Top Ten Tuesday: Top Book Topics
Top Ten Tuesday is a great meme created by Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish that combines top ten lists and books. She’s come up with a great list of weekly discussion topics and I hope you’ll join in the discussion by commenting on this post or some of the other ones (you can find the list of participating blogs in this week's Top Ten Tuesday post on her site).
So this week’s topic is Top Ten Words/Topics That Make Me Pick Up a Book.
Originally, I thought this was a really hard topic because I didn’t think there were any words or topics that would make me instantly pick up a book and at least look at the back cover blurb. However, a quick perusal of my books and my Goodreads shelves.
1. Terry Pratchett, Jonathan Kozol, Malcolm Gladwell, and Georgette Heyer – I buy every book by them. I don’t need to know what the book is about, I just see one of those names and I grab it. Other than a few of “the greats,” like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde, there are no other authors that I blindly buy.
2. Economic inequality or poverty in America (especially non-fiction) – books like The Jungle, Nickel and Dimed, Shortchanged: Life and Debt in the Fringe Economy, Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America, Bait and Switch, Broke USA, Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives, and, of course, anything by Jonathan Kozol.
3. Books about how our brains work – books like Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do, The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us, How Doctors Think, The Art of Choosing, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, Switch How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain, The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, and, of course, anything by Malcolm Gladwell.
4. Animal stories – books like The God of Animals, Saved by a Horse, Hit by a Farm, Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Changed the World, True Animal Tales, James Herriot / All Creatures Great and Small series. I’m a sucker for a story featuring animals, especially true life stories.
5. Historical fiction set in biblical times and/or bible retellings – books like Hagar, The Red Tent, or Sarah. This is a weird one because like I said in my Top Ten list last week, I’m not religious—at all. However, I really love the Old Testament for some reason, especially the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Noah, Moses, and all the rest. Weird, I know.
6. Historical fiction set in Imperial China – books like The Last Empress, Peony in Love, Autumn Bridge, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Secrets of Jin-Shei, and The Teahouse Fire… I could go on and on here. This is definitely one of my favorite genres/themes. Not sure why. I just find Chinese culture and mythology fascinating.
7. Historical fiction having to do with European (especially the British Isles) history / royalty, especially during medieval times, and/or anything having to do with knights – books like The Last Knight, The Duchess of Aquitaine, The Sister Queens, and The Lady and the Unicorn. Within this area, I’d also group anything having to do with King Arthur—though I’m very picky about these books. I LOVE the Once and Future King and Idylls of the King and there’s not many others that can live up to the standard set by these two. But I will pick up anything King Arthur and at least give it a look.
8. Anything to do with Henry VIIIth or his wives – books like The Last Wife of Henry VIII, The Constant Princess, and The Other Boleyn Girl. I’m not sure why, but I am fascinated with Henry VIIIth; I blame Anne of a Thousand Days—it’s one of my favorite movies. So any books on the subject always, always get a look.
9. Literary fiction with science fiction or fantasy elements – books like The Time Traveler’s Wife, Cloud of Sparrows, The Sparrow, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and The Night Circus
10. Historical Romance – books like The Romance of Atlantis, Legend (by Jude Devereaux), Lady Whistledown Strikes Back, The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown, and, of course, anything by Georgette Heyer. Double bonus points if the story contains time travel.
And there you have it! What do you think of my list—any surprises? What about you—what are your “will always pick up” topics?
Comments
You know, I've never tried Margaret Atwood - I really should though. Thanks for the suggestion!