Skip to main content

Top Ten Tuesday- Things About a Book that make me Instantly Pick it Up

Hey everyone! I'm back with yet another Top Ten Tuesday list- courtesy of brokeandbookish.blogspot.com. This week, the list is about the Top Ten Things that Will Instantly Make Me want to Read a Book!


So here I go!

NOTE: None of these items are all-consuming. They are either background elements or share the limelight with some other concept in the novel.

1. Set in World War II
I have a weakness for books set during WWII (I'm a huge history fan). Since personal feelings are rarely explored within the walls of a history classroom, I seek books that incorporate great writing and history into a work of fiction.

Recommendation: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. 

2. Teenage Girls Trying Something New
Whether it's a social experiment, a new hobby or a family adventure, I usually love reading stories about new experiences!

Recommendation: Popular by Maya van WaAgenen

3. "Travel"
Don't get me wrong- I don't mean books that advise you on where to travel. I mean books where travel is a main theme and plays into all that is important about the characters. I really like travel-journalism books as well.

Recommendation: Almost French by Sarah Turnbull

4.Artistic/Hobby Related
If the book is about a talented young artist I will immediately want to know more! Whether they're musical proteges, artistically inclined or graceful dancers, there's ALWAYS more to the story! Whether or not the hobby is the main focus of the story, it usually adds essential elements to the narrative and the character.

Recommendation: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson 

5.High-School & Fitting In 
My favourite type of High-School books are always the ones where an unlikely friendship springs up. Where opposites attract and it forms a dramatic relationship!

Recommendation: Night Road by Kristin Hannah

6. Character is stranded by family
Where the main character is an orphan, or has either abandoned or been abandoned by her family. (Literally or figuratively). I really enjoy the development of the characters as they learn to trust others and get over the tragedies they have suffered.

Recommendation: Mosquitoland by David Arnold (review comes out tomorrow), One for the Murphys by Lynda M. Hunt

7. Beautiful Covers
We all say we don't judge a book by its cover, but who are we kidding?

Recommendation: This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

I'm going to stop the list here, because most of the other things I have in mind are conditional... what topics would make your list? Leave me a link and I'll go check it out!

Comments

  1. Fun list. I like reading WWII books, too, especially if they cover a new topic or area of focus. My TTT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly- WWII books can get boring, but when they talk about a young nurse, or a waiting wife, or an aged soldier they become the best books ever!

      Delete
  2. Travel (armchair adventures) is always a great reader incentive. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love travel and wish I could afford to do it as much as my heart desires so I substitute in with books! I love these so much fun! My Top Ten

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's the same situation with all travel readers! Either that, or excess travel has led to an addiction!

      (I think the former's more likely, don't you?)

      Delete
  4. Brilliant list! :-) I agree with all of these points!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I completely forgot about WWII on my list! What are some of your favorite books set during that time?
    I also love books involving travel. It's fun to see a new place without spending any money, haha.
    My TTT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved All the Light We Cannot See, and I also really enjoyed Rose Under Fire.
      Annexed was definitely interesting as well!

      Delete
  6. I am definitely guilty of judging a books by it's cover. lol! I can't help myself. I blame the artsy side of myself for that. I completely forgot to put artistic/hobby related on my list. I really love those types. Great list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Julie! I think all of us forgot some element or the other on our list- I didn't even make it to ten!

      Delete
  7. Definitely enjoy WWII books. And books with pretty covers too.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/top-ten-tuesday-103/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great covers and high school are nice. Travel too- I'd like to read more travel related stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a label on my blog for travel. It includes some book reviews and some pictures. I'm sure you can find something there!

      Delete
  9. I love reading books with travel, high school and fitting in and also about a character who is artistic or has a hobby. The best book would include all of those topics rolled into one :D.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait to find a book that involves all of them! This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills comes pretty close- it involves short road trips!

      Delete
  10. What a great list... I didn't think sbout 2, 4 or 6! I love reading about orphans...how did I forget that?! And I'm all for trying new things and artistic stories... All the slight We cannot See is what I was trying to think of in my reply to your comment! That was pretty good, right!?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great list, I don't know why, I don't go looking for WW11 books but I seem to read a lot of them. I loved Kristin Hannah's Night Road by the way, listened on audio to it quite a ways back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't go looking for them either! They find me.... a lot of my friends know I'm a history fan so they recommend them to me.

      Delete
  12. I love reading about travel or try new hobbies I wish I could pick up, it makes me wish I had an endless bank account! I also love me some pretty covers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well you don't need to have an endless bank account- that's why we all live vicariously through books!

      Delete
  13. I'm always being a sucker for WWII/Holocaust stories. Actually my WIP starts at the end f WWII in a concentration camp. Is an alternative history or Historical fantasy [still deciding! lol] High-School & Fitting In and covers are a weakness too

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Hey guys! Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, so be sure to leave a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

The Hero, by Rabindranath Tagore

 The narrative poem" The Hero" was written by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. Set in a young boy's imaginations this narrative has all the necessary elements and is rich in imagery. The characters, plot, setting, theme, climax and idea are all very clearly outlined.  The setting of the poem falls within the boy's imagination. It is described to have 'spiky grass' and a 'narrow broken path'. It is also mentioned that the country is 'strange and dangerous'. The rurality of the setting is further accentuated when Tagore talks of the 'cattle' and 'wide fields'.

One by Shawnee Kellie

  The poem "One" by Shawnee Kellie is a very interesting and thought-provoking piece of writing. The poem spreads the message that it is not only a large group of people that can make a change, but one idea, one thought, one human that can help make the world a better place. 

Coromandel Fishers by Sarojini Naidu

Hello! For this post I will be exploring another poem written by Sarojini Naidu, called "Coromandel Fishers". This poem can be taken as an allegory, for although it speaks to fishermen, it's metaphoric value speaks to the nation, and can be considered a wakening call for the people of our country. When I wrote about "In the Bazaars of Hyderabad", I mentioned that Sarojini Naidu was one of our freedom fighters, and believed greatly in the Swadeshi movement. Naidu reflects her passion for India in this poem.