Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers while simultaneously enjoying the fun of a list! And what’s more, a list about BOOKS! What could be better?
December 11th: Top Ten Favorite New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2012
(…I’m pretty sure I’ve been slacking on participating in TTT since July. Wow.)
Oh damn, you guys. I jumped back into TTT with a doozy. I read a LOT of amazing books this year, but most of those I checked, I’d read at least one of their books before 2012 began. But I did indeed find some authors that I’m not sure how I survived this long without. And lucky me, mostly thanks to attending BEA this year, I got to meet a few of them!
1. Jennifer E. Smith and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight [review]- I know Jennifer E. Smith has other books out and honestly if they even approach the level of awesome of Statistical Probability, they are probably amazeballs. This was a fabulous contemporary read that made my heart swell and swoon.
Posing with Jennifer E. Smith at the Teen Author Carnival in New York!
2. Kristin Cashore and Graceling [review]– This woman’s books kind of changed my life this year. How it was possible that a year ago I’d never read a book by a woman that I now consider sort of an idol, I have no idea, but WOW.
It was obviously more important that I babble incoherently to Kristin Cashore than it was to look at the camera.
3. Sarah J. Maas and Throne of Glass [review]- Sarah J. Maas was a debut fantasy author and I adored Throne of Glass… it sort of reminded me of an alternate reality/universe Sailor Moon fanfic and since I (to put it lightly) dig Sailor Moon, I tremendously enjoyed reading it.
Left to right: Author Kat Zhang, Lindsey from A Storm of Words, Me, Steph from Poetry to Prose, Sarah J. Maas!
4. Elizabeth Wein and Code Name Verity [review]– There is a reason this book was nominated for a bazillion and one things this year and was all over twitter and publishing news spheres. That’s because it is an incredible WWII novel. It sort of ripped my heart out and stomped it to pieces.
5. Morgan Matson and Second Chance Summer [review]- This book was PERFECTION. If I recall correctly, in my review, I mentioned that I have no criticism of it and… yeah that’s still true. It made me sob. It made me giggle. It was perfect.
6. Lauren Oliver and Delirium- I have many friends who swore that I would love Lauren Oliver’s work, but I didn’t make the time to read them until there was going to be a signing in my area. Then, I bought both Delirium and Pandemonium… and couldn’t put them down until I was finished.
Lauren Oliver at Books & Books
7. Anna Banks and Of Poseidon [review]- Okay, I expected to be a little judgy when I read this one because it fulfills some of the cliched hallmarks of paranormal romance, but there is so much humor in it, along with a really interesting mermaid culture, that I was able to dismiss those things. I can’t wait for Of Triton.
8. Ilsa J. Bick and Ashes [review]- I read this one for a read-a-thon this year and could not have asked for a more perfect book to begin my reading that day. Despite its heft, the book was so fast-paced that it was a quick read and an amazing ride.
9. Franny Billingsley and Chime [review]- AHHHHH. AHHHHHHH. This book. The perfect prose, the unique storyline. I only picked it up because of the whole Shine/Chime NBA confusion (I felt like lots of people were now picking up Shine, but neglecting Chime) and I was SO GLAD that I did! It made me all flaily and asdladajbdabcdljbccbikuwef.
10. Leigh Bardugo and Shadow and Bone [review]- Surprise! I’m a fantasy fangirl, so of course this makes it on my list. While I don’t actually SHIP the main character Alina with ANYONE (although I admit to swooning over the Darkling at first), I loved the storyline and the touches of Russian culture imbued into Leigh Bardugo’s Ravka world.
