Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish~! This weeks category: Top Ten Books I Resolve To Read in 2011.

My list of books to read this year are:

1. Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

I've been wanting to read a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery for ages. For some odd reason though I could never seem to get around to it, but this year I finally will~! wish me luck.

2. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Love Sherlock, and am looking forward to finishing this book.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Loved Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and started reading Jane Eyre last year, but didn't even make a dent in it, because it was the start of my dry spell. I'm hoping to see it through until the end this year.

4. The Cranford Chronicles by Elizabeth Gaskell

Read Wives and Daughters last year and greatly enjoyed it. A lot of people consider this to be Gaskells best work, so I'm really looking forward to reading it. I figure if it's better then W&D I'll absolutely love it. It's also much shorter which is always a bonus.

5. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Read Oliver Twist when I was 13 or so and loved it. This is another giant book I started last year, and I was enjoying it, but I put it down for a while which is bad for me and never picked it up again. I feel especially bad about this since my dear friend lent her copy to me, and I know she really loves it, and I feel awful for keeping it so long. No need to worry Katherine I'll get it back to you soon. :D

6. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

I once again meant to read it last year, but didn't. The tragedies of my life. I read The Time Machine last year and was like this for a whole day: O.o I did lend it out to a friend who brought it back to me and promised me it was a spine tingling read. Oh yeah~!

7. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

This is the last book by Austen I have to read. I've also heard it's one of the hardest to get through, but I've grown into quite an Austen lover over the years so I think I can handle it.

8. 1984 by George Orwell

Animal Farm was a very traumatic experience for me. Needless to say I needed some time before reading another Orwell novel. This one is next on my list, and I am looking forward to it, I find the plot intriguing and it doesn't involve poor innocent barn yard animals so I think I'll like it better. Animal books always make me cry.

9. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

One of Montgomery's "Adult" novels I've been eyeing this one for quite some time. I really hope I get to reading it this year.

10. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe

This man is a genius. I re-read A Tell Tale Heart this year and was even more mind boggled then I had been when I first read it. I think it's the closest I'll ever get to being in the mind of a killer and I must say that frightens and makes me feel better all at the same time. I love Poe for creating the detective story, so I am very excited to read the Dupin tales.

Musing Mondays and It's Monday~! What Are You Reading?

Musing Monday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. This weeks question is: How many books did you read in 2010? If you had a reading goal, did you meet it? What books are you most looking forward to reading for 2011 (either new, OR ones that have sat on your shelves for a while)?

Sadly I only got around to reading 43 books in 2010. *sigh* I blame my reading dry spell. Which thank g-d I got over~! I didn't have an exact reading goal, I was just trying to read as many as I could. Unfortunately I didn't even put a dent in the amount of books I read when I was 10 which was around 80 or so.

For 2011, I have a lot of books I plan on reading. Most of them are part of my Agatha Christie library. :D I am also hoping to read a lot of Steampunk books, Leviathan, Soulless, BoneShaker, and World Shaker are just some of the books I have on my list. I've also got some chick-lit's on my list too. This week from the library I got Only the Good Spy Young, by Ally Carter, and The Cinderella Society, by Kay Cassidy.

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Book Read Last Week: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke (Review coming soon...)

Currently Reading: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

What I Want to Read Next: Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Top Ten Picks: Favorite Writers

Top ten picks is a weekly meme hosted by Random Ramblings where each week a new topic is chosen to pick your ten ten favorites from. This weeks top ten: Favorite writers. :)
There are so many brilliant writers out there, and to choose a favorite would be so hard for me, but I could pick ten in no particular order so here it goes.

1. A. A. Milne
Well he popped into my head rather randomly but really he is one of my favorites. Even now I love to read the Winnie the Pooh stories, they make me laugh, and there are wonderful little lessons to learn from the animals in the Hundred Acre Woods, like accepting your friends for how they are in "In Which Tigger is Unbounced" and blind prejudice against things we don't understand in "In Which Kanga and baby Roo Come to the Forest, and Piglet has a Bath." which are both two of my favorites. Like Dr. Suess's stories, A. A. Milne's aren't just for children.

2. Jane Austen
Well here she is! You we're expecting her right. ;) Anyway I must say I never truly appreciated Jane Austen until after I read Emma and Persuasion two of my favorite by her. I read P&P and S&S when I was younger and although I liked them I never really loved them, not like I love Emma and Persuasion now. Maybe I'll revisit P&P and S&S with my new found love for classics and appreciate them like I should.

3. L.M. Montgomery
You can read all about my love for her in this post. Really I can not begin to explain just how happy this author makes me when I read her books.

4. Ellen Raskin
I love this author because not only does she write mind-boggling mysteries for Young Adults and Middle graders, but because she actually leaves clues all through the book so that you can solve it right along with the characters. I mean, truthfully I've never succeeded in solving any of her stories before they were done, but looking back through them I saw that I could have. This author is really not to be missed. My two favorite novels of hers are The Westing Game and The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon(I mean Noel).

5. Agatha Christie
I have always loved mysteries but there are two...no three authors I knew I had to read to really call myself a mystery fan. One was Arthur Conan Doyle, the other was Edgar Allen Poe and the third was the queen of crime herself Agatha Christie. She is absolutely brilliant. I read The Body in the Library and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, but after And Then There Were None I was hooked on this ladies novels.

6. Dianna Wynne Jones
I have already mentioned probably about a million times how much I enjoy DWJ's novels. They are wonderful examples of great british fantasy. She also writes some science fiction too. My three favorite novels by her are Charmed Life, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Game.

7. Elizabeth Gaskell
My friend Katherine over at A Love for Literature introduced me to this brilliant writer. I am reading Wives and Daughters right now, and am absolutely loving it. She has a wonderful style of writing, you just float into her books without realizing it. I have bought The Cranford Chronicles and am very interested in reading more of her work.

8. Beverly Cleary
I grew up on a healthy diet of Ramona, Henry Huggins, and Ralph S. Mouse. I loved every one of the books I read by Beverly Cleary, I really related to Ramona. -_-; But really she wrote some of the funniest, most touching books, ever written for children and I will definitely be saving her works for my future children. Also I can relate to Beverly Cleary as a writer because she wrote in her autobiography how she struggles with describing things and I also struggle with the same thing.
9. Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, two of the most influential books I have ever read. Taking experiences from her own life, FHB wrote wonderful stories about forgiveness, the power of love, and new beginnings, that can be appreciated by readers no matter what their age. Sarah Crewe and Mary Lennox are really two of the strongest female characters ever written, and who even now I look up to.

10. Rick Riordan
AHHH! This was such a good top ten picks and there are still so many authors I love!!! But I thought I'd end with one of my favorite modern day writers Rick Riordan. He is a really brilliant and imaginative writer, and it's too bad The Percy Jackson movie didn't live up to it's potential. I really love that series, and read the first book in the 39 clue's series which was cute. I can't wait to read The Kane Chronicles as well, I picked up the 1st book in the series for my b-day. :) Also can this guy name a chapter or what?! I am looking forward to the future books this man will write, because I think he's got a really great style.

TopTenPicks: Female Characters You Admire

Top Ten Picks is a meme hosted by Random Ramblings where she post's just about that -- her top 10 picks! Every week, there will be a different and specific topic given. You can then choose 10 of your picks from that given category, create the list, and post them up on your blog!
For this week, the topic is on: Female Characters You Admire. It can be for any reason at all.
I saw this meme over at her blog and really wanted to join in. I only got around to it today. >_<

1. Anne ShirleyLet me just put it this way: I don't think I'd like to live in a world where L.M. Montgomery never wrote about that ever dramatic but always lovable red-head. I think this is where I first got my obsession's with red hair from. I've loved this series ever since I was a little girl, because I could relate to Anne Shirley. My mom always said I was a lot like her. No book series can calm me and make me feel more at home then this one can, and it's all because I like so many girl's have found a kindred spirit in Anne.

2. Elizabeth Bennet
Again who doesn't admire Elizabeth Bennet. Elegent, charming, witty, strong willed, and one who can eventually be owned up to their mistakes. I've always admired Elizabeth Bennet, I've always wanted to be like her, but truthfully I think the only way I am like her is that I also can't embroider cushions, or play the pianoforte well. -_-;

3. Sophie Hatter

The reason I admire Sophie Hatter is because she is thrown into a lot of strange situation's against her will. But she never let's it get the better of her. She keep's moving forward even after being turned into a little old women and find's her inner strength along the way. Also she's the only one who can get the better of drama king Howl and that's pretty impressive in and of itself. I encourage anyone who has seen the movie and never read the book to read it, and vice-versa because I love them both.

4. Nancy Drew

Ah, Nancy Drew. Timeless, intrepid, Nancy Drew. I always wanted to be Nancy Drew. Running around, solving mysteries, having adventures, yes, that is the life I crave. Nancy is great because she is another strong female who never gives up. She uses her clever mind to outwit the bad guys, and learns new thing's along the way that will eventually help her solve a future mystery. Nancy Drew has changed a bit over the years (truthfully if you can believe it she was much more feistier in the original 1920 novels then she is today.) but she still appeals to girls with a sense of adventure.

5. Tabitha Ruth "Turtle" Wexler Okay so one of the main reason I like this character is because we share the 1st same name. Also because she kick's people who make her mad and I've sometimes felt like doing that to people who make me mad as well. I never have because well, I'm not sure I could live with the guilt afterward of hurting someone physically, and number two because I'd have gotten in trouble. -_-; Okay so maybe that isn't a terribly admirable quality. But actually the real reason I admire Turtle is because she always say's what's on her mind, she is not afraid of anyone or anything, she will stop at nothing to get what she want's and she's terribly clever. She understands the stock market and I think anyone who can do that is terribly clever.

6. Ananka Fishbein

This is another one of my ultimate favorite character's of all time. I really clicked with Ananka. She love's books, she is witty and adventurous, yet she had an underlying insecurity that she struggle's with. She meet's Kiki Strike, and Kiki help's her discover just what she is made out of. Ananka is also the child of two parents who believe a house should be covered from wall to wall with books. Kiki Strike is one of my favorite books and Ananka is one of the greatest narrators I have had the pleasure of reading.

7. Mary Lennox
Well, there are plenty of reason's to admire Mary Lennox. Here is a girl who was spoiled and unloved, who's parent's died, and who was then sent to live with an aloof uncle. Mary could have turned into quite a horrible person. But that's the wonderful thing about her. She didn't. She changed, she grew, from an unpleasant skinny child into a loving young lady who made a garden and the people around her grow in beauty and love. I didn't read this novel when I was young. But I loved it just the same. I feel anyone can learn from the amazing journey that is Mary Lennox's story.

8. Irene AdlerShe beat Sherlock Holme's at his own game. Need there be any other reason to admire her. ~_^ P.S. I haven't seen the movie version, I have only read the short story with her. But this was the only picture I could find.

9. Luna Lovegood
Luna is possibly one of the best characters to come out of Harry Potter, along with Neville but this is a girl questionnaire. I admire Luna because she is terribly true to herself. She does not try to impress people by being someone she's not. She has faced adversary and come out on top. She is an incurable optimist. She is trusting, and trustworthy. I have always liked Luna from the 1st moment she appeared in HP number 5. There's just something about her.

10. Jo March
Oh my gosh my last one. Well I wanted to make it a good one and I can't think of a better way than with Jo March. She is another female I'd like to be like. She is again strong willed, and loves her family most of all, and she want's to be a writer. She is definitely flawed, and doesn't like change, but learns a lot about herself and the people around her through it all. Haha when I started this meme I was afraid I couldn't finish it, but now I realize there were a lot of character's I admired and these 10 are definitely my favorite and have always been (for the most part) since I was little.

Again, if you would like to join in, all you have to do is:

1. Do a post, listing all your answers. You do not have to include pictures, descriptions, or explanations, but if you would like to do so, feel free! Then go over to Random Ramblings and post your post link in her Mr. Linky!!!

WWW Wednesdays (May 26)

This is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:

What are you currently reading? I am reading "Death in the Clouds" by Agatha Christie for my Marple, Poirot, Holmes Challenge, and my thriller/suspense challenge. I haven't gotten very far in it yet so I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

What did you recently finish reading? "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen. I'm going to put a little review of it up soon.

What do you think you'll read next? I really want to read "Jekel Loves Hyde" by Beth Fantaskey .

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Imagine a carriage moving on its own without horses, only much, much faster," Peter said to Gideon. "And then imagine roads that are smooth and hard and never get muddy. When we drove up from London to Derbyshire it took less than three hours-and it was in the middle of winter."
--Gideon The Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer