Top Ten Tuesday: Before I Was a Blogger

It's that time of the week, midnighters!  Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

April 9: Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger 

I was always a reader, but I will say that book blogging opened up my bookish world tremendously.   Mostly because of bloggers like you, introducing me to books I might not have heard of otherwise and challenging me to read genres outside of my old favorites.  But here are some of my favorite books before I became a book blogger:

1. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz- I listened to audio books with my dad when I was younger, but Odd Thomas is the book that really got me hooked.  I read this for the first time back when I was still living in Oklahoma, long before I made move back to the East Coast and discovered blogging.  

2. Something Blue (Darcy and Rachel #2) by Emily Griffith- I read a lot of chic lit in my days, but this is one of my all time favorites.  Sadly, it's not a genre that I read much these days, and other than Something Blue, I haven't much enjoyed her other books.

3. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen- the book that launched my love for magical realism!  It was everything I wanted Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic to be (the movie is much more light-hearted than the novel), and Allen instantly become a must buy author. 

4. It by Stephen King- so many of his books could have been on this list, but this is the one that I've read the most, the one where I connected the most with the characters.  I am an honorary member of the Loser's Club!

5. The India Fan by Victoria Holt- This was my very first Holt book, and I have a vivid memory of picking it from the library shelves.  The first time I read it I was in 7th grade, and I've read it, or parts of it, every year since then.  Before I became a book blogger I probably re-read it even more, but that's because it used to be hard to find books I liked, if you can believe that!  

6. Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar- his books are strange and quirky, and very different from anything I've read before or since.  I love his style, and I've since read the sequel to this, his The Good Fairies of New York and Lux the Poet.  I think he's brilliant!

7. Falling by Christopher Pike- obviously I have lots of love for all things Pike- especially his YA.  Falling is an adult novel, and it deals with revenge, love and obsession.  I think it's one of his very best books, but so few people have read it!!

8. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule- I used to read a lot of true crime, which will surprise absolutely no one.  Ann Rule was actually friends with Ted Bundy, they met while working on a suicide prevention hot line, and she'd already gotten the job of writing about the killings before it was revealed that her old friend Ted was the prime suspect.  I've always found that fascinating. 

9.  The Witching Hour by Anne Rice- Being a midnight girl, I of course read all her vampire books, but this book is one of my all time favorites. I really dislike the sequels, but this book is vast and huge and I loved it.  I especially love the history of the Mayfair witches and the New Orleans setting.  I was hoping to re-read this on audible, but they only have a 3 hour abridged version... and the book is 1200 pages long so I have no idea how they how they condensed that into 3 freaking hours. 

10.  Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games- just going to lump these all together because they are responsible for getting me back into YA and led to me becoming a blogger. 

There's a million other books I could have listed, but this is all my brain could dredge up on just one cup of coffee.  I can't wait to see your lists!  If you give me a follow, let me know and I'll return the favor! And give a shout out if you're going to BEA, because I will be there!