TTT: Pre-Blogging Favorites

This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is your Top Ten Favorite Books You Read Before You Were A Blogger. 

Interesting.

It's weird, my favorite books have not been that greatly impacted by the blogging community. 

Sure, I've read/purchased some books based off of blogger recommendations, but favorite books? I'm not sure my favorites list has been that affected by blogging. Though, I haven't really been at book blogging for all that long, so maybe time will make a liar out of me!

Who knows :) 

1. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - My favorite book of all time. This is, for me, that book I can go and pick up at any time, place, or emotion and get something out of reading it. I can start it from any place (though, the beginning is always best) and read a section, find a particular section I want, or read the whole thing. It always makes me happy and feel at home. What more can you want from a book?

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  by J.K. Rowling - This is probably my favorite book in the series. I know a lot of people list this one as their last favorite, but for me this book is what makes this series real. This is when it starts getting dark and you realize, as a reader, that there might just not be the happy ending you were expected. Harry is growing up. Voldemort is growing stronger. The Wizarding World is on the brink of war. Things are starting to get real.

3. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness - I'm not going to bore you with any explanation of my love for this book because I think it has been on every possible TTT list I've made since I started contributing to this meme. All you need to know is I love this book, this series, and these characters so so much.

4. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card - I love this book so much that my 'camp name' at the summer camp I work at is 'Bean.' That should be enough for you to understand why this book is on my list, but let me explain a little more for fun. Just in case. I love the world OSC has created in this series. It's sci-fi, for sure. But it's ssci-fi that feels like it could be real, could actually be happening and plausible in the world we live in. And that? Combined with wonderfully crafted characters? That's the makings of a favorite if I've ever seen one.

5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - A classic novel that didn't get spoiled for me by the middle/high school over-analysis machine. I got to read it, on my own, with only the story in mind. I didn't need to look for a deeper meaning or spend a week's worth of classes pouring over one chapter nonstop. I enjoyed this book for what it was: a coming of age/breakdown/observation on humanity itself. It's a classic for a reason.

6. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore - Another book that has been on this list a number of times. I love this book. It's laugh out loud funny, historically based, and somehow not offensive to anyone who reads it. It's just a brilliantly written book that everyone should read.

7. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden - I'm not a war buff, or an American History buff, or any other sort of buff that should be fascinated by this book. But it captivated me from page one and held me tight for the entirety of the book. It's a peek into an American catastrophe and the people involved. It's wonderfully written, impeccably researched, and tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who reads it. The movie is equally as wonderful. 

8. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards - Yes, that Julie Andrews. This book was first read to me in fourth grade by a teacher I didn't particularly life. But the story has stuck with me through the years and I finally found a copy of it on Amazon and bought it last year. I simply adore this story. If you haven't read it (or, probably heard of it since it's kinda obscure) you need to look into it. 

9. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) by Jasper Fforde - Another book/series which has found it's place on one of my lists numerous times. Who wouldn't want to be able to jump into books and police the characters that exist within them? Meet the real Mr. Darcy? Hang out with the Cheshire Cat? Seriously. These books provide my ideal job description.

10. The Giver by Lois Lowry - The first real dystopian YA novel I ever read and it still ranks as one of the best ones (if not the best) out there. I find this story to be a fascinating picture of what life could become. Jonah's transition into becoming The Giver. His relationship with the current Giver. And his progression into understanding how his world works and the awful truths that are hidden from normal eyes. It's another book that I believe everyone should read.