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April 21: Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors

So, for my favorite authors I didn't want to focus just on writing ability. A true favorite author of mine will have my attention outside of their bodies of work. I might not have read everything they've ever written, but I enjoy them as a person. Additionally, I've decided to document when this author (to the best of my memory) became one of my favorite authors.

1.) J.K.Rowling: It was 2001, I had just seen this movie my mom forced me to called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" I was nine. Until this point I hadn't really ever read a "real" book. It was after this movie that I read my first lengthy book...and the rest they say is history. J.K Rowling as a special place in my heart not just because she wrote my first ever love, but because her story hit close to home. I was raised by a single mother. I myself have bouts of depression. She inspired me above all to be a writer. Because the moment of realization that the "J" in JK Rowling stood for Joanne is a revelation. My favorite by her is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2.) 8th grade, after a disastrous section on "The Diary of Anne Frank" our literature teacher passes out "The Outsiders". The majority of my class was moved by the book. I remember vividly it being the first time I ever saw my friend Ethan cry, and he was crying in the middle of class while we read it so it was a big deal (he was also really popular and a jock so). This was a turning point for me because I had found my second author. I wasn't just a one trick pony, there were other novels out there that I loved. I proceeded to force my mother to buy me the movie, and three more of S.E.Hinton's novels. My love for S.E.Hinton would continue long into high school where I unashamedly attempted to try and copy her writing prose while coming into my own. My favorite by her is still The Outsiders, but I also recommend That was Then, This is Now. 

3.) Oh, my darling Jane. Once again, thanks to my mother, I was dragged into a movie theater where I, at the tender age of 13, watched Matthew Macfayden tramp through a foggy moor like a wild stallion in the morning. My mother then bought me a 3 set of Jane Austen novels. This was another monumental moment in my reading history; my least favorite teacher caught me reading Pride & Prejudice in class and told me to stop reading it, that I wouldn't be able to understand it, and I needed to read something more appropriate. Lets just say, that by that point Jane's sass had completely influenced me. I will defend this Lady until the day I die (against every last chauvinistic Salinger bro in the English Department, and Mark Twain). She has dragged me to Bath, England and given me more than one quote to live by ("I will not say that your mulberry-trees are dead, but I am afraid they are not alive."). My favorites by her are Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey

4.) This is Daniel Handler. Don't know who that is? You probably know him as Lemony Snicket (Yeap that's what Lemony Snicket looks like). Just the mere thought that this entire series came out of this man's mind astounds me. Relatively speaking I was a bit old for the Series of Unfortunate events, but I think that allowed me to appreciate it more. I really got into these books right before the movie came out, but it wasn't until The End in 2006 that I appreciated them. It was the first series I was around for The End for. My favorites by him are...just read the entire series. And every companion book he's written for them. (I mean the man wrote an entire page with the word "ever" repeating and instead of describing down an elevator shaft just had two pages painted black.)

5.) I'm not going to ramble about how Lord of the Rings was my first fandom in 6th grade and how some of my favorite memories of middle school was pretending to be Legolas with my gang of guys. After Return of The King came out I decided it was about time I tried actually reading what this guy wrote. And me being me had to start with the beginning, The Hobbit. I have no idea how long it took me but it was awhile and I was so confused through most of it. What makes JRR Tolkien one of my favorites is not just his writing abilities or his world building abilities (arguably he's the best at this) it was reading all the stories about him. From his time in the war, to his relationship with C.S.Lewis. He's like everyone's little English grandpa. My favorite by him is The Hobbit.

6.) This. This was another one of those moments. I started getting into my musical theater phase in high school. I had the Wicked Soundtrack, but had never seen the musical. I heard it was based on the book so I got my hands on it. And Wow. This was my first "Adult" book. It was my first time I read any of the themes presented and it was amazing. You can see Gregory Maguire's personality in his words, this sassy man. I love his wit. I love how he does this genre SO much better than OUAT. He's so unafraid and manages to keep his writing beautiful. He has a way with very pointed statements, which I enjoy. My favorite by him is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Alyssa this is not William Shakespeare, you say. I wanted an excuse to look at Joseph Fiennes' face I reply. (plus he' better looking come on.)

7.) So, it's around this point in High School I  was known as the "reader" girl for awhile. I'm not even kidding. Even teachers knew this was my title. (My high school had a whole of 400 students, so this isn't that big of an accomplishment.) 12th grade English was "British Lit", after the painful year of 11th grade "American Lit" I was home. For the first time we read a full Shakespeare play, up until this point we had only ever read bits and pieces of them. Ultimately I was pissed off we hadn't read a full play before then. Why do I enjoy Shakespeare so much? So many people have so many opinions on him and they're mostly wrong. Not to mention 95% of his work is dick jokes. My favorite by him is Taming of the Shrew.

8.) EVIL SANTA! How you pain me and entertain me! I got into Game of Thrones about midway through the second season. If you don't read the books, do yourself a favor and read the books. George RR Martin is so amazing at writing against cliches. All his characters are so real and so fluid and so fleshed out it's beautiful. I pride myself on calling stuff in books/movies/tv shows before they happen and this guy gets me. I have cried. I have throw my book. I have almost fallen asleep cause he really loves describing stuff. He will make you hungry describing every course of a meal. Personally, you can tell he's a nerd. You know he was one of those nerds who got made fun of. He loves the power now, and while I often joke he's going to die before he finishes the next book he has recently made me very happy by cancelling all his plans and writing! My favorite by him is A Feast For Crows (FIGHT ME I LIKED IT SHUT UP). 

9.) Look at him. How can you not love this face. Look at this sassy Irish face. Oscar Wilde is beautiful. I'm pretty sure he knew this, but I'm stating it. "Portrait of Dorian Gray" was a pretty good read, but it's really his personality that makes him on this list. He's hilarious and I suggest looking up his quotes before even reading. Just read his quotes daily for confidence. My favorite by him is "Portrait of Dorian Gray".