Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Ten Books I Picked Up On A Whim (however you decide to interpret that.) I don't pick up many books on a whim without knowing anything about them, so I'm interpreting it as any books that I didn't plan to read. Books that I impulsively picked up immediately after reading one good review, or books that I didn't know about until my book group picked them. These are the ones that fall into those categories and that I really liked, and are in no particular order. As usual, links go to my reviews.
1. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
A book group pick, I had never heard of this book or author before I started reading. I was a bit wary for the first few chapters, but then it really picked up. An excellent dark psychological crime novel.
2. Walter: the Story of a Rat by Barbara Wersba, illustrated by Donna Diamond
This comes the closest to a true whim - I saw it on a coworker's Staff Picks shelf and grabbed it, never having even heard of it before. It's a book for kids, but don't let that stop you. It's an adorable and heartwarming story.
3. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
The publisher sent a galley of this one to me and as soon as I saw that it was a dystopia, I pretty much ate it up. I loved the world Bow created, and I'm looking forward to book 2, which will be out in the fall.
4. The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood
Another book group pick, I think I had heard of this one before but didn't know anything about it really. A crime novel with an unusual premise - it's centered around two women, who as young girls were responsible for another child's death - I found it totally captivating.
5. Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm
My book group is really great at picking excellent books I know nothing about. I had heard of this one because I received a galley of it, which I immediately passed on because I was reading other things and it just didn't look very interesting. I'm so glad my book group recommended it!
6. Asking For It by Lilah Pace
This was an impulse buy for my nook after hearing about it on a podcast. It's an erotic romance novel with a pretty dark premise and a cringe-worthy title, but it's very well executed.
7. The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
I read about this on a blog and immediately, impulsively requested it through interlibrary loan. It's a great little novella about time travel from the 1950s to the Victorian era.
8. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradel
Here's another that I received as a galley from a publisher. I get a decent number of galleys, but only read a few. I'm glad I read this one - it's a novel that reads more like an interconnected set of stories, all revolving around culinary talent Eva Thorvald. Required reading for foodies.
9. The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin
I had never heard of this book until I received it as a gift from a friend. It begins with a young artist dying at the age of 18, and tells the story of her rise and fall through interviews, photos, art, and other ephemera. Unusual and really fantastic.
10. Level Up by Cathy Yardley
Another nook impulse buy, this short contemporary romance novel centers around some video game designers. In addition to the romance, there are some great female friendships and interesting themes about women in male-dominated professions.
What about you? Have you discovered any great books that you read on a whim?
1 comment:
Isn't it the best when those books you pick up without really knowing what you're getting into turn out to be great reads?! I've only read two of your picks, neither of which as a whim at all. I knew I wanted to read "Kitchens of the Great Midwest" from the moment I saw the cover somewhere pre-publication, and my library had a galley of "The Kind Worth Killing" that a co-worker read and recommended.
Post a Comment