more than that.

8. The Ramsay Family (Virginia Woolf). Okay, maybe not the happiest of families, still ever since first reading To the Lighthouse I wanted to crawl inside its pages and take my place among the Ramsays.

9. The Brangwen Family (D. H. Lawrence). This novel follows three generations of the Bragwen family, who reside in the Midlands of England. I was most taken by the relationship between the sister Ursula and Gudrun, which is continued in Women in Love.

10. The Addams Family by Charles Addams. Okay, this last one is cheating somewhat, except Charles Addams did create an amazing cast of characters in The Addams Family and some were published as books. In my heart of hearts, I have to admit that if I had to choose one family to live with it would be these crazy kooks. They do their own thing and don't care what others think of them. They may not always be forgiving of outsiders (there was that unfortunate incident with Christmas carolers), yet they love and are tolerant of each other.

Now it's your turn. What characters would you most like to share a home with?

Top Ten Books I Just Had to Buy...But Are Still Sitting on My Bookshelf

Well, this week's Top Ten Tuesday list by The Broke and the Bookish was ridiculously easy. All I had to do was scoot over to my bookcase and pick up the row of books I've been meaning to read and never have...and if I'm truthful, most likely never will. Sigh.

Here they are, in alphabetical order by author's last name.

1. Herbert Rowbarge by Natalie Babbitt. I bought the paperback edition sometimes in the 80s and it has moved from bookshelf to bookshelf from apartment to house to apartment to house to house. I bought it because I loved Natalie Babbits's outstanding children's novel Tuck Everlasting. But for some reason I have never cracked this one open so I can't even say what it's about. I keep it because I've had it so long. Silly reason, I know.
2. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. I love detective fiction and I love Victorian settings. After seeing many good reviews, I snatched up a copy, which remains unread.
3. Possession by A. S. Byatt. This one is not actually on my bookshelf. Somehow I ended up with two hardcover copies, and after years of them both sitting reproachfully on my shelf, I finally donated them to a library. I did start the novel and did not like it. The Children's Hour, her latest, has gotten rave reviews. I may give it a try, but a library copy this time.
4. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Don't remember how I even came to own this one. It's a classic and I really should read it, I know. But there it sits on the shelf.
5. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Bought the hardcover edition after it won the Newbery Award. Again, right up my alley as I love ghosts, graveyards, etc. This one, though, I swear I will read--and soon.
6. Freddy and Frederick by Mark Helprin. Bought this at a used bookstore for one dollar. According to the jacket flap, it's a funny allegory about fictional members of the British royal family. But it's more than 500 pages long!
7. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Another one I've had for years. I think I started it once, then put it down. Maybe I'll watch the movie.
8. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I know, I know; it's a classic. But I'm not a fan of Henry James. This novel is supposed to be one of his more accessible ones. I started it, but it was a snore. Sorry, Henry James fans.
9. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Everyone has read this memoir, even people who are not particularly bookish. Except me. I know I would like it, too. So why does it remain unread? I think because when everyone was busy reading it, I wasn't. Now it feels like I missed the bus.
10. Atonement and Saturday by Ian McEwan. Yes, not one, but two of his novels sit on my shelf, unread. Both books have interesting subjects and good reviews. They just didn't click with me.

So there's my shameful list. What untouched books sit on your shelves? Confess!

Ten Top Characters I'd Name My Children After

This week's topic at The Broke and the Bookish is literary characters you'd name your offspring after. Since I'm named after Catherine in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, I thought I'd give it a stab.

1. Emma (from Jane Austen's novel of the same name) This one was easy because I did indeed name my daughter after Austin's feisty heroine. Her father, a fan of Emma Peel of Avengers fame, agreed.

2. Harriet (from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh)

3. Matilda (from Roald Dahl's novel of the same name)

4. Lucy (from C.S. Lewis's Narnia series)

5. Charlotte (from E.B. White's Charlotte's Web) Love spiders, love writing, love the name.

6. Cassandra (from Greek mythology)

7.  Nick (from Dashiell Hammet's The Thin Man)

8. Benjamin (from Beatrice Potter's The Tale of Benjamin Bunny)

9. Adam (from George Eliot's Adam Bede)

10. Ebenezer (from Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol) I don't know if I could actually go through with it, but I do like the name. It has a certain ring about it.