Tuesday 8 June 2021

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Twelve Books I Loved that Made Me Want More Books Like Them


"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".

It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

This week's topic is: Books I Loved that Made Me Want More Books Like Them 
(Jana thinks the wording is weird here, so if you have a better way to say this please let me know! What I’m thinking is… you read a book and immediately wanted more just like it, perhaps in the same genre, about the same topic or theme, by the same author, etc. For example, I once read a medical romance and then went to find more because it was so good. The same thing happened to me with pirate historical romances and romantic suspense.)

Not such a weird wording, there are often books that instigate us to immediately read something similar. Or at least wanting to read something similar or more by the same author. I have a few.

One of my favourite books ever, I had to search for a while until I found the second one and then wait for almost another decade before the third was published.
Stroyar, J.N. "The Children's War" - 2001
- "A Change of Regime" - 2004
- "Becoming Them" - 2017

Then there are the books where you know already when you start it that the author passed away after writing their very first book.
Shaffer, Mary Ann & Barrows, Annie "The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society" - 2008
Powers, Charles T. "In the Memory of the Forest" - 1997


Or there are some where you find many other books on the same subject. We read a book about Tulipomania in the Netherlands in the book club. I found it really fascinating and have read quite a few more novels and non-fiction books about it since then.
Moggach, Deborah "Tulip Fever" - 1999
Dash, Mike "Tulipomania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused" - 2000
Pavord, Anna "The Tulip" - 2004
Laker, Rosalind "The Golden Tulip" - 1989
Marini, Lorenzo "The Man of the Tulips" (Italian: L'uomo dei tulipani) - 2002

It's often book club books that lead me to discover whole new genres.
Atwood, Margaret "The Handmaid's Tale" / "The Handmaid's Tale" - 1985
Dystopian novels, some of my favourites.
Lamb, Christina "The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan" - 2002
Everything about Afghanistan.
Kingsolver, Barbara "The Poisonwood Bible" - 1988
Barbara Kingsolver has become one of my favourite authors after we read this one in the book club.
Lawson, Mary "Crow Lake" - 2002
And the same goes for Mary Lawson. Unfortunately, she has not written as much.

Or authors where I start one book and end up reading all of their works:
Oates, Joyce Carol
"We Were the Mulvaneys" - 1996

Pamuk, Orhan
"My Name is Red" (Turkish: Benim Adim Kirmizi) - 1998

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos
"The Shadow of the Wind" (Spanish: La Sombra del Viento) - 2001

Rutherfurd, Edward
"London - The Novel" - 1997
All of them belong to my all-time favourites now.

I could have found lots of others but I wanted to put together a wide variety of literature so there is at least one idea for everyone.

20 comments:

  1. I very nearly put ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ on my list, then realised that ‘The Testaments’ is the ‘more of the same’ that I was waiting for!

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    1. I never read that one, Claire. Will have to check it out.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  2. Have you read The Testaments? It’s the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale and was excellent.

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    1. Thanks, Lydia, as I just said to Claire ^^, I never read it. I'm usually careful with those sequels. I didn't expect one after the first book so I wonder how that carries on. Well, it looks like I'll have to put it on my list.

      Thanks for coming by.

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  3. It's beautiful how one great book leads you another great book.

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    1. That is exactly what I loved about this topic, Deb, thinking about all the wonderful "firsts" that led the way to so many wonderful other reads.

      Thanks for visiting.

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  4. I haven't read The Poisonwood Bible, but I read some of her other books. I went on a binge a long time ago. I can understand why you would want to read more writing and stories like hers.

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    1. Thanks, Deanna, I have enjoyed every book by her after "The Poisonwood Bible" and there are a still a few on my list. She is one of my favourite authors now.

      I can really recommend "The Poisonwood Bible". If you like her other books, you'll love this one, as well.

      Thank you, as always, for your visit.

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  5. Omg I love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Scoiety. Here is my post- https://paigesofbook.blogspot.com/2021/06/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-love-that-made.html.

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    1. Thanks, Paige. It's such a great book, so sad that the author died before she could write other great ones.

      Thank you also for leaving your link, I'll hop over there soon.

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  6. There's definitely a sad finality for those of us who love the Guernsey Literary book, knowing that the author will never write another, alike or otherwise. I'm glad at least that her niece finished this one for us to enjoy.

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    1. Definitely a great thing to do, Kristi. We would have never learned about this wonderful book.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  7. I really enjoyed the film of Guernsey but I've not read the book because epistolary formats just really don't work that well for me. I find it hard to get engaged in the story for some reason, I don't know why, the same thing happened for me with Perks of Being A Wallflower, just couldn't connect with the format. I'm glad you loved it though, and I agree, there's such a sad finality about loving a book by an author who you know is never going to write any more.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/06/08/top-ten-tuesday-319/

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    1. Thank you, Jo. That's sad that you couldn't get into the Guernsey film, at least you enjoyed the film. I thought it was alright but didn't give the book much credit. However, we all have books or styles we can't get into. So, read other books, there are so many. ;)

      Thank you for your link, I'll see you on your page.

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  8. THE CHILDREN'S WAR books sound absolutely fascinating. And terrifying. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on them. I'm also a big dystopian fan, although I haven't been able to get into THE HANDMAID'S TALE.

    Happy TTT!

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    1. Thanks, Susan. Dystopian books can be quite disturbing as they show us the fears of a certain time. But I always say, we have to conquer those fears and be aware of them, that's why I love them.

      The Children's War is not easy to find though I think you can get them as ebooks nowadays. They really should reprint it. Everyone of my friends who found it, loved it.

      Thanks for coming by, I'll hop over to your place.

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  9. In the Memory of the Forest- such an atmospheric cover.

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    1. As is the novel, Greg. Great writing. And so sad the author couldn't write more.

      Thanks for visiting.

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  10. A lot of good books here, of which several are also my favourites, like:

    "The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society" , "Tulip Fever", "Tulipomania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused", "The Poisonwood Bible" , "The Shadow of the Wind".
    I have read "The Handmaid's Tale" but did not like it so much. Atwood is a fantastic writer, I am just not so much into these dystopia stories.

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    1. I'm not surprised you found so many boks you liked, as well.
      If you don't lke dystopian novels, you wouldn't like "The Handmaid's Tale". I do and it certainly is one of the best of that genre. But I believe Margaret Atwood has also written non-dystopian stories, although the ones I read by her were all in that genre. Still, I'm sure there are books by her out there for you.

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