Me, a Literary Critic?

I was chatting with a friend recently about the kind of job I would like to have someday. "I would love a job where I could get to know people and suggest books they would like to read." He suggested a job as a literary critic. This idea swirled around in my head for a bit and I decided I liked the idea and would take a stab at it.

First of all - I'm not a literary critic in the sense that I am going to read every new book that comes out and comment on it.

Second of all - I would like to get to know my readers so that I can suggest books for you PERSONALLY. That way I know what would spark your interest.

What criteria should be met for me to suggest books? I offer the following information:

1. I fell in love with reading at age 5 and have never stopped reading since.
2. I read a wide range of genres including, but not limited to, sci-fi, fantasy, children's lit., classics, historical/non-historical fiction, thriller/mystery, and biographical.
3. I have been able to create a change in several peoples' reading habits because of my suggestions
4. I do take part in some forms of writing quite often - poetry, short stories, and the occasional novella.

So, think of this blog as a...literary suggestion blog...with occasional criticisms.

And now, to start off, a list of my top 25 favorite books/trilogies/series (you are lucky, it was going to be 100! *Note: these are not in order except for the first one)

The criteria for books to be my favorites are 1. they have to challenge me/change the way I do things/think about things in some way, or open my mind to new possibilities; 2. they have to touch my soul - the beauty of a passage will make a book an instant favorite with me. What are your criteria for a favorite book?

1. The Adventures of Tippy by Glanville Smith ( a beautiful little fairytale)
2. A Wrinkle in Time Quartet by Madeleine L'Engle
3. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
5. Persuasion by Jane Austen
6. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
7. Golden by Cameron Dokey
8. Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
9. Seven Daughters & Seven Sons by Bahija Lovejoy
10. No Flying in the House by Betty Brock
11. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
12. Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Elanor Updale
13. The Wolves Chronicles by Joan Aiken
14. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
15. The Giver by Lois Lowry
16. The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
17. Frindle by Andrew Clements
18. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
19. The Harlequin Teaset (short story) by Agatha Christie
20. The Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
21. Sea Legs by Alex Shearer
22. The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
23. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
24. The Arkadians by Lloyd Alexander
25. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller