Marmoreal Mondays!

I've decided to do a new thing where I talk about something that isn't solely a book review every Monday. It's called "Marmoreal Monday" for no reason other than a) I couldn't find a synonym for "personal" that started with an "M" and b) I really, really like that word and would like to see it used more widely.

Ahem. Moving on.

I mentioned in a recent post that my favorite author was Maggie Stiefvater. I dislike the idea of having one author that is your "favorite" per se. However, in terms of YA Lit, Maggie Stiefvater is an author whose books I have had really, really strong feelings about pretty much since the I started reading her.

Basically, her Shiver Trilogy (Shiver, Linger, and Forever) is such a unique interpretation of werewolves and the romance so real and so ideal and so ... so ... I'm having a hard time articulating this, but it's one of those romances where I get that feeling of my heart being squeezed from all the emotion, and it gets difficult to speak. The feeling that is the origin of the phrase "your heart's in your throat," basically.

I also absolutely drool over her Books of Faerie (Ballad and Lament). First off, anything for folklore, particularly British or Irish folklore just gets me. (Seriously, I bought everything Amazon had from Katherine Briggs, who is pretty much the biggest name in that area). Second, I LOVE the whole "faerie" concept. (NOT Tinker Bell, like, traditional faeries. The next series I'm delving into is by Nancy Werlin and includes Extraordinary, Impossible, and Unthinkable. It involves, you guessed it, the world of the fae. So you can see, I'm really into it.) Finally, she just makes everything real, you know? Like, I believe because Maggie Stiefvater wrote about it. She just makes her writing so alive.

My favorite book from her is The Scorpio Races. One, Sean is the kind of man one can only dream about. I mean, of course, a relationship with him wouldn't really work in real life (at least for me, anyway), but it's liked he walked out of a legend. The whole book is, really. Everything is ancient and full of myth and time and meaning AND I LOVE IT! The way she writes the world is the way I wish I could see it all the time.

Her Raven Cycle (The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, and two more, I believe, yet to be released) is also one of my favorites. First off, ley lines? Glendower? I am all over that. One, it made my British history class actually relevant to my actual life for the first, last, and only time, but, damn, was it worth it. Two, no one handles legends as well as Maggie Stiefvater. The way she described Cabeswater and nature and the connection the characters' feel towards it is just so... stirring.

Also, I highly recommend you check out her website or something, because she is also awesome as a person! (She has tons of pets and plays the bagpipes. Really. Now, go research her, I promise you will not be disappointed with the way in which she embodies awesome.)

In short, Maggie Stiefvater is my favorite author because her books are just that good. The characters, the plot, everything is awesome. However, what really does it for me is a little more intangible than that. I want to throw around the phrase "speaks to my soul" ... however, I don't want you to think I'm off my rocker and leave. Oh, hell, it's not like anyone's really reading this. The novels of Maggie Stiefvater speak to my soul. Just the way she describes magic and legends and things ancient and eternal just gets me the way nothing else ever has. Seriously, I believe in the world because Maggie Stiefvater wrote about it.

I'll freely admit, I've always been a bit weird...i.e. attributing odd little things to elements of supernatural/folkloric natures is something I've always done, and I've always been obsessed with the past and the fae and magic and such. HOWEVER, my love for Maggie Stiefvater is completely independent of that aspect of my interests and if you have never read anything by her, I HIGHLY recommend you do so right now. Seriously, you don't know what you're missing.