Top Ten Tuesday: Things I’m Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish wherein each week bloggers list out their Top Ten. This week’s topic is things that I’m thankful for – it could be bookish or not. I decided to keep it bookish because that is what this blog is primarily about. So, here are my Top Ten:

Harry Potter series

I bet you saw this coming when I said I would make the list bookish! Thing is, Harry Potter was the first YA series I ever read and though at that time I didn’t even know what YA was, I consider this book to be the first to immerse me into fiction. Before this, I was all about detective series and biographies but I wasn’t as much in love with reading as much I was after this book series. Rowling, you changed my life

Twilight saga

Say what you want, I keep this series on a pedestal – it was the first YA series that I read when I knew what YA was. Again, that was only after the first book (at that time, I didn’t even know about the movie), but since then YA has been my first choice of genre. I never thought vampires could be sexy – it was drilled into me from childhood that vampires are ugly, bat-like creatures (thanks for that, Stoker!) and monsters in general. I guess I wouldn’t have read all the paranormal fiction I did so far without this start.

Meg Cabot

All her books are awesome and I have read every single one of it (I think my count is 54?)- except the middle grade ones (never got around to those and now I feel too old to do so) and I admire her for her versatility in writing, which includes from middle grade to adult, contemporary to fantasy, mysteries to romance. Each of her female characters are strong girls/women and are inspirational. They are all relatable, even if they are a teen witch or a princess or a psychic medium.

The Hollows

First Urban Fantasy series and before that, I wouldn’t go near the genre at all. The covers used to simply put me off – a leather clad, mostly skimpy young woman looking tough – and I don’t know why, but they didn’t appeal to me. This series was one of the first few recommendations from Goodreads and I learnt that every book in a genre doesn’t speak for the whole. This series was an eye-opener that never to judge the contents of a book fully by it’s cover – sometimes you gotta read the blurb too 😉

Cecilia Ahern

For weaving magic into everyday life. Her book ‘If You Could See Me Now’ was the first book to put me in tears. And no, ‘P.S. I Love You’ couldn’t even do that to me – I’m that stoic.

The Fault in our Stars

For being the best contemporary fiction I’ve come across and for teaching me that some things really are worthwhile. Also, thanks to John Green for creating Gus (aka the best boyfriend ever) and Hazel Grace.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

For making me fall in love with the angel sub-genre. I mean, I literally added all the angel book recommendations I got from Goodreads after reading this one.

The Lord of the Rings

For making me realize the depths of human imagination when an entire world with it’s own different languages was created by a single person. I may not like the book but I appreciate the world-building. Also, thanks for teaching me that just because a book is popular and is totally a fad to read, doesn’t mean you HAVE to read it – you should choose what you like. I won’t, however, thank you for putting me off fantasy for years.

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

For removing me from the self-imposed aforementioned fantasy restriction. High fantasy was something I avoided until this book.

Julie Kagawa

Lastly, I would like to thank Kagawa for making me fall in love with faeries, especially the quiet brooding ones. 😉

Honorary mention – Goodreads

Seriously, more than half of my reading list is made up of recommendations from Goodreads. I was a booknerd before Goodreads came into my life, but finding my next literary fix was a challenge. Thanks to Goodreads, I came to know of so many amazing books which I otherwise would have missed out on.