Friday Link Dump: Best Books, Dog Gifs and Inspirational People

If you are reading this that means the world didn't end. Unless it's going to happen at midnight. That could be awkward. Anyhoo...

Here are the books that appear most frequently on the 'Best of 2012' lists. I don't think I've read any of them.

Can negative reviews be good for authors? I'm not an author so I can't confirm, but I do know that negative reviews can be helpful for a reader. If every review were positive, how the hell would we know what to read (or not)?!

This article is about the new Twitter feature that allows you to access your old tweets, but I really liked the observation at the end regarding the historical significance of the social network. At no other time has there been such an extensive public record of people's real-time reactions and experiences during world events. It's pretty brilliant when you think about it.

This post of dog gifs is full of happy.

You know what's awesome? People who don't take themselves too seriously - like these writers who don't mind taking the piss.

Also like Barack Obama. Here is reason #463 he is amazeballs.

Humans can really, really suck sometimes. But they can also be amazing and inspiring and heartwarming. Especially people like these.

And these. The 26 Acts campaign is inspiring people to perform 26 random acts of kindness to honour the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. I really want to do this, it's such a good idea and what people have already done is amazing.

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2012

1. Craig Silvey. I read Jasper Jones in one day on my honeymoon and it instantly became one of my favourite books. I totally have an author crush on Mr Silvey, thanks in no small part to meeting him at an event for his novella, The Amber Amulet. I totally fangirled.

2. Kat Zhang. As I mentioned in my review, I had a lot of problems with What’s Left of Me, Zhang’s debut novel, but I still loved it nonetheless. There’s something special about her storytelling ability, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.

3. Shirley Marr. I was first introduced to Ms Marr when I won a competition to have a cameo in her book, Preloved. I was beyond excited – even more so when I became friends with her on Goodreads (her author profile is sadly no longer active) and quickly discovered how witty, funny and lovely she is. I finally got around to reading both Fury and Preloved towards the end of the year, and adored them both!

4. Lauren Oliver. I’ve had Oliver’s Delirium on my bookshelf for awhile and still haven’t read it, but I did manage to fly through Liesl and Po earlier in the year and thought it was absolutely beautiful. I really need to read more of Oliver’s books now!

5. Sarah Beth Durst. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Drink, Slay, Love; especially how funny it was. Considering how over all things vampire I am, I was very impressed that Durst delivered a fresh and fun take on the genre.

6. Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I finally read The Language of Flowers this year and it was every bit as emotional and beautiful as I expected it to be.

7. Alexander Masters. I don’t often read non-fiction, but Masters’ biography of Stuart Shorter blew me away. It was clever, funny and incredibly raw (in a good way).

8. Kate Forsyth. Bitter Greens was a complex, gorgeous historical retelling of the Rapunzel story, which made me eager to try out some more of this talented Aussie author’s work.

9. Gabrielle Williams. I wasn’t really expecting to like The Reluctant Hallelujah, but it completely drew me in – and broke my heart. The writing was powerful and I loved the characters. I must check out more of Williams’ writing.

10. Katja Millay. The Sea of Tranquility has been getting a lot of buzz in the blogosphere, and for good reason – it’s a moving story about two broken people who are slowly helping each other to heal. It reminded me a lot of The Language of Flowers.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Follow Friday: Five Living Authors I'd Love To Meet

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. This week's topic is about authors we want to meet: "Name three authors you would love to sit down and have a meal with, just talking about either their books or writing advice."

Because I'm a) Mildly OCD and like everything to be in multiples of five, and b) Chronically indecisive, I'm going to cheat and name five authors I'd love to sit down with. To make it more realistic (like it would ever actually happen), I'm going to stick to living writers. Coz otherwise my fantasty dinner party would be pretty dead (badum bum).

1. J.K. Rowling. I'd say: "What would it take for you to write the prequel of Harry Potter, and tell the story of Snape, Lily, James and co's time at Hogwarts in more detail?!" Then I'd do whatever it took - hand-feed her chocolates, make endless cups of tea, fan her with palm leaves... Just call me Dobby.

2. Markus Zusak. I'd say: "How did you get so awesome?! Can you rub some awesomeness off onto me?" Because The Book Thief is just 100 per cent pure awesomeness and amazes me every time I read it.

3. Charlaine Harris. I'd say: "Will Sookie end up with Eric at the close of the series?" If the answer is no, I might have to hold her hostage, Misery-style, until she gets it right. What? I'm not crazy. Just crazy for Eric.

4. William Goldman. I'd say: "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me Fezzik doesn't die in Buttercup's Baby." If you've read the anniversary edition of The Princess Bride, you'll know how much that "bonus" chapter/fake sequel leaves you hanging - literally, in Fezzik's case.

5. Stephanie Perkins. I'd say: "Be my best friend?" I'm guessing she's as fantastic in real life as she is in her writing.