Ten Books I'm Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week's topic is Top Ten Thanksgiving Freebie.

So I decided to go with ten books that I'm thankful for.

1. Twilight (Twilight, # 1) by Stephenie Meyer - To be honest, Twilight is what rekindled my love for reading. I loved reading in high school but stopped until I picked this book up. And I haven't stopped since.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Started my love for historical fiction as well as my willingness to give the Classics a chance.
3. The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, # 1) by Carrie Ryan - My first zombie book.
4. Harry Potter (the series) by JK Rowling - Because who knew that a book series could be this epic?
5. The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian - The book that changed my prayer life for the best.
6. Crazy Love by Francis Chan - Changed the way I thought about a lot of things related to my faith.
7. Slammed (Slammed, # 1) by Colleen Hoover - Sparked my love for her books. As of now she's an auto-buy author.
8. Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend - This book...It is Christian based, but there's so, so, so much that anyone could get out of it when it comes to setting proper boundaries. I cannot recommend this book enough.
9. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassins, # 1) by Robin LaFevers - This series has it all. Strong female characters. History and strategy. Twists. Romances. And SYMBOLISM!
10. Captivating by Stasi & John Eldredge - This book broke me a little bit. It made me cry more than once. This book revealed my heart to me.

Which books are you thankful for? Let me know!

Top Ten Books My Daughter Needs to Read

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books My Daughter Needs to Read.

1. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
2. Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, # 1) by LM Montgomery
3. Six Months to Live (Dawn Rochelle, # 1) by Lurlene McDaniel
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5. Persuasion by Jane Austen
6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
7. The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian
8. Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John & Stasi Eldredge
9. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, # 1) by JK Rowling
10. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

This is excluding the obvious (The Bible). And I'm sure there are so many more books that I'm not thinking about right now. But I know that these are all books that shaped me, and I hope that my daughter(s?) will one day read them too. Are there any that I should add to this list? Let me know!

Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel.

Well I don't actually read too many stand-alone books. I'm a series reader...but there are series that I didn't want to end--at least give us a companion novel.

1) Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare - I'll admit, I'm one of the few people who probably didn't love how this one ended. I definitely want to know more about what's going on with Tessa and Jem after it ended. Maybe we'll get more info in the last Mortal Instruments or in the new series The Dark Artifices.

2) Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo - So this one was a coming of age story, but I wanted her to "win"...I'd like to see Amelia end up happy and in an successful relationship.

3) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Tell me you wouldn't want to know the happenings of Lizzie and Darcy's married life and the romantic adventures of their children. AND actually written by Jane Austen, not fan fiction.

4) Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, # 3) by Kristin Cashore - I want Bitterblue to have a successful relationship, plus I'd just like more of this world.

5) Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - I don't really want to mess with Ed and Lucy's story, but maybe a companion for this one too. Or shoot, I'd just be happy with more work from Cath Crowley.

6) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Again, don't want to mess with Sean and Puck, but I'd take a companion. Want more water horses.

7) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - What I'm thinking is prequel. I'm totally interested in how some of the other games went. I'm sure that would be pretty depressing to read though.

8) Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3) by Maggie Stiefvater - I need to know what's going on with Cole St. Claire.

9) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, # 7) by JK Rowling - So again, I'm fine with where Harry's story ended, but lets get a companion--read about Harry's kids or something. Or even some random other Hogwarts students. I just don't want to leave this world.

10) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - I want to know more about some of the other characters: Renesme and Jacob. Leah...I want to know Leah has a happy ending. Or shoot...just Midnight Sun finished would be good.

Which books would you like to have sequels? Let me know!

Top Ten Fictional Crushes

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Most Intimidating Books.

Well...see...I've already done this one. You can see that post here. So I decided to choose Top Ten Fictional Book Crushes! I thought I'd done this one before too, but I couldn't find it, and hey...why not do it a second time even if I have????

1) My all time favorite and top book boyfriend is Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead! First off, I tend to go for older men--especially wise ones. Not to mention that Dimitri's fighting skills are uber hot!

2) Gotta pick my classic next. Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Anyone who can internalize criticism and come out a better person because of love is a character worthy of my love.

3) Because love isn't always broken by time, Captain Wentworth from Persuasion by Jane Austen.

4) Because I can't help but fall for a guy with talent in the arts. Will Cooper from Colleen Hoover's Slammed blows all of my requirements for a book boyfriend out of the water. He's older...check. He's talented...check. He's wise...check check. Love him!!!

5) A new addition to the fictional crushes is Perry from Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. Along with having a talent he didn't actually choose, Perry knows how to survive in the wild. This is definitely a must have for my fictional boyfriend.

6) Oh Will...Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Will has the attitude and the snark that I love. He's self-sacrificing in the right kind of way. And he makes me laugh and cry all at the same time. Love me some Will H!

7) Ryan from Dare You To and/or Noah from Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. Both of these guys make the list for completely different reasons. Ryan is just an all-around good guy trying to do the right thing. Noah is a bit of a bad boy who's also trying to do right by the people he loves. I heart them both.

8) Another one with talent...Sam from The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater. Sam's heart is so big. Plus the singing, guitar playing, and poetry combination pricks my heart strings.

9) Guys I'm noticing a trend for real...adding another artist to the list, but a different kind, add Ed from Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.

10) Not quite an artist, but talented nonetheless, Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has to make the list. Any character with as much love for his horse as Sean fills my heart with gooey goodness.

You guys know I can't follow the rules and stick to ten...

11) Another character that is self-sacrificing in the best of ways--Peeta from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You guys...any time a guy literally tries to save the life of the female MC, I'm all over that. Plus he's so patient with Katniss.

12) Because this is literally the kind of guy you want to marry, Michael Hosea from Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is the perfect fictional crush for serious women and serious relationships. We all know that I love a good bad boy, but Michael Hosea is as good as they come, and nothing is hotter than that.

Since we just specified fictional and not specifically book related...I've got two more...

Damon Salvatore from the TV version of Vampire Diaries based off the book series by LJ Smith and Dean Winchester from Supernatural.

That's it for me and my fictional character crushes...What do you think? Who are your character crushes? Let me know!

Top Ten Favorite Heroines

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Rewind so I picked Top Ten Favorite Heorines.

1. Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - Rose kicks butt. She's passionate, loyal, and does nothing with less than 100%. I love her snarky attitude.

2. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Elizabeth has her flaws, but she's willing to grow, and that's one of the main things I love about her.

3. Fire from Fire by Kristin Cashore - She's got so many things fighting against her that she has to hide herself with clothing and using other methods. Yet, despite pretty much hating what she is, she still strives to be good about all else.

4. Gabry from The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan - Truthfully, Gabry is scared crazy, but who can blame her? Zombies are a part of her every day life. But she pushes herself outside of her comfort zone and beyond the walls for a friend more than once.

5. Ismae from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers - Ismae has been marked as different from birth. Most people avoid her. But she finds strength and despite the bad things that have happened to her, she doesn't allow herself to become a victim. She turns her troubles into an opportunity to empower herself.

6. Scarlet from Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - Scarlet runs head first into the danger zone to save her grandmother. Yet, in my opinion, she didn't go in half-cocked like so many young adult "heroines."

7. Cinder from Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Bless her. Cinder's another person that's just had it rough from day 1. Along with her troubles, she also hates herself for what she is (doubly), yet presses on for the cause of the Commonwealth, the world, Prince Kai...etc.

8. Sydney Sage from Bloodlines by Richelle Mead - Sydney is very different from Rose, but she's extremely intellectual. I hate reading about daft leading ladies. Sydney can solve problems with the best of them. And she's ever growing and changing as time goes by.

9. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by JK Rowling - Again with the intellectual characters. How many time did Hermione save the day? Love her! She's everything that a heroine should be.

10. Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Jane is seriously a role model. She respected herself to the deteriment of her personal happiness. I can do nothing but respect Jane and hold her in high esteem. Able to forgive as well which is a huge characteristic missing from so many these days.

You guys know how hard it is for my to stick to 10. Honorable mentions are Arya Stark and Daenarys Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen, and Puck from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

What about you? Who are your favorite heroines? Let me know!