Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

Trying to come up with ten favourite authors is quite the daunting task, let me tell you. I had to include two sub-categories because, let's face it, it's pretty much impossible to come up with just ten. My process was to list the ones that came to me right off the top of my head and then went through my five star rated books on Goodreads. I also kind of love that every single author, all thirteen of them, are women. Sure, I've read some amazing books by male authors but there aren't any that are on my autobuy list (though Kevin Kwan comes close...I cannot wait until China Rich Girlfriend is released). It's also no surprise that many of the authors on this list are ones that I've met. Though, on the flip side, there's one author who I used to list on my favourites but I no longer will since I saw her in person. (Any guesses?) I'm sure I'm missing a few but these authors are always recommended and dearly loved. Who are your favourite authors? Which ones are on your autobuy list?

My Favourite Ladies
Sarah Dessen
No one should be surprised that Dessen tops my list. She is an amazing writer, I've loved her since I was in my teens, and she's just an absolute sweetheart. I'm counting down the days until Saint Anything is released!! Definitely an autobuy author.

Rainbow Rowell
I've loved both Rowell's adult and young adult books, which is important, but I also found her to be amazing in person when I met her a few years ago.

Jennifer Weiner
I've been reading Weiner for years and have always found her books smart and engaging. Meeting her last year cemented my love for her because she is one amazing woman.

Heather Wardell
Heather was one of the first indie authors I read and now, many years later, I consider her a friend. (Hopefully that's not presumptuous...) Not only does she write amazing novels but she is also great at connecting with her readers.

Meredith Schorr
I've loved all of Meredith's books and she's another author who I like to consider a friend (she's offered to make sure I don't get lost in NYC when I'm there for BEA next month...that's a friend!) She also wins a ton of points for writing an awesome book about a chick lit blogger, appropriately called Blogger Girl, that is one of my all time favourites.

K.A. Tucker
Tucker's stories completely suck me in. They have interesting characters who you're immediately invested in. Plus, when I met her at a signing last year she saw my name and knew what my Twitter and Instagram was (it helps that my name is so unique!). She's definitely my favourite New Adult author.

Gayle Forman
I first read Just One Day and Just One Year and fell in love with Forman's writing. The love sort of lessened when I read If I Stay and Where She Went. I just didn't connect with that story. I decided to try her latest, I Was Here, and fell in love all over again. I also met her at the Toronto International Book Fair last year and she was really nice!

Catherine McKenzie
McKenzie is on my autobuy list as well. She's written so many amazing novels, though Arranged is by far my favourite. I haven't met her yet but I'd absolutely love to.

Beth Kendrick
I fell in love with Kendrick's books when I read Second Time Around and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the others of hers that I've read. Happily, I still have a few from her backlist still to read to tide me over until she releases a new one.

Stephanie Perkins
I freaking love Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After. Plus, the book of short holiday stories she edited, My True Love Gave to Me, was absolutely amazing (plus it featured authors like Rowell and Forman). I like that Perkins seems so real and awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Dearly Departed Authors
Lucy Maud Montgomery
I've been rereading the Anne of Green Gables series and I'm remembering how much I loved them when I was younger. The books and writing are just so delightful!

Jane Austen
I admit that it can sometimes be difficult to read Austen but her stories are intelligent and entertaining...she's a lot funnier than a lot of people give her credit for.

The Ultimate Queen of Authors
J.K. Rowling
Do I really need to explain this one? Harry Potter is my all time favourite and Rowling herself is one awesome lady.

Review: Landline

The reading world fell in love with Rainbow Rowell in 2013 after she published two fabulous YA novels (Eleanor & Park and Fangirl - links lead to my reviews). She's gone back to writing for adults (her first book, Attachments, is an adult book) with her latest novel, Landline. The novel, released on July 8, has a fantastical element to it and it is sweet, real, and hilarious. I loved it.

Here's the synopsis:

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.
Maybe that was always besides the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

First things first. If you're an actual YA fan of Rowell, as in you are a real teenager and not an adult reading YA, you may not like this book. You're not necessarily going to get this book. Even I, at 27, didn't get some of the pop culture references in this book (thought I did get, and love, the Amy Sherman-Palladino reference...can she please write a Gilmore Girls reunion episode or movie? Pretty please?) because I'm, I think, over a decade younger than Georgie. I recognized almost all of the references but I didn't know specifics. This wasn't a dealbreaker for me but teen readers, and their parents, need to realize that this isn't a Rowell book targeted to the teenage set. Personally, I'm thrilled that Rowell has gone back to writing for adults...even though (major confession), I haven't yet read Attachments (soon, I promise).

The writing was, hands down, my favourite part of this book. Rowell is hilarious. I think we got glimpses of that in her previous works but because Georgie is a comedy television show writer, Rowell was really able to let her awesome humour shine. Speaking of Amy Sherman-Palladino...I feel like Rowell wrote in a similar way. So, if you know and love Gilmore Girls, you can appreciate the type of writing and humour you find in Landline.

I've already heard from a few bloggers/early readers that they didn't exactly love Georgie. I can see that, I think. Some people may not get why she let her marriage limp along for so long before doing something about it. They may not get why she's with Neal instead of Seth. And they just may not like her personality (I believe I've heard "whiny" used as a descriptor). I'm not saying I totally get her or even love her but I found her interesting. She is real. And that is why I love Rainbow Rowell and her novels. We don't get picture perfect heroines (or heroes) in her novels and their story isn't always wrapped up in a typical Happily Ever After way. I admit that I like when the main characters are totally likeable but I really liked reading Georgie's story.

I quite liked the fantastical element of this novel. It was a neat concept...a sort of time travelling phone. How interesting! It sounds so far fetched but Rowell totally made it work. I also liked that we weren't exactly sure how the phone was working or when the conversations were taking place. Well, we knew when Georgie was calling but was it Present Day Neal she was talking to or Past Neal? It was a fun idea and I really liked how it ended up. Funny and sweet and not totally crazy.

I really loved Landline. I read Rainbow Rowell's latest from start to finish in one sitting. I didn't want to put it down! I was lucky enough to snag an eARC but I'm seriously considering buying the book when it's released tomorrow. It's so pretty and so good and would fit in well on my bookshelf with my other Rowell novels! Landline is a must read for those who enjoy a real and relatable heroine and for those who love a good story with a lot of humour and heart.

*An eARC of this novel was received from Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.*

Event Recap: Rainbow Rowell Signing

Just over a week ago I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Long review short: I adored it (you can read my full review here). I immediately texted my friend Natalie, of Browsing Bookshelves, to tell her I had finished it as she had read it the week before. Once we shared our mutual love for the book, she let me know she was planning on heading to the signing in Toronto the following Monday and asked if would I like to go with her. I immediately said yes! We had both read the book from the library but loved it so much that we each bought a copy of it to bring to the signing.

I was already excited for the signing, who wouldn't be? I knew we were lucky because this was the only Canadian stop Rainbow was making. To make things even more exciting, fellow blogger Nicole, of Nicole About Town, invited us to meet up with her and the Raincoast publicist who was in Toronto to escort Rainbow. Fun! Crystal was fabulous and told us all about some new and upcoming YA books. I marked quite a few of them to look into later!

Because of our need to eat some supper and stop at David's Tea (Natalie and I don't have one where we live so we had to go hehe), we ended up being too late to get chairs. Drat! We were still pretty early though so we snuck in between the chairs and the shelves and sat ourselves down to wait.

Rainbow reading from Fangirl

After Rainbow was introduced, she told us a little bit about her book (which I think everyone there had read, judging from the applause and cheers) and then proceeded to do a reading. I loved that she explained things along the way. For example, her husband says that Fangirl is eyebrow erotica as Levi's eyebrows are often mentioned! After the reading she answered several questions and it was so interesting to learn about her books and her process. I wish I could expand more but I'm writing this almost a week later (I intended to get it done right away...sigh) and I can't recall specifics. Sorry! Basically, Rainbow is a fabulous author and person. She writes real characters and relateable scenarios that you can't help but love.

Ahhh, I can't believe I got to meet her. I smile every time I see this picture! I bought a copy of Attachments at the store because I've been meaning to read it for ages (it's her adult novel...why haven't I read it yet? Silliness!). I can't wait to dive into it! Rainbow was pretty impressed when she found out Natalie and I had travelled so far to see her (hence the inscription in Fangirl, below). I say it was totally worth it!

Whee!!!

Have you read any of Rainbow Rowell's books? What did you think of them?

Review: Fangirl

I knew I was going to like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because so many others had gushed over it (including my friend and fellow blogger Natalie at Browsing Bookshelves) and I adored Eleanor & Park . Guys. I adored Fangirl. I picked it up from the library, went home, and didn't put it down until I finished it. So. Freaking. Good. So good, in fact, that Natalie and I will be venturing to Toronto on Monday to see Rowell AND we'll both be buying a copy even though we've both already read it. That's a good book, my friends.

Here's the synopsis:

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

I totally identified with Cath. I think any introvert can, really. Like Cath, I found university to be a terrifying concept. Luckily for me, my "twin" (aka my best friend, Sandy) didn't ditch me and we did room together. Potentially embarrassing fact: I also totally and completely understood Cath's aversion to the dining hall. I did know where mine was but I was so unsure of what to do that I usually just ate at one of the fast food places or made something in our kitchen. Thinking back, it seems really silly but for someone who hates change as much as Cath (and, ok, me), college and all the newness it brings, is scary. Rowell really allowed that to come out through her writing in a believable way.

And Reagan, Cath's roommate? Oh my goodness, I loved that girl. She was hilarious! I think she was the perfect person to confront Cath about her fear of, well, everything new and to bring her out of her shell. I think what really made it work was not only her abrasive personality (deep down she really does care) but also that she was a couple of years older. Personality-wise, I pictured her as Janis from Mean Girls. I love the scenes in the dining hall where they mock...er...observe other students. In one scene, the girls are talking about a girl who wears a wolf tail. Cath remarks that she kind of likes the tail and Reagan's response had me laughing out loud (I'll clean it up a bit for you!):

"If God put me into your life to keep you from wearing a f*cking tail, I accept the assignment." (page 47)

I thought the story was a great one. I can't remember reading something like this before, something that features such real characters and scenarios. Many serious issues are touched on but they're not overblown nor are they angsty like so many other YA novels. There are various mental and emotional issues as well as the "normal" craziness that comes from being in your first real relationship and going away to school. It's a tough world out there but Rowell shows you, through her characters and this story, that you can get through anything if you have the right people (friends, family, and professionals) around you.

I also really liked the "fangirl" aspect of the book. Fanfiction and fandoms are not only becoming more common but also, I think, more acceptable, more mainstream. I really liked that there were excerpts from the "real" Simon Snow novels as well as from Cath's fanfiction. It helped bring her story to life even more, I think. In fact, I actually wish it was a real story! It seemed like it'd be a really cool mix of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

Fangirl is an amazing novel. I loved reading it. I loved that I was halfway through the book and so much had happened but I knew I still had so much more to read. I was invested in the characters and their lives and while I wanted to see how things worked out for them, I didn't want it to end. That, in my opinion, is a sign of a great read. If you like YA, read this. If you like fanfiction/fandoms, read this. If you just like a really great story, read this. I cannot wait to read Rainbow Rowell's next novel, Landline (info found here on her site) - another adult book!

Happy reading :)