Top ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s list is favorite books of 2012. This shouldn’t be hard. I spend every free moment until mid October reading classics for the GRE Literature test, then I got so wrapped up in student teaching that I sometimes forgot to breathe, so most of what I read was within the last month or two.

1) The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong. I love Kelly Armstrong! I am really enjoying her YA books, it’s everything I like about her grown up books, without the sex scenes. I’m just not a sex scene person. There are things I like to read, and that just isn’t a reading thing.

2) Thirteen, by Kelley Armstrong. This book finishes up the Women of the Otherworld series. I’ll admit to not loving it as much as I thought I would, but the end of series are hard. They really can’t live up to every expectation because no matter how good the book is, you’re still sad it’s over at the end.

3) Amityville Horrible, by Kelley Armstrong. Last Kelley Armstrong one, I promise. This novella was awesome. Loved it.

4) Lamb by Christopher Moore. I think this may be my new favorite book. It was so funny, and so well done. He walked a very tight line writing this book and he didn’t seem to falter once.

5) Pale Demon, by Kim Harrison. Possibly the best book in the Hollows Series. I really regret waiting so long to read it.

6) A Perfect Blood, by Kim Harrison. Not as good as Pale Demon, but still much much better than most of what I’ve read this year. It’s not that I don’t like the classics, but reading them is work. I read for fun.

7) Everything I read by Cassandra Clare. I can’t rank these and they’d take up the rest of my list. But I really like the new Infernal Devices series, and City of Lost Souls was good too.

8) Normalish, by Margaret Lesh. Really compelling and good book.

9) The Maze Runner Series, by James Dashner. It was fast, it was fun.

10) The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. This is an amazing book. Love it.

Here’s a list of books I can’t wait for in 2013! Top ten Tuesdays is as always, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

1) The Iron Queen, by me. I’M really excited to see how this book will turn out. It comes out in May, wish me luck on making my deadline. I’m one chapter away from finishing my third draft and then the fun part begins.

2) The Rising by Kelley Armstrong. I love Kelley Armstrong, and while Chloe’s pov is still my favorite, Maya kicks some serious but.

3) Omens by Kelley Armstrong. I look forward to the first of her new young adult trilogy. Yeah, I’m obsessed, I know

4) Ever After by Kim Harrison. I haven’t read A Perfect Blood yet, but I imagine it’ll be good.

5) Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. No, I haven’t read the first one yet, but I will 🙂 And I’m sure it’ll be good.

6) With all my soul by Rachel Vincent

7) Loki’s Wolves by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr (OMG!!! Both of them!)

8) The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. I LOVE his series

9) Shards and Ashes, it’s an anthology with pretty much everyone I like in it

10) My Name is Rapunzel by K.C Hilton, don’t know a lot about this one, but it looks good.

Today, instead of following the Broke and the Bookish’s lead and posting the top ten books/authors I’m grateful for, I’m posting the top ten things I’m thankful for. I never got started on the Facebook thing because this month was so crazy, and this is my way of making up for that. So here goes:

1) My daughter. I’m so lucky that she’s happy and healthy. It could be taken away in an instant. Earlier this month, a toddler in my city was outside playing with his friends at daycare and was struck by a falling tree branch. He’s been in the hospital fighting for his life ever since. He’s doing much better now, but there still evaluating his brain damage and trying to figure out what the rest of his life will be like. He was lucky, and I’m grateful for that, but it just shows how fast everything can change. My daughter was playing outside at her preschool that day in the same city. It could happen just like that. So I’m going to treasure every single moment of my daughters life. Even if nothing crazy happens, she’s only three once.

2) My family. My daughter is a treasure, my husband has been incredibly supportive during this hectic month, my mom has done SO much for us, and every other member of my family has really come through for me. Thank you all. I wish I could see you all for thanksgiving.

3) Our health. Yeah, okay so I’ve had what feels like a never ending cold for months now (I do get better, then I catch it again) but it could be so much worse than the sniffles. We’re so lucky compared to most.

4) Our relative wealth. It’s really hard to keep perspective sometimes, because we’re not doing that great this month. My husband just started a new job so we’re in that gap between paychecks, I’m still in school, and random things keep happening (broken microwave, need car maintenance, you know how it is, when it rains, it pours) but hey, I own a microwave and a car. I can eat every day, and I’ve got a roof over my head. It could be worse.

5) My friends. I have amazing friends.

6) My writers group. Yes, technically friends, but they deserve a second mention. I have an amazing writers group. My books would be nowhere near as good without their feedback, and where else could I find a group willing to slog through three drafts of multiple books in a series and be consistent in their criticism. Seriously, they’re awesome.

7) The Morgans. Triple mention for these friends in my writers group. Stephen and Meagan Morgan have been with me through the entire application process to UGA’s PhD program, kicking my but in gear to study for the GRE Subject test in English Language and Literature, reading and critiquing multiple drafts of my statement of intent, critical writing sample and resume. We’re going to get in guys, and it’s going to be awesome.

8) The staff at Musa publishing. My book has been selling and my second book comes out next month. My editor has been tireless and extremely patient with my hundreds of emails. I couldn’t ask for a better team.

9) My mentor teachers at the school I’m student teaching at. I couldn’t have gotten through the last month without them.

10) Good books. It’s free therapy when you do silly things, like finish up finals and do a unit plan in the same month your edits are due, while applying to a PhD program, writing a third book, holding down another job, adjusting to my husbands new work schedule and parenting a three year old at the same time.

There’s more. Much much much more than could ever fit in this blog

As always, top ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks top ten books are the top ten books I’d want on a deserted island.

I can’t play along with this one. See there are only two scenarios I can see myself being on a deserted island.
Scenario A: It’s by choice, which wouldn’t happen unless I had electricity and a signal for my cellphone. I’d never need to choose only ten books because I have every ereader app there is for my phone and ipad, and I own WAY more than ten books.

Scenario B: It’s not by choice. My plane crashed and I’m struggling to survive. In that case I imagine books would have to be boring and practical, like, how to identify edible plant life and build things type practical. Yuk.

1) Persephone. Yeah, okay, cheating to use my own, but come on, she stabbed a guy with a pen.
2) Tally Youngblood from Uglies. I really really want to see that book as a movie
3) Katniss Everdene from Hunger Games
4) Elena Michaels from Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten
5) Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series
6) Cassie Blake from L.J Smith’s Secret Circle, NOT the show, the book
7) Laurana from Dragonlance
8) Clary Fray from Cassandra Claire’s Mortal Instruments
9) Rose Hathaway from Richelle Mead’s Vampire Diaries
10) Zoe Redbird from PC Cast’s House of Night series