Book Blogger Hop: My Favorite Authors

It's Friday, which means Book Blogger Hop (thanks to Crazy-For-Books for hosting).

Because the Hop posts are on Fridays, this also means I'm going to start moving my "Great Friday" (wherein I provide links and pictures of great book-related stuff, i.e. Great Bookmark Friday, Great Bookends Friday, Great Book Purses Friday, and today's Great Planter Friday) to another day.

But I digress. Welcome to any new visitors from the Hop, and to old visitors - thanks for stopping by! This week, hoppers are asked to talk about their favorite authors. Mine rotate on a weekly, if not daily, basis, so this is particularly difficult, but for now:

1) Gabriel Garcia Marquez - in part because his writing is beautiful, poetic, and poignant, and in part because the first book my now-fiance, then "just friend," lent me was Love in the Time of Cholera.

2) Mark Helprin - also because his writing is beautiful, poetic, and poignant, and because he manages to weave magic with the everyday and turn the world around us into an inspiring, awesome place, all with carefully chosen words.

3) Justin Cronin - because I just finished The Passage and I CANNOT STOP GUSHING OVER IT.

4) Mary Roach - because she always, always, always makes me laugh, regardless of subject matter. I reviewed Bonk a while back, if you'd like to see more of my thoughts on this.

Happy Almost Weekend!