Better Know A Blogger: Tiger - All Consuming Book's

Today is the last of Better Know A Blogger for a while and I saved one of my favorite people and blogger's Tiger Holland to close out this fun feature!
*What is your name/blogger name? Tiger Holland. Holland is my actual last name, and Tiger's a nickname that I answer to in real life. Were it not for a certain golfer's exploits, it would be the perfect name.

Karen: Restore dignity to that name Tiger! LOL

*What is the name of your blog? All Consuming Book's

*Do you have an auto-buy author, someone whose writing is so good, you have to read every single thing they write? Oh, yes. Many times yes. For urban fantasy, Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost are must-buys. In YA, Suzanne Collins, Rachel Vincent, and Richelle Mead. In women's fiction, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In Christian fiction or nonfiction, C.S. Lewis. In any genre, Ann Aguirre. In science fiction, Philip K. Dick. In classics, I'm still trying to read all of Shakespeare (but I've already bought the collected works!), and if anyone writes anything remotely related to the poet T.S. Eliot, I will read it.

Karen: Thanks to your recommendation Ilona Andrews is on my list now as well and I know we both share an Ann Aguirre (ENCLAVE!! - hint ... hint pre-order this one people) obsession.

*Who is your all-time favorite couple in literature, and why? For YA, I would have said Katniss and Peeta if Mockingjay had gone the way I saw it in my head. As far as /actual/ fictional stories and the way they /actually/ went, I'll go with Kate and Curran from Ilona Andrews' Magic Bites books. They're just such strong, unique people and it took them a reasonable amount of time to fall in love--close to a year? In books, writers are usually working within certain time constraints, but these two were a welcome break from all the love-at-first sight. Or from the series where the couple gets together in book one, then spends the rest of the series separating in the even-numbered books and reuniting in the odd-numbered books. *cough*SookieStackhouse*cough*

Karen: I have given up on Sookie. I'm with you on the Peeta/Katniss coupling and my version is better than MJ's :-). Again - you have made me a huge fan of Kate & Curran!

*Do you have an e-reader? Do you prefer e-books or regular books, or use both? I don't have an e-reader, but I read about as many ebooks as paper books. I download library books into my computer, or I read PDF files sent from authors or view books on Smashwords. Like everybody else, I love the feel and the /reality/ of paper books, but I very much enjoy the opportunity to read the wider range of fiction that's offered to me through ebooks. I'll use both formats as long as they're available. Viva la difference!

*What are your Top 5 picks for the best books of 2010? I think I came up with this question, and I despise it. *wracks brain* After consulting my Goodreads shelves, I've decided, in no particular order:

1. "She's So Dead to Us" by Kieran Scott. Contemporary YA that's smart and funny and deals with class differences between a former rich kid and her ex-friends.
2."Jane" by April Lindner. Listed under YA sometimes, this update of "Jane Eyre" produces some great emotions and beautifully updates the original story.
3. "Magic Bleeds" by Ilona Andrews. Urban fantasy, broke the Book Four Curse for me--for a year or more, every fouth book in a series I read was significantly less awesome than the previous three.
4. "Bayou Moon" by Ilona Andrews (Can you tell yet that I love Ilona?) Unbelievable worldbuilding, real danger, and more funny moments than you'd imagine.
5. "The Argonautica" by Apollonius of Rhodes. Okay, it was written 3,000 years ago, but I read it in 2010! An excellent epic, and the characterization was centuries ahead of its time.

Karen: I still have to read a few of those on your list but I loved Jane and Magic Bleeds too.

*What book or series has been sitting in your TBR the longest? Of the books that I actually own, Dracula--I've meaning to read it every year since high school. But then I open up to Johnathan Harker's bone-dry journal and hear Keanu Reeves' voiceover, and the fight is over. Goodbye, Dracula.

*What's the best thing about blogging and reviewing books? The delight in enjoying lovely fiction and sharing it. Getting to speak about what makes books wonderful is just the coolest thing ever, and I'm glad I get to do it.

Karen: You do it very well Tiger! We joke on Twitter that she is some sort of cyborg reviewer and I'm only half joking. That girl can read and review like no one else!!

Thanks Tiger and you know I will read whatever you tell me to and then make you discuss / analyze the whole thing in great detail!