It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic:
Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read
This is such a fun topic! I really had to go through my Goodreads data to see exactly what are the most unique books I’ve read but a few came to me right off the bat! Let’s dive in!
HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling: Of course I’m starting it off with Harry Potter. Back when the books first came out, I was around Harry’s age, I hadn’t been reading much so it was unique to me, but to this day, I still think the series is one of a kind. Sure, there have been other series involving magical boarding schools, witches & wizards, evil sorcerers — But Harry Potter was at least the first series (that I know of) to take off with kids and adults alike AND complete an eight movie franchise on top of a fantastic seven book series. It’s unique in the sense that so many people love it, so few people hate it, and no matter who you are, you know about the books and the movies and maybe even a little bit more.
Aside from its popularity, the Harry Potter series has INTENSE world building, down to character backgrounds, detailed magical rules and elements, a government, and even spin-off books detailing the creatures and sports of the wizarding world. I’d say that’s immensely unique.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) // Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) // Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter #3)
DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor: I never used to be big into fantasy but DoSaB easily helped set the bar HIGH for me. Aside from the plot involving both seraphim and chimaera, Laini Taylor’s writing itself is just gorgeous and her plotting is incredible! I was totally blown away by both the first two books in the series and the novella was ADORABLE. Cannot wait for Dreams of Gods and Monsters in just a couple days!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) // Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) // Night of Cake and Puppets (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2.5)
THE CLOCKWORK SCARAB by Colleen Gleason: Even though I had a couple issues, The Clockwork Scarab is definitely a unique take on gothic horror! It combines the fictional aspect of Sherlock Holmes along with the historical fiction aspect of Bram Stoker and a little bit of present-day elements thrown in as well. I may not have fallen in love with the first book in this series, but I’m definitely on the lookout for book two to see more of this Stoker-Holmes mash-up!
The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker & Holmes #1)
SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo: Shadow and Bone was another fantasy that really got me into the genre. I absolutely love that it has a Russian base for its language, culture, and history. It’s still a work of fiction and isn’t meant to be a historic or a direct connection to Russia, but the feel is definitely present and I loved seeing a new type of culture and basis for a fantasy world! Add in the magical elements, an amazing world, and some fierce characters, and Shadow and Bone easily ended up being a favorite of mine!
Shadow and Bone (Grisha Trilogy #1) // Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)
The Witch of Duva (The Grisha #0.5) // The Taylor (The Grisha #1.5) // The Too-Clever Fox (The Grisha #2.5)
READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline: A throwback to the 80s… set in the future! This was part dystopian, part sci-fi, part comedy, all AMAZING. I absolutely loved this book and true, some of the 80s references may go over your head depending on your age (I was only alive for three years of the 80s but also watched that old TV show “I Love the 80s” so I picked up a few more that I didn’t know), but even without the references, this book is ALL FUN.
THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Steifvater: I don’t know how many books there are out there about horses (usually not my thing) but I absolutely loved that The Scorpio Races was part fantasy in the unique creation of the water horses and part contemporary with an almost historical fiction feel. It was a beautiful read all around!
FAULT LINE by Christa Desir: I’ve read a few “issues” books (for lack of better term — I don’t really like calling them that), but Fault Line was really the first one I’ve read where the main character wasn’t the one to which the trauma/tragedy/illness happens. Fault Line was a very powerful read surrounding a rape incident and it actually told from the boyfriend of the rape survivor and not the girl herself. It definitely brings a very different aspect to the big picture and I appreciated seeing a different side of the story.
FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell: Fangirl brings together the innocence of childhood in the form of a girl who loves her fandom and tends to hide in her fanfiction and her transition to moving away for the first time when she leaves for college her freshman year. THIS is the kind of “New Adult” book I want to read. I loved the college experience and seeing so many more sides of it than just exploring sexuality.
THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater: The Raven Boys is unlike any book I’ve ever read before. It’s a story of a girl and her mother. It’s a story of an eccentric family. It’s a paranormal story. It’s a romance story. It’s a mystery. It’s a fantasy. It’s… everything. This book has so many amazing elements and it kind of covers all of the bases as far as genres, characters, and concepts go. I absolutely loved the first two books in this series and I can’t wait to continue on with the third book in the fall!
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) // The Dream Thieves (The Raven Boys #2)
WILD AWAKE by Hilary T. Smith: Wild Awake took me by surprise because it has such a strong beginning and I really got to see things slowly unravel into chaos — I mean, in a good way! The book doesn’t fall apart. It simply is the chaos of Kiri’s life and how so many things end up affecting her day-to-day choices and how so many things were and still are out of her control. It was a fascinating and emotional read and the author definitely put a little piece of herself in there which I think carried a more personal note throughout the book.
10 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: April 8, 2014 – Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read”
Ready Player One sounds awwwwesoooome! Yay. Thanks for the fun list!
You know, I’m so embarassed that I forgot to put Harry Potter on my list *hides*. HP is the one who started it ALL!
I can’t wait to read DoSaB! I just hear so many amazing things about it, it needs to happen in the near future 🙂
I almost put Fangirl on my list as well because it’s SO different than the other New Adult I have read. Actually… now that I talk about it I’m a bit sad I didn’t put it on now!
Great choices Brittany 🙂
The Raven Boys: Exactly! You are able to write exactly what I feel about that book! (I had trouble explaining it) Great list! There are several books on your list that I really need to read. And I totally agree about DoSaB! Such an amazing story! And of course Harry Potter! 😀
Yes Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Shadow and Bone! After reading them I was just like “wow, I have never read anything like this before.” They are both new favorites of mine and I’m also waiting for the last books to come out 😀
I’ve heard so many amazing things about Fangirl, I need to bump it up on my list D:
I don’t know why I didn’t include Harry Potter in today’s TTT. I don’t know if I was thinking – well HP is in ALL my TTTs, maybe it’s time to feature something else – or if It’s always in my thoughts so I didn’t think about it’s uniqueness. But i should have!
Ah, Fangirl’s a great one! I didn’t think of that, but the use of the fanfic and Simon Snow chapters was brilliant. It really elevated the whole book. I’ve got Ready Player One on my radar – I didn’t realize the 80’s references were part of it, I love a good Easter egg!
Awesome list! I almost did Fangirl and Wild Awake for the same reasons!
The Clockwork Scarab does sound interesting. Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker elements mixed together? Hmmm fun idea!
Apparently I need to get on the Shadow and Bone train. I’ve had both S&B and S&S sitting on my bookshelf for a while now, but I still haven’t gotten to them. Fail. I think I might just wait for R&R to come out and then binge read the whole series. I also really want to read Maggie Stiefvater’s stuff. I have The Scorpio Races on my Kindle so hopefully I will get to that soon.
HP is a truly unique book for sure!! Not just the topic, but the way it made me (and like 500 million other people) feel. I also agree about Fangirl. When I read that book I felt like doing a dance that there was FINALLY a book about college that wasn’t all sex, sex, sex. Great list 🙂