Ten Authors From Alabama

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 Ten Authors From Alabama

1. Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Fannie Flag - Fried Green Tomatoes
3. Daniel Wallace - Big Fish
4. Kathryn Tucker Windham - 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
5. Winston Groom - Forest Gump
6. John Green - The Fault in Our Stars
7. Rachel Hawkins - Hex Hall
8. Helen Keller - The Story of My Life
9. Carl Carmer - Stars Fell on Alabama
10. Abbi Glines - Rosemary Beach series

Which authors are from where you live? Let me know!

Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top 10 Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, but is currently hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors.

Interestingly enough, there are no 100% auto-buy authors for me. I have authors that I've read all of their published books and would certainly check out anything else they publish in the future. But I have certain topics that are just off limits. So *shrugs* this is as close as I get to an auto-buy list. I've done this topic in the past and it was interesting to go back and see which authors have fallen off my top ten list and which have remained. Here's my list from 2015 and 2013.

1. Colleen Hoover - So I've been a CoHort from way back when. Slammed was my first read by her when it was available on NetGalley. I've loved all of her books and have read each and every one of them.
2. Kasie West - I've read all of her published books. And since her content has always been clean I can pretty much guarantee that unless my reading tastes drastically change I'll always count Kasie West as an auto-buy author.
3. Mary E Pearson - I still have Mary E Pearson's earliest releases to read, but since the Remnant Chronicles I at least want to check out everything else she decides to do.
4. Sarah J Maas - Confession: I don't actually own any of her books although I've read all but Kingdom of Ash (cutting my eyes at you Holly). I've just borrowed them all from Holly. But all of her books are good enough to own, and certainly good enough to make this list. I can see where she might one day venture into territory that I'm not up for, but I'll always look into her books.
5. Amy Harmon - There are quite a few that Amy Harmon has written that I still haven't read, but all of the ones by her that I have read have been really good. I'm skeptical of What the Wind Knows because it is about time travel, and I don't usually enjoy that subject.
6. Katie McGarry - I've read all of Katie McGarry's books and haven't found one that I didn't like. Will definitely continue to check her books out in the future.
7. KA Tucker - Another author that I've read all of her releases. Wait no. I take that back. She has some very early releases that I haven't read even though I own the first one. I need to get around to that one soon.
8. Robin LaFevers - I always hesitate to add authors to lists like this when I've only read a few of their books or only one series because a different series could be vastly different. But I think I can trust her writing to be good.
9. Kristi Ann Hunter - Christian Historical Fiction - You can't go wrong. Well...maybe you could, but Kristi Ann Hunter has never led me astray. Probably an actual auto-buy author for me.
10. Jenn Bennett - Ok so Jenn Bennett is a tricky one. I've loved everything I've read from her, and I certainly want to read more of her books. However, I do know that she can trickle into subject matter that I'm not a fan of, and one of her books hasn't gotten the best reviews. So...we'll see.

Which authors are on your auto-buy List? Let me know!

Problems Only We Know # 5 - Authors Writing Multiple Series

I'm starting a new feature called Problems Only We Know. This is feature is meant to be funny--sarcastic at times-- that highlights on a few topics here and there that can be annoying or small inconveniences that only readers/bloggers will understand.

Let's talk authors who publish multiple series at a time.

Have you ever been chugging along in a series...

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and you see that the author has a new book coming out...

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but then you realize that the book to be published isn't in the current series you're reading.

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So now it's going to take twice as long for the next book in the series you've been reading to be released. (I'm cutting my eyes at you Richelle Mead.)

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And then...after you've been waiting almost two years for the last book in a series to be released, yet the author has published at least two books in a new series, you have to accept that the publisher might have cancelled the request for the final book.

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Have you guys ever been burned by an author publishing two series at one time? What about a series that gets indefinitely put on hold? Let me know!

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2016

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2016.

When I went to look at my read list for 2016, I was surprised to find that most of my reads were written by authors that I've read before. Almost every single new-to-me author I read this year made my top ten list for the simple fact that I read so few new authors.

1. Cinda Williams Chima - Flamecaster (Shattered Realms, # 1)
2. Marie Rutkoski - The Winner's Trilogy
3. Michelle Griep - The Captive Heart
4. Sarah J Maas - Throne of Glass series
5. Tim Tebow - Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms
6. Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows- My Lady Jane (with Cynthia Hand)
7. Michelle Zink - A Walk in the Sun
8. Natalie Blitt - The Distance from A to Z
9. Shannon A Thompson - November Rain (Bad Bloods, # 1)
10. Lucy Keating - Dreamology

Top Ten Author Duos I Want to See

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Author Duos I Want to See.

To be truthful guys, I’m not sure I’m a big fan of author duos. I can’t quite put my finger on why. I mean on the one hand, I’ve actually read a few duos that I’ve really enjoyed. Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher and Starbound by Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner to name a couple off the top of my head. But some that didn’t work so well for me: Wicked by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié and Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia. Yet collaboration creates growth I think so I’d POTENTIALLY like to see the following author combos.

1. Barry Lyga and Rick Yancey – The mystery and brilliant puzzle pieces in Barry Lyga’s Jasper Dent series mixed with the action and twists of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave series seems like a match made in heaven.
2. Colleen Hoover & (KA Tucker, Gayle Forman, Rebecca Donovan, Tammara Webber, or Katie McGarry) – Colleen Hoover and Katie McGarry are two of my absolutely favorite contemporary authors. A mix of those two would likely be epic…or a disaster. But I think all of the authors I mentioned here have some similarities to their books that would make a cohesive and brilliant story. Of course, I love all of these authors as standalones so maybe collabing might not turn out like I imagine.
3. Claire Wallis & Courtney Summers – Claire Wallis is one of my favorite up and coming authors. She’s published two books so far that impressed me and I think pairing her with a pro like Courtney Summers might be an awesome mashup. They’re both a little dark but write gripping stories and characters.
4. Rainbow Rowell & Lauren Oliver – So these two are different yet similar. Both have their feet wet in both contemporary and fantasy so I think they could put out a potentially stellar work. I can’t even point them in a specific direction…I just want to see their lovechild of a book.
5. Pierce Brown & George RR Martin – Haha…what a combo! George RR Martin writes adult and Pierce Brown young adult…maybe they could meet in the middle? And while they’re vastly different, I see them as having similarities that could produce some wickedly twisted worlds and epic adventures.
6. Tahereh Mafi & Maggie Stiefvater – Maggie Stiefvater & Tahereh Mafi both have poetic writing styles. They both write fantasy. I bet they would create something brilliant.
7. Carrie Ryan & Michelle Hodkin – Similarly to Mafi/Stiefvater, Carrie Ryan and Michelle Hodkin also have slightly poetic flares to their writing styles, but add to that a bit of horror. We’ve got zombies from Carrie Ryan and while Mara wasn’t possessed exactly, Michelle Hodkin’s kind of proven that she could write a wicked possession story. This combo would be killer. (See what I did there?)
8. Richelle Mead & JK Rowling – Two of my favorite young adult series because of both the individual book arcs plus the overall series arcs. Great characters that aren’t always all good or all evil. Epic worlds and adventures. And twists. Come on! Tell me this wouldn’t be a delight!
9. Brent Crawford & Ally Carter – I’ve only read one book by each of these authors, but each made me laugh out loud. Brent Crawford writes a hilariously (what I can only assume) accurate early teenage boy. And the one Ally Carter I read was also fairly early teens. I think the combo here would be a book that has me rolling!
10. Robin LaFevers & Mary E Pearson – Both have written in historical fiction and both have included assassins. Team them up…let’s see what happens.

So that was actually insanely hard for me. Did anyone else have a difficult time too? Or was it just me? What author combos would you like to see? Let me know!

Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors.

Ok so I don't COMPLETELY have auto buy authors where the description of the book doesn't matter. Even though there are authors that I've loved every single book I've read that they've written, I still know my reading preferences well enough to know that some subjects are just not enjoyable for me. And so barring any crazy jumps into these territories, here's a list of authors that come closest to being considered "auto-buy" authors for me.

1. Colleen Hoover
2. Richelle Mead
3. Maggie Stiefvater
4. Katie McGarry
5. Jamie McGuire
6. KA Tucker
7. Francis Chan
8. Stormie Omartian

There are a few other authors that I contemplated adding to the list, but I thought these were really the closest to a true auto-buy author list. What about you guys? Who are your auto-buy authors? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most.

I expected this ask to be rather daunting, but it really wasn’t. Figuring out which authors I’ve read the most was pretty easy. Here they are…

1. Richelle Mead – (16) Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle, Storm Born, Succubus Blues, Gameboard of the Gods, The Immortal Crown
2. Jessica Sorensen – (16) The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, The Redemption of Callie and Kayden, The Destiny of Violet & Luke, The Probability of Violet & Luke, The Secret of Ella and Micha, The Forever of Ella and Micha, The Temptation of Lila and Ethan, The Ever After of Ella and Micha, Lila & Ethan: Forever and Always, Breaking Nova, Saving Quinton, Nova & Quinton: No Regrets, Wreck Me, Ruin Me, Tristan: Finding Hope, Delilah: The Making of Red
3. Abbi Glines – (16) Fallen Too Far, Never Too Far, Forever Too Far, Existence, The Vincent Boys, The Vincent Brothers, Twisted Perfection, Breathe, Because of Low, While It Lasts, Just For Now, Sometimes It Lasts, Misbehaving, Bad for You, Hold On Tight, Until the End
4. Colleen Hoover – (12) Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Maybe Not, Ugly Love, Confess, Never Never, Never Never Pt 2
5. Janet Evanovich – (10) One for the Money, Plum Lovin’, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, Sizzling Sixteen, Smokin’ Seventeen, Explosive Eighteen, Notorious Nineteen, Takedown Twenty, Top Secret Twenty One
6. Maggie Stiefvater – (10) Lament, Ballad, Shiver, Linger, Forever, Sinner, The Scorpio Races, The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue
7. Amanda Hocking – (9) Switched, Torn, Ascend, My Blood Approves, Fate, Flutter, Wisdom, Hollowland, Hollowmen
8. Cassandra Clare – (9) City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess
9. Katie McGarry – (9) Pushing the Limits, Crossing the Line, Dare You To, Crash Into You, Take Me On, Breaking the Rules, Chasing Impossible, Nowhere But Here, Red at Night
10. KA Tucker – (8) Ten Tiny Breaths, One Tiny Lie, Four Seconds to Lose, Five Ways to Fall, In Her Wake, Burying Water, Becoming Rain, Chasing River

I’m pretty sure Lois Duncan and Lurlene McDaniel have to fit into this category too, but as these are both authors I read in my early teens and I wasn’t keeping up with my books read on Goodreads way back when, I can’t really remember which books I’ve read by them and which I haven’t. I KNOW Lurlene McDaniel surpasses 10 books read though. The ones I can remember reading for sure by her are: Six Months to Live, I Want to Live, So Much to Live For, No Time to Cry, To Live Again, Angels Watching Over Me, Lifted Up by Angels, Until Angels Close My Eyes, Till Death Do Us Part, For Better, For Worse. I know I read a few of the One Last Wish series and a few others. I just can’t remember which.

What about you guys? Which authors have you read the most? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors I Want to Meet

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors I Want to Meet.

You know, you guys will probably think I’m crazy. But I don’t really care all that much about meeting authors. Granted, that one time I met Richelle Mead was pretty cool. But I mean just in general, I’m like cool if I do, cool if I don’t. So that being said, I guess here are the ones that I’d actually make an effort to meet.

1. Colleen Hoover (because all of her books are AWESOME)
2. Abbi Glines (because she’s from Alabama)
3. Richelle Mead (again)
4. Katie McGarry
5. Kasie West
6. Michelle Hodkin
7. Tahereh Mafi
8. JK Rowling
9. Stephenie Meyer
10. Stormie Omartian
11. Francis Chan

Which authors do you really want to meet? Let me know!

Top Ten All-Time Favorite Authors

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten All-Time Favorite Authors.

1. Jane Austen - I’ve read 4 out of her 6 published novels. I still plan to read the other two, but so far Jane Austen will always be a favorite.
2. Lurlene McDaniel - I mostly read Lurlene McDaniel from the age of 10/11 to 13/14 years old. I can’t even tell you how many of her books I’ve read. She will always be one of my lifetime favorite authors.
3. Colleen Hoover - I’ve read every published work by Colleen Hoover (10 thus far, I believe). She hasn’t been doing this book thing for too terribly long, but I’ve devoured every single one of her books.
4. Richelle Mead - I haven’t read most of Richelle Mead’s adult books, but I’ve read 16 books by her total at this point so I think that’s enough to clue her into my lifelong favorites.
5. Katie McGarry - Again, Katie McGarry is another author that hasn’t been doing this book thing for too long, but like Colleen Hoover, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every single book that I’ve read by her (5 in total so far).
6. JK Rowling - While I haven’t read Casual Vacancy or any of her books published under her pseudonym (Robert Galbraith), I will never ever forget the place that Harry Potter has in my heart. JK Rowling will forever be a literary genius in my mind for that alone.
7. Maggie Stiefvater - I’ve read 10 books so far by Maggie Stiefvater. I struggled through The Raven Boys, but every other one has been nothing but enjoyable.
8. Kasie West - I’ve only read 3 books by Kasie West so far. But I love how what I have read has crossed genres. Not all authors are able to do that successfully. Even though I don’t have many Kasie West books behind me, I still know that I’ll enjoy pretty much anything she publishes.
9. Tahereh Mafi - I hesitated to put Tahereh Mafi on this list because I’ve only read one series by her and I don’t know that one series really makes a standout author. Sometimes you can have a brilliant series but then bomb on your other stuff. But I adored the strike method she used, and I highlighted huge chunks of her books at one time. Her writing style is beautiful enough to make this cut. (I’ve read 3 books & 1 novella by her.)
10. Michelle Hodkin - Ok just like Tahereh Mafi, I really hesitate to put Michelle Hodkin on this list. I’ve only read 2 books by her so far, and since I haven’t finished the Mara Dyer series, there’s a chance that she could totally bomb the last book for me and be kicked off the list immediately. But as of now, in this moment, Michelle Hodkin’s writing also qualifies because of its beauty. I might have to re-evaluate at the end of the series, but we’ll see.

Who are your all-time favorite authors? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors I Need To Read More

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors I Need To Read More.

These are all situations that I’ve only read one published book authored by each listed. I need to read more, and I need to do so ASAP.

1. Katja Millay - As far as I know, she doesn't have any other books upcoming. This makes me sad.
2. Anne Eliot - Need to read Unmaking Hunter Kennedy
3. Brent Crawford - Really want to see what Carter gets into next with Carter's Big Break.
4. Alyssa Rose Ivy - I've got another one of her books, but I just haven't gotten around to picking it up yet.
5. Priscilla Glenn - Emancipating Andie & Coming Home...I want to read them both
6. Francine Rivers - I've had her Mark of the Lion series on my TBR list for a while.
7. Chelsea M Cameron - I'd like to continue the series with Faster We Burn.
8. Cath Crowley - A Little Wanting Song is the next Cath Crowley on my list.
9. Kody Keplinger - Truthfully I don't have a specific Kody Keplinger book in queue, but I enjoyed The DUFF so much more than I expected.
10. Lysa TerKuerst - I LOVED Made to Crave and I need to read more of her stuff. Almost anything is fair game.
11. Vi Keeland - I really want to carry on with this series. Worth the Chance (book 2).
12. GJ Walker-Smith - Another series I want to continue with book 2, Second Hearts.

I highly recommend checking them out. I need to read more by each myself. Have you read any of these authors? Let me know!