Monday, October 12, 2015

TOP TEN TUESDAY | Author Pairings and So Much More!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

It has been so long since I've participated in the fun that is TTT that I'm not sure what to even do with myself so I'm going to break all the rules.  I'm usually a total goody goody rule follower...disgustingly so, really... but a) this week's topic was really hard for me and b) I've missed the last couple of months of topics because of travel for work resulting in generalized internet limbo.  And there were lots of good topics I missed!

Here's the plan.  I'm going to list two items from this week's topic which is:
Top Ten Author Duos You'd LOVE To See Write A Book Together (aka my (Jamie's) world would explode if Gayle Forman and Jandy Nelson wrote a book together) -- might be hard to come up with 10 but still would be fun! Bonus points if you tell us what kind of book you'd like them to write!
Then I am going to list two picks from four of the TTT topics I missed while I was roaming around.  If all goes well it should add up to ten! Fingers crossed!

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Author Duos 


1) Jim Butcher and Sarah MacLean 

These are fantasy pairings right? So it's okay if there would need to be flying pigs before they wrote a book together? Yes? Good! I'd like for these two authors to collaborate on an Urban Fantasy with a strong romance element.  Basically I'd like MacLean in there to balance out Butcher's Dude-Bro tendencies and to contribute a non-teeth grinding romance while Butcher throws in all the action packed scenes he is so fantastic at writing.  They both have pretty great senses of humor too so I think this book-of-my-wild-deluded-imagination would also be hilarious.


2) Bill Bryson and Mary Roach

I love both these writer's approach to non-fiction and think it would be fun to see them collaborate on some obscure science topic.  Like the history of the field and the scandalous dramas that have plagued paleontology.  Yep.  Now I really want that book written by either one of them really.  I won't force them to work together, even.  I'm that magnanimous.

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Ten Books To Read If You Like This Super Popular Book/Author


3)  If you like Maggie Stiefvater you might try Lydia Netzer

Stiefvater is primarily a YA author and I've just discovered her through her Raven Cycle series.  There is something about her writing style and the way she blends reality and uncanniness effortlessly that reminds me of another newish favorite author Lydia Netzer.  Both of Netzer's full length novels have been for an adult audience.  They both write characters that are odd but also completely familiar and recognizable at the same time.  I'm not explaining it very well but whatever it is that they do, they do it well and I love it and their books remind me of one anothers.  They also both live in VA.


4) If you like Harry Potter you might try the Akata Witch Series by Nnedi Okorafor

I just recently read Akata Witch (my review) and loved it.  It shares a lot of tropes and themes with Harry Potter but has it's own unique mythology based in African folklore.

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Autobuy Authors

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61886.The_Curse_of_Chalion?from_search=true&search_version=service
5) Lois McMaster Bujold

I discovered Bujold a few years back and couldn’t believe I had never even heard of her considering she writes in two of my favorite genres (SF&F) and her books have been nominated for and won numerous awards. However it is fun coming to an author late because you have backlist just sitting and waiting for you. I’ve read all of the major novels in the Chalion fantasy series and am maybe a book behind in her Vorkosigan space opera series. I’ve also read at least one stand alone. She has one other series that I haven’t picked up (the Sharing Knife) because I’d heard some things about it that made me think I wouldn’t like it BUT I just broke down and bought the first book in that series. As well as a just released novella in her Chalion series (Penric’s Demon which Bujold adorably gave a 3 star rating to on goodreads – I guess she’s a bit self-critical:0). Basically I am interested in anything she writes. It has not all blown me away but a good bit of it has and I know her books will almost always feature characters that will interest and engage me.  

6)  Mary Roach

I'm putting her on here twice. Why not?  She's probably my favorite non-fiction author still publishing (i.e. not dead) and I have sucked down every book she's written.  She tackles topics that are unexpected but always completely fascinating and she's an incredibly engaging writer to boot. 

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Characters I Didn't Click With 


7) Clair from the Outlander Series

I feel like I am the only person in the whole wide world that doesn't get along with this series and it is all about Clair for me.  I have tried reading the first book in this series 3 times and each time get halfway through and have to stop.  I do not like her at all and I'm not sure, without trying to read the damn thing a 4th time, I can explain exactly why.  

8)  Devil Cynster from Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens

To even the scales, I figure my second choice should be a male character and I have no trouble singling out Devil. He is the Alpha male "hero" in a regency romance and boy did I really hate him.  He's pushy, and super macho and autocratic and lord I wanted Lady Honoria to dump his ass. Spoiler! She doesn't. I have yet to read a romance where the happy ending involves "dumping his ass."

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Bookish Things I Need/Want to Quit

9) Starting Series!

I LOVE series but don't they say that too much of anything will be bad for you?  In this case the problem is that when you start a series, you inevitably end up being in the middle of a series and soon those series you are in the middle of become more numerous than stars in the universe and I CAN'T REMEMBER ALL THAT!  I've been making a concerted effort to catch up/finish series that I am in the middle of but I have not been curbing my habit of starting series so I don't think I am making any progress.

10) Procrastinating Writing Reviews!

I have so many books that I want to review on the blog/goodreads and am seriously far behind!  I have a backlog of 40 books that I haven't reviewed *gulp*.  They are not all worthy of a review or of a stand alone review but a majority of them are! I need to get some down time that I can devote to catching up!

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So please weigh in on any or all these topics!  I'd love to hear which characters you hate and which authors you'd like to lock in a room together with paper and pencil and nothing else! Let me know! 

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