Top 10 Books I'd Save If I Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens

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It's been a while since I've had time to sit down and do one of these, but I'm *back*! :D I couldn't *not* do this topic. Oh, and btw, I know I altered the title just a little. I couldn't resist. Go with it, k? :D

This Week's Top 10: Books I'd Save If I Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens

"Who are you? What do you want?" I started to back away from him and tripped on the leg of my own bed, landing on the sloppily made thing with a slight thud. 

The boy, who had just materialized in a brilliant show of indigo and gold sparks of energy, stared at me unblinking. "You don't know?"

Rolling my eyes had never been a talent I was certain I'd mastered, but the change in his expression hinted that I'd gotten it right. "No, I just asked you that for shits and giggles. Now, mind answering?"

Snarky. Awesome. What was I thinking? If he could make himself just pop into my bedroom, who knew what else he might be capable of? No. Scratch that. Ignorance was definitely bliss in this situation. By a long shot. 

He let out a slow sigh, as if the very sight of me sitting on the bed was draining him of patience. "We don't have time for this. If I don't have you back to the ship by midnight, Chairmen Vardesari is going to send a squad to collect you. You do not want that." 

Okay, wait. My thoughts seemed to scatter in a thousand directions, as if they were a bag of marbles someone had just dumped on the floor. I'm the human. He's the alien. How did I end up being some experiment like E.T.? 

As I rose from the bed and stepped toward him I almost fell again, my legs feeling like they were made of rubber. He reached a hand out and steadied me. 

"Look. I know this must be weird for you--"

"Weird?" I flung my left hand out to point toward the door. "No! Weird is about 10,000 miles that way."

He dignified that comment with a laugh, which seemed to light his strangely hued blue eyes, changing them from ice to a richer shade akin to a tropical sea. He walked over to my bookshelf and immediately I felt the little hairs on my arms and neck stand on end. Oh, no. Do not touch the books, buddy. You do not wanna know how long it took me to organize those. 

He picked up a copy of Obsidian, flipped through it as if breathing in the scent of the paper, and tossed it at me. Somehow, I managed to catch it. "Go on. Grab some of these. It'll give you something to do on the ship and might keep you from being so homesick."

Walking over to the bookshelf I skimmed my finger along the spines of my collection, gathering the things I thought I'd need. 

How To Date An Alien
by Magan Vernon

Obsidian
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis

"What are you doing?" His eyes seemed to glitter with mischief as he came up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Hoping one of your human authors has left a clue?"

"Maybe. You are the one who picked Obsidian."

He shrugged and took the books from me. "Your call. What else do you want? We really need to get moving."

I rubbed my eyes as I continued to scan the shelves, trying to think of what books might be of most use to me.

The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins

The Sky Is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson

Tiger's Quest
by Colleen Houck

"What are these?" He set the first three books I'd chosen inside of a large leather bag and read the titles of the books I was handing him. "Damn, we're not that crazy. You think you're going to get thrown into an arena or something? And these Tiger books weigh a ton. You're bringing three of them?"

"Yep. And you will be coming back to get the next when it releases."

He gave me a you're nuts look which I promptly ignored. What else? What else?

"This one's weird. It has words in lines that don't match up."

"Poetry." It took every ounce of self control I had not to slap a hand against my forehead and go duh.

"It's sad."

"You can read English?" I asked. Certainly hadn't expected that. Note to self: no journals.

He dumped The Sky Is Everywhere into the bag unceremoniously, making me want to jab him with my knee somewhere painful. "Of course I can."

I shrugged. The way he had said the words was not lost on me, but I had no time to try and guess what kind of person my visitor was. There was something I was missing. I just knew it. I had to figure out what it was.

The Iron Fey series
by Julie Kagawa

Moon Dance
*note: Not actual cover

Book In A Month
by Victoria Lynn Schmidt

"Whoa, whoa! I told you to pick some books. Not that you could pack your whole library." He put his hands up as if he was going to reject The Iron Fey series.

"The bag doesn't look too full." I argued dropping them inside. I was about to let copies of Book In a Month, and my first novel Moon Dance follow it but he grabbed them from my hand.

His fierce expression turned puzzled and then softened. "You write?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That's mine."

He put the textbook and my novel into the bag with more care then the other books had received.

He glanced around my room until his gaze fell on the alarm clock. 11:55 p.m. "Anything else? Quickly, now! We really don't want to be here when that hits midnight."

I opened a drawer and began to rummage through its contents until I found what I was looking for. "Gotcha."

I pulled the notebook and pens free from the rest of my collection and he took them from me. He gave me an impish grin. "Why am I not surprised?"

He held his hand out to me and after a moment's hesitation I took it, my fingers slipping slowly into his. He gave a slight tug, drawing me to him. Slinging the bag with my things over his shoulder he wrapped both arms around me. His breath was warm, tickling the back of my neck; then in an instant that sensation was replaced by a tingling as if my entire body had fallen asleep rather then just a foot or fingers.

"Close your eyes." The words were soft, but there was no mistaking that they were a command. I let my lids drop, a drowsiness sweeping over me that would likely have made me do it even if he hadn't asked me to. There was a strange surge of power, then the air around me was filled with an instant chill that pulled me from my trancelike state.

We were across the street, my family's home lighting the night sky from several windows that no one had bothered to turn out. I felt his arms tighten around me more, as if he sensed that I might run at any minute.

Then, without warning, a deafening sound filled the air, and where my home had been a burst of orange flames, like a deadly blossom contrasting against the night sky, light everything as if we stood beneath the noonday sun. I stood still, my body trembling and my mouth hanging open with no words coming out.

The silence seemed to swallow us in the aftermath of the blast, until finally I seemed to regain my voice. "Mom and dad! Shawn! Oh my God!"

"No one else was home. I would not leave your family to die. I'm not that mean."

Wait. Who said anything about him being mean? "That wasn't mean. That was psychotic."

He lifted me off the ground, now carrying me, the bag with my books and a bag he'd been packing with other things all at once. Okay, so alien boy was strong. I'd have to keep that in mind.

"Think what you like." he gave a casual shrug. "Doesn't change the results."

What? If I didn't get some kind of answer -- that made sense -- I was going to start laughing like a crazy lady and not be able to stop. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth, as if it was fighting me as I tried to string words together. Finally, I settled on just one. "Why?"

He rested his chin lightly against the top of my head. It should have been a reassuring gesture, but knots had formed in my stomach and goosebumps were running up and down my arms. When he spoke, his voice was so soft I was only half sure I'd heard it. "Insurance. Wouldn't want you to change your mind."

I never made up my mind in the first place...

I ground my teeth together, trying desperately not to scream. As I thought of the last half hour I had spent worrying about which books to pack, of all stupid things, one fact became abundantly clear: I was meant to read books. Maybe even to write them. But this adventure I was about to embark on would likely be the death of me if I didn't get my priorities straight.

So, what books would you save from a natural disaster / being abducted by aliens / etc? I'd love to know, so feel free to share. :D