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This week’s Top 10 Thursday is all about books and authors and obviously which ones are your favorite. I’m thinking this might get difficult for me because I could probably name 50 if you gave me enough time so I’m not promising this is an accurate representation but I do promise a list of 10 really great books.

1. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell – this one always gets the number one spot. If you asked me, “What’s your  favorite book?” this one always gets it (ditto for favorite movie, btw). This book has it all and manages to combine fluffy light hearted good fun with deep thoughts, desperate times and all the makings of classic literature. Romance, War, Gossip, Intrigue, Life and Death, Controversy and Humor. There’s very little this book doesn’t have except maybe a happy ending.
2. Lamb by Christopher Moore – another book I think everyone should read, Lamb is the Gospel according to Christ’s childhood best friend, Biff. And Biff? He’s pretty great. This book is funny as all heck, but also rather touching and a very interesting spin on a very old story. I literally mourned the ending of this book, wishing I could unread all those brilliant pages so I could experience it all again for the first time (because I’m not one of those lucky people who can re-read a book, unless it’s my son’s bedtime stories anyway).
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – so funny putting this one on the list because I didn’t even really like the first half of the book, but then suddenly the love story and the heartbreak and all that Austen goodness just took me in and took hold and I fell in love with this classic that everyone seems to love. And now when I watch a movie or BBC tv version of the story, the whole thing is just incredible. I’m like a P&P junkie now.
4. The Host by Stephenie Meyer - I am a Twilight fan also and I debated which of these two to list here. Maybe it’s just all the current Twilight obsession going around but I’m gonna say The Host was better today. I might be lying. Either way, definitely check it out if you haven’t yet because it’s fabulous. My husband loved it, too – this one is a bit deeper than Twilight, but still a relatively easy read. Meyer is a fantastic author, and is really good at sucking you into her stories. This is a love triangle of sorts involving body snatching in an post-apocalyptic sort of setting.
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart – this kids series is a relatively new discovery that I really think everyone should read. It’s fantastic in all the ways that A Series of Unfortunate Events or Harry Potter (two other favorite novels that due to extreme popularity I am hesitant to list, wanting to save room for some of the under dogs) were fantastic and really such an educational, emotionally stirring good read.
6. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - I adored this young adult historical fiction fantasy series about a group of young girls with extraordinary talents of the supernatural variety in a time when women were just beginning to grasp for independence and a choice in the outcome of their lives.
7. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - this was one of the first and best historical fiction novels not geared towards teenagers that I really fell in love with. I’ve a read a couple of Gregory’s books and in my opinion this one is the best. It made me absolutely fascinated with the life of King Henry XIII and all the women around him and effected by him. But of course, of all those women, Mary will now always be my favorite.
8. The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - I just love this fun mystery series about “Izzy” Spellman, a private eye from a family of private eyes, who means well but frequently ends up in heaps of trouble. This series is just fantastic, funny, heart breaking, and all the good things that earn a book or series a spot on my Favorites list. A bit like Stephanie Plum, but definitely her own woman, I think Izzy is a character most of us can relate to in some way and the style of writing in this book is just so fun. This is one of those books with a great attention to ALL the little details. The nerd in me swoons over these books every time.
9. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman – Another children’s series that I love, this one is rather dark – probably better suited to an older child, maybe even only young adults. I’m not sure, but regardless it’s an amazing story, definitely with some religious undertones (and overtones) but don’t let that discourage you from reading it if you aren’t religious (I certainly don’t consider myself to be overly religious although it does all fascinate me) it’s still a very amazing story in it’s own right. Another one on the science fiction / fantasy side, these books will really make you think.
10. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - a must read for anyone who loves literature, science fiction, fantasy, detectives, action, alternate universes, romance, or just a good story. It’s got everything and more and delivers it in a way I’ve really, honestly never seen before. I’m quite obsessed with this series.

What are your Top 10 books & authors? If you write up a list, link up at In The Mommy Trenches today.

I’m planning to enter Karen’s Fall Photo Contest this year, but I am having a hard time deciding which picture to enter. We haven’t done much out there in the gorgeous Wisconsin fall foliage this year so I don’t have any current pictures (as of today) that I would enter but last year I took several pictures which I think might be good enough. I’ve narrowed it down to four pictures that I just love and I’d appreciate it greatly if you’d give your opinion on which is the best representation of Fall / has the best overall feeling / you inexplicably like better than the rest. Because lord knows I’m biased and can’t help love them all.

And of course, if you think you’ve got a picture that could blow mine out of the water competition-wise, you should enter, too for a chance to win a $25 gift card to your choice of the following stores: Old Navy, JcPenney, Victoria’s Secret, Kohl’s, iTunes – (will need mailing address – U.S. addresses only), Target, Land’s End, Amazon.com, Busy Bodies, Life is Good, Tiny Prints Stationery, You Can Make This, SWAK Embroidery, Pottery Barn for Kids, Pottery Barn, Marshalls (will need mailing address – U.S. addresses only), or TJ Maxx (will need mailing address – U.S. addresses only) – not to mention the fame, glory and a winners button for you blog. For more information on the contest, just click on over here.

Here are my four favorite fall pictures:

option 1 - the pumpkin patch

option 2 - a hard days work

option 3 - shadows and light

option 4 - majestic foliage