Top Ten Tuesday (#8)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists. 

This week's topic is...top 10 books at the top of my summer TBR list.

For this one, I'm going to try and stick to the many, many unread books on my shelves.




1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I bought this last year, and then put it on my shelf and promptly forgot about it. I am determined to getting round to reading it though, since I've heard so many good things.

2. Fallen by Lauren Kate
I'm not sure how I feel about this book, but it's another one I've seen floating around a lot, so I bought a copy. I hope to tackle it later this summer.

3. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and want to see what Rowling's adult work is like.

4. Burn Mark by Laura Powell
Okay, I don't actually own Burn Mark, but I do own Witch Fire, its sequel, and I can't read that without reading the first book.

5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
This collection of short stories has been sitting on my bookshelf for about 18 months.

6. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I adored both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns and am really looking forward to Hosseini's latest novel, although I'll need a box of tissues to capture all the tears I'm sure to shed while reading.

7. Inferno by Dan Brown
A birthday present from this year that I want to read before my next birthday rolls round.

8. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
A modern classic that's been on my TBR list for years.

9. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
A fascinating, awe-inspiring man I'd like to learn more about.

10. Planet Google by Randall Stross
This book is probably wildly out of date now, considering how fast the internet moves, but it's all about the power of Google and how the organisation works.

Top Ten Tuesday (#7) - Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists. 

This week's topic is...Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read.

I'm not really one to judge a book by its cover, so this is a really difficult topic (I say that with every topic, don't I?!).

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
While I think the book isn't amazingly written, I do love the cover of Twilight, and in face all of its sequels. Minimalist but striking.










2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling A lot of people say the American covers have better illustrations, but I'll always have a special place in my heart for the very first book's British edition, since that was how I got into the series.









 
3. The Land of Stories - The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer Gorgeous, gorgeous cover from illustrator Brandon Dorman, who has also done the illustrations for Colfer's second novel, and they're just as gorgeous from the previews.

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I quite like simple designs on book covers, and this, with just three colours, really works for me.

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
There are many different covers for The Hunger Games, but this is the edition I own, and I'm a fan of it.

6. The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton One of my favourite books from childhood, and still a cover I love.

7. Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Just a beautiful cover, and I love the font used for the title.

8. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
I love shoes, therefore I love the covers of all of Weisberger's books!

9. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Obviously, the West End/Broadway posters are much more famous now than the book cover, but I have to go back to where it began. Plus, my edition has green page edges.

10. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
One of my favourite books, and another minimalist cover that I love.











What book covers do you love?

Top Ten Tuesday (#6) - Top Ten Books Dealing with Tough Subjects

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
 
This week's topic is...Top Ten Books Dealing with Tough Subjects.

This is a really difficult topic, but looking back at my reading history I realised a lot of the books I included I read at a young age, and so were often my first exposure to the difficult subjects they spoke about.



1. Junk by Melvin Burgess
I read this book soon after its release in 1997, and it was really hard hitting and just brilliantly written, dealing with the tough subject of drug addiction.

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
One of my favourite books, the issue of school killings isn't as big over here in Britain as it is in America, but this book still caught me. The question of whether people are born bad or made bad was an interesting one, and I was left as conflicted at the end of the book as Kevin's mother.

3. 10 Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy
I'm firmly against capital punishment, whatever the crime. This true story about an innocent man hanged for murders his neighbour committed, which I read while at school, only cemented my position on capital punishment.

4. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult tends to churn books out like a butter factory, but My Sister's Keeper is a brilliant read, and one that poses really difficult questions about organ donation, keeping someone alive when they may not want to live, and family relationships.

5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
While this book is heartbreaking and deals very realistically with cancer, I still found it uplifting at moments, something that shows just how skilled a writer Green is.

6. Wasted: A Memory of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher
I was quite young when I read this book, probably too young. Hornbacher's experiences of battling eating disorders were tough to read about, but I guess that was the point.

7.  The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
A relatively short book, this was another one I read while I was at school. Every moment of The Virgin Suicides is full of heartbreak and confusion as to why the characters would take the action they did.

8. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
The fact that this book doesn't spell out the despicable things the Nazis did or the horror of the concentration camps makes it all the more sadder.

9. Tully by Paulina Simons
A novel that deals with abuse at the hands of family members, as well as a host of other things, I found this a compelling read.

10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
On the surface Kazuo Ishiguro's book is about one thing, but what it's actually about is the tough subjects of love, loss, memory, loyalty and what happens when you know you only have a finite amount of time left to live.

Top Ten Tuesday (#5) - Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light and Fun

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
 
This week's topic is...Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light and Fun.

I'm a firm believer that reading should be an escape more often than not, so I'm loving this week's topic, and extending it slightly to include comfort books as well.


1. Anything by Nora Roberts
I feel like Roberts appears in my list most weeks regardless of topic, but she really is an author who can whisk you away to another world where you know there'll be a happy ending. I find her books well-written, with good pace and great characters.

2. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I've picked the first three in the Harry Potter series, because after that the books get pretty dark, and can't really be classed as light and fun. The earlier books are much more easy-going, and definite comfort reading. 

3. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
A great book when I want to dip into something witty, funny and about a part of the industry I work in, although not my part.

4. Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
I'm a big fan of Cabot, back from the days of The Princess Diaries, through her other stuff like the Missing series, and up to her adult novels. Size 12 is Not Fat is the first of the Heather Wells mysteries, and is a great light and fun read (despite the fact that it's about murder).

5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
A magical fairytale for adults.

6. The Land of Stories - The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
This isn't the world's best written book, but I forgive Colfer because I'm a big fan of his. It's a very sweet, fun story though.

7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Okay, this is a book I've mentioned in most of my lists, but it's just such a good book. When I'm looking for something light and familiar, this is one of my go-to novels.

8. The Peacock Garden by Anita Desai
I got awarded this book when I completed a reading challenge at my public library years and years and years ago. It comes in at a mere 71 pages, but they're 71 pages of beautiful writing (and illustrations) about a young girl, Zuni, who with her family takes shelter in a mosque in August 1947 when Pakistan and India were formed. Being of Pakistani heritage, this book is pretty special to me, as it was the first time I read a story with a Pakistani girl as the protagonist.

9. How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith
A sweet book giving hints and tips about how to appreciate the world around you.

10. The Sweetness of Life by Francoise Heritier
This book is just a list of all the tiny, everyday things that make up life. It puts a smile on my face.

What are your favourite light and fun reads? What books do you go to for comfort?   

Top Ten Tuesday (#4) - Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
This week's topic is...Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book.

Okay, this is a really, really difficult one, so I've stretched it a bit to include authors and genres.




1. Young adult
Am I allowed to pick a whole genre? I'm doing it anyway.

2. Dystopia
I'm a big fan of dystopian fiction, although the genre can be a bit hit and miss.

3. Nora Roberts
Roberts is my go-to gal for easy reads with happy endings, and I'll pick up every new book of hers even though I could probably guess down to the word what's going to happen.

4. Janet Evanovich
Laught out loud chick lit with an edge, what more could I ask for? I'll read anything by Evanovich.

5. Murder mysteries
I'm a sucker for a good mystery (evidenced even as a child by all the Famous Five and Nancy Drew books I read), and although I'll probably be scared for much of the time I'm reading a good murder mystery, I'll still also really enjoy myself.

6. London
Specifically east London. I grew up not far from the city, and now that I work there I get a real thrill reading books that are set in places I know.

7. Ballet
When I was little, I loved books about ballet, and I discovered that hadn't changed when I picked up Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black.

8. Cookbooks
I don't often buy cookbooks, but I've recently acquired a number through people buying them for me as gifts. The more cookbooks I get given, the more obsessed I get with them, and I love looking through them in bookshops.

9. Books about people with powers
I didn't want to put this one down under paranormal, because I've gone off books about vampires (I had my fill of Twilight and True Blood), and I'm not really that into books about witches and wizards. However, I do find books that explore the lives of people with interesting and unusual powers fascinating.

10. Real life people in fiction
I love reading historical fiction which features real people and is a dramtisation of their lives, but clearly researched so as to still be realistic. So stuff like Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (as well as other books by her), Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring etc.

What are the things that make you immediately pick up a book?