So there is this blog, right, called The Broke and the Bookish who do a really great feature called Top Ten Tuesday. So we’ve decided to invite our authors to pick various Top Ten Tuesday topics to write about.

First up is Bryony Pearce (author of The Weight of Souls, to be released autumn 2013) and she is bringing to you her Top Ten Favourite Books Today (as in, it might change tomorrow *grins*)

1) Earthsea quartet by Ursula Le Guin – My first introduction to real fantasy, Le Guin skilfully weaves a world and a moral story with characters who would not be out of place in any YA bookshelf. Sparrowhawk was my first love.

2) Brain and Brawn Ship Series by Anne Macaffrey – Another writer who was writing YA before it officially existed. I loved The Ship Who Sang and read it over and over again. Her books are still masterclasses in characterisation and always make me cry.

3) Drenai Tales by David Gemmell – Gemmell writes the best heroes, or rather anti-heroes. His character arcs are brilliant, his themes of self-sacrifice and the meaning of heroism wove through adventure stories that leave me breathless.

4) Tales of King Arthur by Thomas Malory – I have always loved the stories of Arthur, Merlin and his knights. Gawain was my favourite flawed hero and I wrote my third year dissertation on these Tales. The love has remained and I can’t wait to share them with my children (my daughter’s middle name is Guinevere).

5) The Eyes of The Dragon by Stephen King – One of King’s very early books and the one that, for me, ties together his whole oeuvre. Another YA book before YA was official and one I have read and reread. I’ve always been impressed by King’s cleverness and the way he puts together a story.

6) The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer – I first met the Wife of Bath at school and the remainder of her travelling companions at university. I find Chaucer’s poetry wonderful and his characters as vibrant as the best written today. His work is inspirational, irreverent and basically genius.

7) City’s Son by Tom Pollock – I just discovered this book and it contains all the things I love about YA literature in a single novel – City’s Son offers the lyricism of Maggie Stiefvater, the mythological depth of Niel Gaiman, the gripping adventure of Gillian Philip and the epic sense of Patrick Ness. I can’t wait for the sequel.

8) Jingo (and other Discworld books) by Terry Pratchett – Terry Pratchett is one of the few authors I have read whose books are so fantastic that I literally close the final page, then turn back to the front to read the book again – the same day (another is Janet Evanovich – her Stephanie Plum novels also keep me laughing into the night). His brilliant satire and perfect comedy partners some of my very favourite characters of all time (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Captain Vimes).

9) Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – This is my philosophical book. I keep it by my bed, it makes me think and cry. It is a pure joy.

10) The Color Purple by Alice Walker – The book that really brought home to me issues of racial and gender inequality. The opening line has stayed with me for years and years.

Do let Bryony know if you have read any of the novels listed in her Top Ten and do feel free to tell us your top ten favourite novels today!