Today I’m doing the Top Ten Tuesday link-up, and talking about some of the books that were my childhood.

Y’all. If you ever want to help a child discover how amazing books are, go ahead and get them some of these books. They’re pretty much the best ever. Each one of the books listed below have a definite place in my childhood, and they helped cultivate my delight in words that led me to being an author.

I’ve also bought nearly every book on the list for other children I know, plus I own all (except maybe one?) in my library upstairs.

Have you ever read any of these? Which ones look the most interesting to you? Happy Tuesday, folks!

1. A King for Brass Cobweb 
2. James Herriot’s Treasury for Children
3. Baby Brown Bear’s Big Bellyache 
4. Go Dogs Go 
5. The Biggest Bear
6. Blueberries for Sal 
7. Make Way for Ducklings
8. Cranberry Thanksgiving 
9. The Mitten 
10. The Christian Mother Goose 

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Y’all! Only two weeks from today until the release of my latest book, Where Dandelions Grow! We’re gonna have lots of fun and party, so make sure you come back!

It’s Tuesday so I’m joining The Broke and Bookish for their Top Ten Tuesday linkup. Today’s theme is the top ten authors I want to meet. For any of y’all who don’t know I am an author, so meeting other authors is something I really like doing.

1. Cathrine Farns
   It was late one evening when I was around sixteen that I first found Miss Cathrine’s books. At the time I had been sick for two years, and had recently given up trying to sleep at night due to having my days and nights switched around.
   My family ordered a box of books, and Way of Escape was the first book I choose to read from that box (and I later realized it was the last book in the series – oh well). The book pulled me in, held me tight, and eight years later still hasn’t let go. All of Miss Cathrine’s books are now like old friends to me – friends that helped me through a very hard time in life.
2. Stephanie Morrill
   If you’ve been around Noveltea for long, you’ve heard me talk about Miss Stephanie. She started Go Teen Writers, as well as a book by the same title, and has been one of the most influential people in the writing part of my life. I happily call her my writing mentor, and although I’ve never met her in person, I’m quite thankful that I have gotten to email with her some.
3. Bob Goff
   When it comes to inspiring, Mr. Goff is high up on my list. I’m incredibly thankful for how he’s choosing to live his life for God’s glory. I’d love to get to learn from him in person.
4. Maria Goff
   I was first “introduced” to Miss Maria through the pages of her husband’s, Mr. Goff, book. Earlier this month her first book was published and I was thrilled to read it. I gave it to my sister, and the next time she saw me she’s like “Wow, Lydia! You’re so much like Miss Maria – it’s crazy!” And I agree – our personalities are a lot alike, which means I was able to learn a lot through her book.
5. Franklin Graham
   I can’t even imagine how much I’d be able to learn from him. His life is so inspiring to me. I don’t want to wander through my time on earth, I want to make a difference that will count for eternity, and Mr. Graham is doing just that.
6.  Julie Nye
   Miss Julie was one of my favorite authors growing up, and therefore she was one of those influential people who made me dream of being an author. I can’t begin to thank those authors enough for filling my little-girl-heart with starry-eyed ideas of writing.
7. Patricia St. John
   As a child I didn’t just want to meet Miss Patricia, I wanted to be Miss Patricia. Since that wasn’t possible, I figured I would just name a daughter after her. Strangely enough, I have a hard time saying “Patricia” though, so that probably won’t happen either.
   Growing up, Miss Patricia was my favorite author. I read her books over, and over, and over again, and delighted in them each time.
8. Dawn L. Watkins
   Some day I hope little children look at my book as fondly as I looked at Miss Dawn’s books. I’d like to thank her in person for being a writer.
9.  Corrie ten Boom
   I am so looking forward to one day meeting this heroine in heaven. If you don’t know who she is, please stop what you’re doing and click on her name. It will be well-worth your time.
10. Brother Andrew
    I feel like his books should have a warning about not reading them unless you’re prepared to have your life change. They are that good. I am SO thankful for his work. As a young teen I dreamed of one day meeting him, and being a part of his work.

What about you? What authors would YOU like to meet?

A couple years ago I had fun regularly joining The Broke and Bookish for their Top Ten Tuesday Linkup. How it works is they give a category or theme (that has to do with books), and then a bunch of bloggers join in and all post about it. Today’s theme is about books that you can’t put down, so you pretty much read them in one sitting. So, without further ado, here’s my list:

1. Thicker Than Blood While I didn’t literally read this book in one sitting, it was one of those stories that was really hard for me to put down. I remember wandering through an airport in Colorado late at night, trying to keep my family in sight as I was totally captivated by this series.
   
2. See How They Run This book isn’t what I would consider my normal style. In fact, I very rarely read books that have this type of plot/theme/etc…. Unreliable narrators aren’t what I generally go for. But for some reason Ally Carter’s writing pulls me in and makes it hard for me to put down her books. (Not that I recommend everything in them, but her writing is pretty cool.) 
3. The Extraverted Writer Not only is this book short and to the point, but it’s written in such a way that it’s a breeze to read through.
4. Life Creative I’m not a mom, but I am creative, and this book was beautiful all the way around. While reading it I hardly wanted to stop because it was so many different forms of art combined.
   
5. For Keeps Ah, this series took me SO long to get into, like two years to finish the first book. But, then the second book (which is nearly 400 pages long), only took me one day. So, I guess you can say the characters grew on me.
6. More Than a Hobby I was quite surprised to find this book so intriguing. Who knew retail could be interesting? But yes, I started this book one evening and finished it the next afternoon.
7. Love Lives Here Delightful! Books like this that are so real make me want to hug the author and thank them for letting thousands (or millions) of strangers become their friends.
   
8. When Grace Sings I really hardly ever read books like this, but thankfully I try it sometimes, because this book obviously was a win.
9. Finding the Core to Your Story It’s so much fun to find short books about writing that I can read over and over again. This is only 108 pages long, and has been re-read by me multiple times.
10. Wedded to War The Heroine Behind the Lines series was not a light and fluffy read. In fact, sometimes they made me want to gag. But, they made the Civil War seem so crazily real to me. I’m very impressed by the author.
    

And there we have it! 10 books that I’ve read in one day, or at least close to it. What are some books that you’ve read in a day? Have you read any on my list?