Author, Author!

How timely that I've been tagged by Entertaining Mom to join the ranks and list my 15 most favorite authors. After my two latest posts on J's dyslexia, it makes me realize how much I enjoyed reading as a child. My list is rather eclectic, bringing together authors from my childhood as well as those who who continue to lure me late at night (on my Ipad's Kindle app).

So here I go, and in not particular order at all...


1. Ludwig Bemelmans I love the Madeline series, and have since I was a child. My favorite line was "twelve little girls in two straight lines". I would look at all of the little girls and match them to the following pictures in the book. Funny how I was never that enamored with Madeline, but loved the little girl with the curls!

2. C.S. Lewis is the amazing author who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. I read the entire series when I was young. They touched my heart with the Christian allegory, and I later wrote my senior thesis on the the Biblical parallels throughout The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Last Battle. His book Surprised by Joy is an account of this former atheist's transformation into a Believer.

3. Pat Conroy The quintessential southern author. His story telling is phenomenal, with character descriptions so vivid, you feel you are inside them.

4. Virginia Lee Burton will always have a special place in my heart. My mother must have read Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little House to my sister and me hundreds of times. I loved hearing about how the Little House changed and watched as her surroundings changed with the "progress" all around her. Don't worry, there IS a happy ending!

5. Chuck Swindoll has written numerous books and devotionals throughout the years. His
Growing Strong in the Seasons of Lifeis the only thing that got me through the summer I was a counselor at a camp the summer of my deb season. I know that sound a trite, but I was miserable and homesick, and I found great comfort in his words.

6. Jane Austen Need I say more...?

7. Harper Lee for
To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, I JUST read it... And she is on the list.

8. V.C. Andrews I know she is no Jane Austen or Harper Lee, but her books captivated my friends and me during our teen years. Who can forget
Flowers in the Attic?

9. John Irving's
The Hotel New Hampshire...

10. Ann Rivers Siddons captures the hearts of women everywhere - especially in the south. She just "gets" us.

11. Edith Wharton I remember reading
Ethan Fromein high school and weeping.

12. Sidney Taylor Her stories of a Jewish family of five girls are heartwarming and tender in her portrayal of life on the Lower East side of New York at the turn of the century. It was though these books, this cradle Episcopalian from the south learned about children of a different faith. Give me any Jewish holiday, and I can probably tell you at least a little about it!

13. John Grisham Great beach reads when you aren't interested in Chick Lit!

14. All of YOU Your blogs give me such insight in your lives and, in a way, my own. I look forward to reading them all the time. Your strength, faith, and wisdom amazes me and makes me want to be a better wife, mother, and friend.

15. God His book is the guide for my life.

So now it's time to tag my fifteen... Take a look in your libraries girls!

Twist of Lime
One Fabulous Mom
Monica's World
Mama Henley
Weasel's Journey
Note on the Screen Door
Southern Belle
Lizards and Lollipops
Tickled Pink Design
The Road We're On
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Eat, Drink and Be Mary Douglass
Home of a Magnolia
Create the Life You Love
Have Map Will Travel