Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Top Things That Will Make Me Instantly Want To Read a Book


Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. I thought of a few things right away that make me immediately want to read a book, but to refresh my memory further I did a search on my blog for the phrase "I'm a sucker for." My conclusion is that I really need to stop using that phrase because I got a lot of results! Interestingly, some of them aren't true anymore (Scandinavia, boarding schools, etc.) probably because I just read so many books with those elements for a while. But here are some (fewer than ten) things that still make me want to instantly read a book:

1. Cold climates
Alaska? Antarctica? Count me in! I don't actually like being cold, but for some mysterious reason love reading stories set in cold, harsh climates. I jump right on books like Bleaker House, To the Bright Edge of the World, The Smell of Other People's Houses, Above All Things, The Snow Child, Ada Blackjack, and too many others to list here.

2. Russia
My love for Russia is well-documented and I've read a ton of books that place there including
A Gentleman in Moscow, The Family Romanov, City of Thieves, War and Peace, Child 44, and many others.

3. The Victorian Era
I've been slowly reading a series of mysteries by Anne Perry although it's been more than a year since I finished Death of a Stranger, but anything that takes place in the Victorian Era catches my eyes. Obviously, How To Be A Victorian and Unmentionable, but also novels such as The Victorian Chaise-Longue, My Notorious Life, Tipping the Velvet, and The Tea Rose.

4. Post-catastrophe
I always think of post-apocalypse, but I was recently reminded that I enjoy the aftermath of other catastrophes as well, such as the nuclear meltdown in Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. Some of my favorite post-apocalypse novels include Station Eleven, Riddley Walker, Wool, and The Dog Stars.

5. Colonial New England
But with magic usually. The Cahill Witch ChroniclesThe Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, The Witch, which I realize is a movie and not a book (and also I keep wanting to call it The Goat.)

6. Feminist and/or gay themes in historical fiction
Because I love historical fiction and I need it to contain people that we don't think of as existing at that time because they weren't accepted by mainstream society and therefore are underrepresented. The Suffragette Scandal, The Miniaturist, My Notorious Life, Tipping the Velvet (both of which I already mentioned but they bear repeating), and I cannot wait to get my hands on the forthcoming novel The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.

I feel like there's something important that I'm forgetting, but I'm pretty sure these are the primary ones. What topics or themes make you instantly want to read a book?

5 comments:

Julie @ Happily Ever Chapter said...

Ohhh great list! I'm seeing a few different ones than ones I've seen on other blogs. I really love the gay romance in a historical theme too. I've only read a couple so far but I really enjoyed them.

Susan said...

YES to #1 and #4. I'm totally with you on those. I like survival stories and those that take place in freezing climates are my favorites. I don't know why. I guess because survival seems so totally impossible that I'm stunned and overjoyed when people do it.

Happy TTT!

Unknown said...

I don't think I realized how much I enjoy books that take place in Russia until I saw your list and thought "I loved each of these that I read". I recently read and loved The Bear and the Nightengale, which is also set in Russia and features lots of Slavic folklore.

3goodrats said...

I really need to read The Bear and the Nightingale. I had a galley of it which I gave away because I knew I wouldn't get to it soon, but I wanted to keep it in mind because it sounds so good!

Lauren Stoolfire said...

Yes, to number six! :)

Lauren @ My TTT and my current giveaway (INT)