Top Ten Authors I’m Thankful For

I saw this Top Ten Tuesday book meme over at Ash’s Celebrations blog; and I felt I should do it too. This is not a list of my favorites authors/books, although there are some overlaps. It is merely a list of authors I’m thankful for.

So, here it goes:

1. Enid Blyton – And her books will most definitely top the list. Being a reader growing up with access to what you’d call a typical lending library in Chennai, she showed me the magical ways, adventures and most importantly the school series. It was of course a whole lot of whimsical reading, but I’m glad to have picked my first Blyton (Mr. Meddle’s Muddles) and enjoyed it. The hundreds of books inspired me to find a whole new level of happiness in curling and reading.
2. J.K. Rowling – I’m a part of the generation that grew up with Harry Potter. Right from when I was a youngun’ at 9 years old, cycling to school and discussing with her friends about cauldrons and hats. Yup. This needs no explanations. I had a magical world to escape into, friends because of a common love for this; and theorizing between each book. And each time I read, there’s something new I hadn’t seen before.
3. John Green – Sometimes I think I will be terribly lost if I hadn’t read a John Green book. The words, the quotes, these are things that resonate deeply for me. The characters – so memorable. I turn to these books anytime I feel like I could do with some metaphorical talk on life, and even though they’re YA fiction, it’s beautiful. I’m quite at a loss to describe just how much these books can affect you, and perhaps alter perceptions. John Green, merci.
4. Ian McEwan – And then, there comes along a writer who’s one books can leave a profound impact on you. I read Atonement and besides the literary goodness it was filled with, the compelling nature of the characters, the ‘real’ness of the things portrayed in the book. To pick a favourite quote : “Was being Cecilia just as vivid an affair as being Briony? Did her sister also have a real self concealed behind a breaking wave and did she spend time thinking about it, with a finger held up to her face?“
5. Ayn Rand – Ayn Rand and her ideas, I read them at an impressionable age. My first set of dystopic fiction. There are so many points to her philosophy, some which I realized were sort of nascent in my perceptions of a few things; others helped me see things in a different light.
6. Jane Austen – As a female lit-lover, the women from Austen’s novels are sure to be an inspiration and a source of great reading and Classics love.
7. J.D. Salinger – Another of those books that will be etched in my head – The Catcher in the Rye. Perhaps the differences in the age of the protagonist and me when I first read it helped, but honestly, it is one honest amazing book. And Salinger’s portrayal of life, the hat etc.,  are simply amazing.
8. Roald Dahl – Going back a bit, Roald Dahl was the one who introduced me to some of the more quirky things; and most importantly to Matilda. Matilda was one of my first ever female heroines and I wanted to copy her a lot!
9. Tan Twan Eng – For history. For the writing. For painting a beautiful, yet sad tale. Gift of Rain has to be read.
10. Stephen Chbosky – If I’ve included Salinger and John Green, this had to figure in the list. Lots of reasons why I loved the book; and a good number of reasons I’m grateful to have read them all.

I took a while to write this out to make sure that it wasn’t just my fave authors, but more so a list of authors whose books have truly made an impact on me, pick-me-up books, forcing some introspection. So here’s my list. What do you say?