Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a top ten list every Tuesday (obviously) centered around a book-related topic. If you’ve got a blog and did a list for this week, link in the comments so we can chat! If you haven't, feel free to discuss anyways!
This week's TTT topic:
Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years
(How fitting that this post is my 100th post. FANGIRLING ALERT.)
3. Nothing to Envy: North Korea has always intrigued me, and this book broke my heart. Honestly. I have on words for how much I admire the defectors as well as the survivors still in North Korea.
4. Gone Girl: I read this after aforementioned craving for adult books, and Gone Girl beautifully captured, the first time for me, a pair of unreliable narrators. Also, new craving for thrillers.
5. The Other Boleyn Girl: This one started my love for Tudor England, and I'm just flailing for more historical fiction, esp. involving women.
6. Julius Caesar: Not a book, but just, the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars.
7. The Alchemist: This just took my breath away, because it's set in the Sahara desert and there's so much fantasy and gypsies and argh. A little heavy on philosophy, but it's a beautiful allegory.
8. World War Z: I can't. I honestly can't. This one is too awesome. The sheer humanity and epic scale of this one is amazing and I would have loved a mockumentary adaptation.
10. The Book Thief: Death narrates. 'Nuff said. (And it's snarky, heartbroken, sophisticated Death.)
Were any of these also your favs? What are some favs that I have to read ASAP? And if you did a TTT, do leave a link so I can check out your list too!
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I adored the writing in The Night Circus, and I haven't read The Book Thief yet, but the movie was heartbreaking. I haven't read most of these books, but I have to try them sometime.
ReplyDeleteI know right? The Night Circus is just so much beautiful prose, and The Book Thief. *cue weeping* You definitely should check out the others too!
DeleteI.... have not read any of these. Wait, never mind, I've read Book Thief. I got about a quarter through Game of Thrones and then I was kind of done, and I have heard interesting things about Gone Girl. And by that I mean my best friend was like, "You should read this" every time I talked to her while she was reading it, until she got to the very end and then she said I should never read it ever. She was mad. XD
ReplyDeleteBut, even if they're not my favs, it's cool to see the kinds of genres and things that interest you! :)
I will tell you, with no exaggeration whatsoever, that your friend is wrong. Honestly, the ending is the BEST PART EVER. (Unless your friend is a bit of a romantic? I can see why she wouldn't like it. But I was 'meh' about it until the ending.)
DeleteWe all have different book tastes, I suppose -- but The Book Thief is just that amazing, I guess XD
I think she didn't like the abusive relationship construct and I think we were against its cyclical nature... I don't know. She was mad they got back together and I was like, "Well," because I'd already read the Wikipedia summary so I could talk. Sorta. XD
Delete:) It was very interesting!
Ah, I see -- I don't have a problem with abusive relationships so long as they are portrayed as unhealthy and undesirable. And I'm really a downer ending person, so there :D
DeleteI love The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy, but I haven't read The Simarillion yet. I want to read it, though, as it tells the story of elves, and elves are epic. Besides, Tolkien's writing is too brilliant. The Book Thief is also an amazing book. Not only was the writing style itself gorgeous and unique, but the story itself was also beautiful. I really want to write like Markus Zusak.
ReplyDeleteYES. It's epic. I was reading it back in January and literally would have given a limb for a Christopher Lee audiobook. It's just THAT GOOD. Plus, Galadriel. Much Galadriel awesomeness.
DeleteI know! I'm going to check out I Am The Messenger sometime, also by him. And I really really loved the Death/colour idea.
I completely love your list, mostly because I WANT TO READ ALL OF THESE AND I HAVEN'T YET. I want to read A Game of Thrones, I'm just working up the bravery because I somewhat perish at huge books! I just get cold feet and lose interest. Gah. So I need to get over that and start. oh I love the Book Thief. I cannot even describe how much I ADORE the Book Thief. *cries all over the place*
ReplyDeleteWHAT. NO. NOT A SINGLE ONE? *reads the rest of your comment* Oh, well, at least you've read one. You absolutely should read ASOIAF! Warning, though -- I remember you said you like simpler plots and ASOIAF is mind-boggling. Loads and loads of characters, but all very well developed!
DeleteOh, that's a shame. They're all amazing books. And I get you about the ever growing TBR XD Will check out your TTT!
ReplyDeleteYou've listed so many of my favourites too! :D The Book Thief and The Night Circus, in particular, are so beautiful. Love your list! :D
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Obsessive Compulsive Reader
Yeah, I definitely have a weakness for beautiful prose. A lot of books on your list are amazing, too!
DeleteWorld War Z and Night Circus are some of my favorites too but they they were both out of my 3 year time frame so I couldn't add them!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's a shame -- but there are SO MANY good books out there!
DeleteI've been wanting to read both The Book Thief and The Silmarillion for ages, and I'm about a quarter of the way through A Game of Thrones. Recently, one of my favorite adult books has been Instructions For a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell--I liked it so much that I bought my own copy!
ReplyDeleteHmm, that sounds like a really compelling title! And best of luck with clearing those three out of your TBR -- these TTTs really make me realise how many books there are out there.
DeleteI don't think I've read most of these either...well, I've read The Book Thief and The Silmarillion at least. (Disliked one, enjoyed the latter. *shrugs*) I really do want to read The Night Circus, though...it's on my list. My huge, huge list.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorites...hm. Definitely Red Rising by Pierce Brown and Fairest by Marissa Meyer and The Great Gatsby and so on. Sooo many good books. <3
Oh really, you didn't like The Book Thief? Hmm. Silmarillion was definitely great though, and if you liked Silmarillion, you'll probably love Night Circus' prose.
DeleteI've heard a lot about Red Rising and Fairest lately! May be picking them up soon :D
Well, I am a failure at your list! I haven't read any of these, though I do want to read several of them! The Book Thief and World War Z are on my bookcase right now (and I am actually glad to see World War Z, because I was not even sure I was going to read it, but now I definitely am!) Great list :)
ReplyDeleteShannon @ It Starts At Midnight
YES. YOU MUST READ WORLD WAR Z. I was shell-shocked after reading it and had a horrendous book hangover. The Book Thief is one of the more popular ones I've spotted around this week's TTT.
DeleteI second many of your choices, though I read most of these more than three years ago! I once did a TTT on what to read if you liked The other Boleyn Girl http://mirisaspacestation.blogspot.com/2012/07/top-ten-books-for-people-who-liked.html
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be a recurring theme in this TTT XD I loved The Other Boleyn Girl! Side characters in Tudor era are my fav.
DeleteTHE BOOK THIEF RUINED ME.
ReplyDeleteBut I haven't finished any of the other books on your list :/
THAT IS A GOOD WAY TO PUT IT.
DeleteAnd you should try! They're really good!
Wow, it's interesting that you liked World War Z so much - I read it a few weeks ago and could barely get through it. Although there were some parts that were absolutely incredible and devastating and heartbreaking (which is why I got to the 75% mark before DNFing), the majority of it just seemed rather repetitive.
ReplyDeleteBut then, that's war, I suppose. If there's one thing I can say for WWZ, it was certainly accurate.
What. NOOO. I loved WWZ so much that WTA was inspired by that. I do concede there are a few bits I'm not so interested in *cough*America*cough*, but the global scale of it! *spreads arms* To each her own, I suppose. I don't like puppies, you don't like WWZ. :P
DeleteOhhhh you changed your theme. I can't decide if I like it. Is this a regular thing? I LOVED the book thief, it was soooo good. World War Z was a bit creepy for my tastes, but quite interesting. I actually had to read it for history, although it's not really historical. I think it's my school's way of making people read over break. The night circus sounds very good. I haven't read any of the others, although I think we own the Silmarrillon *consults bookshelf*. I find JRR tolkien a little too wordy, but I read the hobbit when I was 8, and LOTR over 1 1/2 years over 3 school breaks (it was on kindle, I don't use kindle during school. I can't anymore anyway since I sat on both our kindles- not at once- anyway. Great post, Alyssa!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, it's a regular thing! I blogged all about the theme change for the blogoversary here. Do let me know if you have any suggestions or if you dislike any of the elements!
DeleteYES. THE BOOK THIEF WAS DIVINE. AS FOR WORLD WAR Z. I think that's a great holiday homework! We get boring thousand page treatises, and I think WWZ is a great way to look at how we look at history. (Eh, that was weird.)
I used to find JRR Tolkien's style difficult to read as well, but I realised reading it out helped 100x. That's how I fell in love with all of his Legendarium. Sitting on a Kindle sounds like a blogging anecdote someday :D Thanks for reading!
Hi,this is an interesting list.I see a lot of people like World War Z book but I saw the movie and it was so awful never really made me want to read the book.Though i love the Song of Ice and Fire series don't know when next book will come out.I read the prologue of The Book Thief it was so beautiful but didn't continue because I was reading e-book and I want to read it in book form.And Julius Ceaser is simply amazing!It's my favourite Shakespeare.You like Harry Potter or LOTR/Hobbit?
ReplyDeleteNeal Kind
Daily Diaries
NOOO. Do not judge the book by the movie! It's an adaptation in name only, and the book is way better. Yeah, pretty much the entire ASOIAF community is freaking out over that.
DeleteI don't knowww. Don't ask me these questions. HP only didn't make the list because of the time period.
There is a World War Z book? I've seen the movie by the same name, but never knew there was a book. Julius Caesar is an awesome play, and so quotable. And oh, The Night Circus. As a long time lover of NaNoWriMo, I've been dying to read this book. One day I'm actually going to get round to it.
ReplyDeleteThere is a book, and the book is MUCH better. It's very different and way more original. And yes, JC is very quotable. Not so much as Hamlet, though. Hope you enjoy reading Night Circus!
DeleteOh my gosh yessssss I love your new look! And I totally approve of The Book Thief being up there! IT IS THE BEST BOOK EVARRRRR.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!! I'm getting that reaction from a lot of Aussies. You guys have great country spirit (is that a thing?)!
Delete