This is my twelth Top Ten Tuesday post. Top Ten Tuesday was created and is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is a tricky one, because ther are so many authors I could go on all day. I drafted the list a couple of times but ultimately had to narrow it down. It is almost in chronological order!
1. Enid Blyton – for being my first favourite author. I was obsessed with her books throughout primary school. I had a small collection of my own which I read repeatedly. I’d read every book I owned and then when I was done I would start over again. I remember the struggle to choose which one to start with each time! Even though as I got older, I found the books for younger children quite babyish, I still liked to include them in my rereading. It was only in the last couple of years of primary school that I stopped reading them, as I started to really love going to the library and picking new books by different authors to read instead.
2. Louise Fitzhugh – for offering an alternative to playing princess and inspiring my ‘spy phase’. You can read more about how Harriet the Spy influenced me in my review.
3. Sarra Manning – for her Diary of a Crush column in J-17, which provided very necessary escapism during my teens.
4. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel tie-in books – the bulk of my reading diet in my teens. I read plenty of other teen lit and even some more literary stuff, but Buffy is my favourite television programme of all time, and I’m thankful that there were so many tie-in novels and that I could have even more time in that world. And who could forget the Tales of the Slayer short story collections? I just loved the idea that Slayers could be any girl, anywhere, at any time in history. I could even be one.
5. J. K. Rowling – because the Harry Potter universe is the ultimate in escapism.
6. How to Write Damn Good Fiction: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey – the first book about creative writing that I got out of the library, it fueled my desire to be a professional writer. It’s here because it was first, but it is a really good book in its own right.
7. The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron – for changing my life. Really. It helped me deal with so many things and become the generally happy, creative person that I am today.
8. Virginia Woolf – for showing me that essays can be amazing too.
Seriously. If you have tried her fiction and found it difficult or not your cup of tea, try her
non-fiction! If I had a Mary Poppins bag I would carry a copy of A Room of One’s Own at all times.
9. Shakespeare – mostly for the words he invented (or at least recorded for posterity), rather than his actual plays, though I’ve enjoyed every one that I’ve read. He gave us such wonders as ‘cheap’, ‘fashionable’, ‘obscene’, and ‘eyeball’. Where would we be without ‘eyeball’?
10. Angela Carter – for magical short stories that led me to explore the world of fairy tale retellings, and start writing them myself. If you haven’t tried any of her books before, start with The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories, if it’s short stories that you’re after, or Nights At The Circus, if you’d prefer a novel.
I've been seeing a lot of J.K. Rowlings making the list for a lot of bloggers. Her books seem fun and exciting,but I've never tried them yet. Good list 🙂
Thank you. You should definitely try them!
Oh gosh yes to Enid Blyton. Love her!!! Also JK Rowling 🙂
J.K. Rowling is on almost everyone's list 🙂
I didn't think of Enid Blyton but she was my first reading passion too. I loved the Mallory Towers and St Clares books especially.
The Artists' Way is a wonderful book too, and the book that really started me on my writing journey, so I'm very grateful for that.
I loved Mallory Towers but I'm not sure I read all of the St Clares – think my library didn't have them.
New follower! Love Buffy and Angel. And JK Rowling of course! Nice list!
Check out my TTT.
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
Thank you for following 🙂
Great list! I love that you included the Buffy books! 🙂
They were a major part of my teenage life!
I wish I'd remembered to include Shakespeare in my own list. He's not my favorite, but we owe him so much (as you said) for all he contributed to the language! Thanks for checking out my list and definitely do read more Sarah Waters! She's fantastic. 🙂
You're welcome, I will!
SO thankful for JKR! She made my list as well, though I can't believe I forgot Shakespeare…anyways thanks for sharing & for stopping by my post earlier! New follower via GFC 🙂
Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows
There are so many authors I would have included had it been top twenty! You're welcome, thanks for following 🙂
My friend was just telling me about The Artist's Way.. I think she's in the midst of going through the weeks' activities.. sounds really interesting and inspirational!
Thanks for stopping by!
Michele | TTT
It is an amazing book, anyone who's ever wanted to embrace their creative side should read it. You're welcome!
Interesting list. Several I haven't heard of. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
You're welcome!
I loved Buffy! But I never got the chance to read the tie-in books, might have to try them 😀 Thanks for stopping by my post 😀
You're welcome! You have to try the Tales of the Slayer short stories, and the Gatekeeper trilogy was really fun.
YES! The Buffy books were so great, Tales of the Slayer being a particular highlight 🙂
I really want to re-read them!