Wonderful Wednesdays #7 (Favorite Authors)

Wonderful Wednesdays is a meme about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven't read them recently.  Each week will have a different genre or theme.  It started with Sam at Tiny Library, so go check her out.

This weeks theme is favorite authors (haha, I deleted the Canadian "u" in favourite).

It isn't hard to pick my favorite authors, because I have some that I will absolutely read everything from. as immediately as possible.

Jeanette Winterson
 I love how her words feel like poetry.  I love how she can put you right in the middle of a relationship without you realizing that she hasn't mentioned names or genders or details at all.  Her writing is sensual, lingering, and I revisit some of her books repeatedly.  My two favorites are Written on the Body and The Power Book.  I recently found two of her older books in a used book store, two I'd never read, and I snatched them up.  I'll review them soon.

 Catherynne Valente
 As if I'd never mentioned her before...  I like her for the same reasons that I like Jeanette Winterson, in fact Palimpsest made me think of Winterson repeatedly.  In addition to beautiful writing, though, Valente creates worlds like nobody else I've ever read, and I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.

Margaret Atwood
While I love her dystopias more than her non-dystopian literary fiction, Atwood is always going to be someone I read and re-read.  I love her mixture of warning with humor and some of the craziest ideas I've read.  I still can't drive by fast food without thinking of chickie nobs and pigoons.

When I try to figure out what these have in common, they all have interesting worlds, well written words, and emotion I resonated with. Some honorable mentions would be David Mitchell, E. M. Forster, and Alex Ross. (Alex Ross writes about music, but in this way that makes you fall in love with it again... so it still fits!) 

Wonderful Wednesdays #5 (Escapism)

One of my favorite book blogs to follow is Tiny Library, because Sam seems to have similar literary tastes to me, but just different enough where I'm always adding more to my to-read list.  She is also the creator of the Literary Blog Directory, where I have stumbled across some great blogs!

She is bringing back her Wonderful Wednesdays meme, and today's theme is escapism. 

What books do you read when you are having a tough time of it in real life and need to forget all of your worries?  What books do you trust to take you far away from reality?

When I was an undergrad, my roommate and I would escape to the curriculum room of the library on campus and read children's books to de-stress.  My top two were The Velveteen Rabbit and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.  I wish I had copies of both to pull out on bad days!

I think really any book I'm engaged with will allow for escape, but someone who writes beautifully will be the most effective.  Actually I think the best escape would be fantasy combined with beautiful writing, so I would head to Catherynne M. Valente.  Maybe Palimpsest, or the book I'm in the middle of listening to - the first volume of The Habitation of the Blessed.  The creatures and constantly shifting point of view demand attention, and I'm happy to oblige, and allow my worries and stress to take a breather.