Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
This is a freebie week, so we get to choose what our Top Ten Tuesday list will be. I decided to blog about the Top Ten Books I Surprisingly Enjoyed. Sometimes you pick up a book not thinking it will wow you, but it does. Here's my list of books that left me pleasantly surprised.
1
I never considered myself much for a time travel lover. I'm also not a fan of fractured family stories for young people. But I had to admit that the appeal of Charlie for me was because he was so unnoticeable that his own mother can't remember his name. This ended up being a gripping story with tons of action.
2
I never intended to read The Hunger Games. Having been forced to read some dystopian fiction in high school, I swore I would never do it again. When my daughter received a copy of this book from her teacher as a Christmas gift, I said she could only read it if we read it together. We both loved it and quickly moved on to the next two books in the trilogy.
3
Futuristic stories are another no-no in my world. I simply can't get into all those different worlds with their odd characters and crazy technology. So I was totally floored when I loved Cinder. This one proves a well-told story will pull you in even if you don't care for the setting.
4
Zombies are so not my thing. I find all that talk about undead stuff kind of gruesome. I did, however, really like The Caldecott Chronicles No. 1. The humor in it made it a great read. I just found out there is a second book in this series, so I'll be reading that one as soon as I can.
5
Fantasy is another genre I don't dabble in often. This epic battle of good versus evil in a world of shape-shifting spirits, deception, and powerful forces was my favorite YA read of 2011. I wasn't fond of the third person omniscient point of view, but otherwise, it was perfect.
6
I truly wasn't sure what to think about this one when I decided to review it. We've got a dragon detective, his mage partner, and a bunch of magical beings at a Mensa convention. Bare minimum, you have to appreciate the creative mind that can come up with such a thing. I ended up being hooked from the very first word.
7
Not really one for vampire stories lately, I was thrilled with how much I enjoyed The Kensei. Fast-paced and exciting, it is set in Japan and the States. The best part: tall, dark and handsome Lawson who is a wise-cracking vampire charged with protecting the Balance between vampires and humans.
8
Speculative fiction remains a mystery to me. I never quite know what qualifies and what doesn't. I'm also not much into mysticism. The main character, Grace Johnson, takes a bullet to save the life of a Ku Klux Klansman who might have killed her father. The Ancestor spirits insist Grace bear witness to her town's violent racial history, so that all involved might transcend it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's a book you won't quickly forget.
9
This book was not what I expected at all. Not much of a fan of sci-fi or new worlds (I like mine just fine), I approached this one with trepidation. It's got a lot of action--which I like. I totally got wrapped up in this one. War Correspondent Dax Rigby accepts an assignment on the savage planet of Arcadia. His job--to investigate and report on the Western Alliance mission there. He is quickly thrust into a battle to save two alien species from extinction and rescue a human outpost plagued by a mysterious disease.
10
Now, I like historical fiction; but I haven't read much about Vikings since high school. I wasn't quite sure I would like this one. The author's detailed research added a great deal to this novel. He also included an historical perspective at the beginning and a glossary at the end, which were very helpful.
Have you picked up any books that ended up pleasantly surprising you?
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4 comments:
It's lovely when we're surprised with a book that we'll think we'll hate. I didn't expect to like The Hunger Games as much as I did! Great list!
Cinder really surprised me too. I kept seeing it but was never too interested, but picked it up from the library one day and got hooked.
My TTT
OOh nice! Cinder and Hunger Games are the only ones that I know of. Sadly Cinder just wasn't for me and I never could get interested in Hunger Games to want to try it out. But I have had books that have surprised me like this too! Mostly ones I found in the "romance" section at Borders (sob!) when I thought it would be a romancey read instead of the incredible read that it was!
That belief came from me picking up a book with a romancey cover from said section and it turned out to be a horrible romance read with no other action or purpose really. That's where that fear stemmed from! Glad to be proven wrong again and again!
Here's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
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Great topic! I didn't expect to like The Hunger Games either but ended up really loving it. I've been dying to read Cinder and I'll have to give a few of the others a look. Thanks for sharing!
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