Top Ten Authors On My Auto-Buy List

 
1. Melina Marchetta. I was going to make a joke about being so willing to buy anything she writes, I'd purchase her shopping list, but then I realised that sounded totally stalkery and so I won't mention it at all. Ahem.

2. Markus Zusak. I loved The Book Thief and am eagerly anticipating Zusak's next novel, Bridge of Clay. In the meantime I should really get around to reading his earlier stuff.

3. Caroline Overington. Overington's stories cover so many important issues, but at the centre of them all are very authentic characters and realistic emotions. I've loved everything of hers that I've read.

4. Shirley Marr. I love Marr's writing style and the unique stories she writes. Cookie cutter they ain't.

5. Gayle Foreman. Foreman's If I Stay and Where She Went shattered my heart into a million teeny tiny pieces. I admire a writer who can do that.

6. Stephanie Perkins. On the other end of the spectrum, Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss made my heart all light and happy. It's literary fairy floss at its finest.

7. Craig Silvey. I have a bit of a literary crush on Mr Silvey. I devoured Jasper Jones and adored The Amber Amulet, and have Rhubarb on my husband's Kindle waiting for me to steal it away. I can't wait to see what Silvey does next.

8. J. K. Rowling. C'mon. It's the Queen.

9. Charles Dickens. I know, he's dead, but he managed to release a helluva lot of books in his lifetime that I'm slowly making my way through. I've loved what I've read so much I don't hesitate to buy his work, especially when I come across a really cool edition. I totally judge books by their covers.

10. Charlotte Bronte. Same deal as Dickens, except I've actually only read one of her books, that I happened to absolutely love. So I really want to get the rest of Bronte's work.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

My Book Boyfriend: Edward Rochester

It's My Book Boyfriend time! This is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader, focusing on fictional boys that we wish were not so fictional. This week my book boyfriend is Edward Fairfax Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I love him for his passion, intelligence and general sexiness as well as the way he respects Jane and treats her like an equal. He's her perfect match and they're connected in a powerful, almost supernatural way. It's one of my favourite love stories. When I first read the book I was still in my Ever After phase, so my Rochester ended up looking a lot like Dougray Scott. But since then I've fallen in love with Toby Stephens as Rochester and, even more recently, Michael Fassbender. Now I'm torn between the two - they're both brilliant and different in the role - though my new obsession with Fassbender makes me lean slightly towards him. I think I'll have to reread the book and test who comes to mind. In the meantime, I've included pics of all three guys...

Swoon-worthy Quotes

"'I knew, you would do me good, in some way, at some time; - I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you: their expression and smile did not - (again he stopped) - did not (he proceeded hastily) strike delight to my very inmost heart so for nothing.'"

"'I have for the first time found what I can truly love - I have found you. You are my sympathy - my better self - my good angel; I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you - and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.'"

 

"'Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure; and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still.'"

“'My bride is here,' he said, again drawing me to him, 'because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?'”