The very kind Christie Rich & Natasha both nominated me for the Booker Award, so thanks girls!

The premise here is pretty simple. This is an award for literary and book-centered blogs. I’m supposed to:

• Post my top 5 books of all time
• Add the booker award icon, and
• Nominate 5 other bloggers to do the same, if they feel like it.

This isn’t easy for any bookworm, but I’m going to try anyway. Challenges make life sweeter, or something. I saw that on a motivational poster once.

#5 – The Anybodies by N. E. Bode

This was possibly my favorite book growing up. I still have a copy of it on my shelf. It opened me to the magic in every book, and it reminded me of the wonder in the most mundane of things. The strongest lesson I got from it, though, is probably that life’s problems very often have simple solutions we simply don’t think to see.

The Blurb

“Potter–style magic meets Snicket–y irreverence.” – People Magazine

Fern discovers that she was swapped at birth and leaves her tragically dull parents for an unforgettable adventure with her true father, the Bone. Just who are the Anybodies? You’ll have to read to find out! Narrated by the hilariously intrusive N. E. Bode, The Anybodies is a magical adventure for readers of all ages.

#4 – Entangled by Nikki Jefford

Entangled (and the entire Spellbound Trilogy, for that matter) is one of those books that stole my heart. I swear I’m wrapped around Jefford’s finger. I just love the story, the style, and the magic. I raced through the story. What’s even cooler is that Jefford has become a good friend since I read her book. Knowing that the author is an amazing person just makes this book even more awesome.

The Blurb

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection while working out a way to disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

#3 – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman is one of my all-time favorite authors, but I think I like Neverwhere best. It’s elaborate and simple all at once. It’s dark and witty. And the concept of a group of hidden creatures living on the dark trains in the subway has stuck with me. I can’t ever look at those trains the same again. Gaiman writes the sort of magic that never leaves you.

The Blurb

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

#2 – Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

This book inspired me on too many levels for me to ignore. So while I never quite wished for my Hogwarts letter, I did fall in love with Rowling’s ability to craft a plot that spans across multiple books.

The Blurb

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

#1 – The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

I mean, come on. This book is straight magic. It revived epic fantasy as a genre and made Tolkien a living legend. It’s just…awesome. And while the Lord of the Rings trilogy is by far more well known, The Hobbit is the series’ humble beginning.

The Blurb