Welcome to my inaugural Top Ten Tuesday post.  In case you aren’t aware of what Top Ten Tuesday is I encourage you to hop on over to host The Broke and The Bookish to read up on it.  In summary, it’s a meme where participants are encouraged to make a top ten list based on certain topics and you know how I love me a list of ten!  Honestly, I don’t know that I’ll participate every week.  Most likely, as is the case this week, I’ll create a post around topics I feel I have an actual contribution to make. So keep tuned in!

This week’s prompt is timely.  It’s all about the gift giving.  See, I don’t do an annual buyers/holiday gift guide like many bloggers do.  So this week’s encouragement to create a list of the top ten books I want to give as gifts (and to who…even if you won’t actually give them!) is right up my alley.  I’ll start by saying that these books are gifts that I would give to anyone.  They are books that I strongly encourage you to give to yourself!

1.  The Piper’s Son by Malina Marchetta
Tragedy and romance create the perfect story of a boy and his family dealing with grief and their inability to adapt to the loss of a beloved brother/uncle/son/friend.  Friendship! Romance! Angst!  It’s fantastical in so, SO many ways.  Might even come up as my favorite book read in 2011.  Just sayin’.

2.  The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series by Maggie Stiefvater
Dude, I never thought a book about a girl falling in love with a wolf would be for me.  I balked, BALKED I tell you.  But man, when I say this is one of the best series out there I’m not lying.  Stiefvater’s writing is phenomenal — equal parts heart-warming and heart-wrenching in the best possible way. I would (and hopefully will at some point) read everything this woman has ever written.

3.  Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
This is a book that definitely took me out of my comfort zone.  It’s focus on the love story between a brother and sister should have had a high creep factor (and sure there were moments where it certainly did) but Suzuma wrote it so delicately and with such a level of respect that it was impossible for me not to be completely bowled over by it.

4.  Past Perfect by Leila Sales
When you grow up in New England it’s nearly impossible to have not visited some sort of colonial village or re-enactment community.  So this story hit particularly close to home.  BUT that doesn’t mean that if you haven’t experienced this grade school right of passage you won’t enjoy the book because you totally will.  It is down right fun and has a good moral to the story.  Oh and has loads of wit and personality.

5.  The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
DUH!   ‘Nuff said.

6.  Bumped by Megan McCafferty
An interesting (and satirical) take on sex, abstinence and teen pregnancy.  It’s got a bit of a dystopian vibe but really it’s a thought provoking, witty and entertaining look at a really serious subject.

7.  If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Oh.Em.Gee y’all.  These books are so full of win I can’t possibly put it into words.  Well I guess I can.  Heartbreaking in every imaginable way.  But in the best possible way.  Gah, another story that deals with the aftermath of loss and how to deal with picking up the pieces.  Amazing characters, amazing plot, amazing love story.  It’s definitely one to add to your collection.

8.  Divergent by Veronica Roth
A world where people are categorized into certain factions isn’t the kind of world I’d be particularly fond to live in myself, but experiencing it all vicariously through a strong and empowered girl?  Yea, that’s right up my alley. This one is action packed and filled with a diverse interesting cast of characters.

9.  Graceling/Fire by Kristin Cashore
Get the audiobook versions!  Fantasy is outside of my comfort zone (though I have been reading more of it in the last year) so when books like these pop up in one of my lists it means something.  Fantastic characters, amazing world building and just all around awesome plots allow the reader to enjoy another more fantastical world.

10.  Fixing Delilah by Sara Ockler
More family drama.  I’m sensing an unintended theme in my list, lol.  At any rate even with the drama-rama (mother/daughter discord a plenty along with other familial issues) this book brings there is also a really sweet romance and swoon worthy potential book boyfriend.

I gotta tell you, it’s hard to pick just ten.  And as you can see I kind of skirted the rules a bit because doing the math here I’m actually focusing on fifteen books given several on my list are series.  I just can’t keep away from them!  Not only that, but don’t think this is an exhaustive list because I could add a good ten more.

Which books would you give as gifts?