Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  The topic this week is about books that I would recommend the most.  I've tried not to included the usual suspects (Dresden Files, Parasol Protectorate, Blackbirds, vN etc) on this list because it's a given that I would recommend those books to complete strangers, not to mention that my TTTs have started to look a little samey.   

 

1.  Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

2. Katya's World - Jonathan L. Howard

3. The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna

 

4. The Teleportation Accident - Ned Beauman

 

5. Hell Train - Christopher Fowler

 

6.  The Troupe - Robert Jackson Bennett

 

7. The City's Son - Tom Pollock

8. The Diviners - Libba Bray

 

9. Bossypants - Tina Fey

 

10. Nothing to Envy - Barbara Demick

 

Have you read any of these?  Have you got any recommendations for me?  Comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

My Life a Pancake Top Books of 2012

For me, 2012 was a great and varied year of reading.  The list bellow are all the books I gave 5* to on goodreads, which I thought was the fairest way of compiling this list.  In no particular order, here are my top ten books I read in 2012:

Nothing to Envy

 

The Killing Place

 

When She Woke

 

 

 

Hell Train

 

 

We Need To Talk About Kevin

 

 

 Atonement

 vN - Madeline Ashby

 

 

Blackbirds - Chuck Wendig
 

 

Mockingbird - Chuck Wendig

Of course, if I had included my 4* also, this list would have gone on forever!  But, if you want to know which other books narrowly missed out being on this year wrap up, have a look here.

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

So it's Top Ten Tuesday time, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week is all about the books I wouldn't mind Santa bringing  me in time for Christmas.  Again, this was really hard to narrow the list down to ten.  I've tried to include a mix of fiction, non-fiction, read and to be read and hope I've not missed anything out!

1.  Blackbirds - Chuck Wendig

I got this from the library not expecting much and ended up falling in love with Chuck Wendig's bizarre tale of Miriam Black.  I bought the sequel, Mockingbird, as an early Christmas present for myself so I need Blackbirds to complete my set.  Plus I would love to display those amazing Joey Hi-Fi covers somehow!

For more info, click here.

2.  Cold Days - Jim Butcher

If you read my twitter feed then you may have noticed that Santa may have already given me a sneak peak of this must have for any fan of the Dresden Files series.

For more on The Dresden Files and Jim Butcher, click here.

3.  Bossypants - Tina Fey

I read Bossypants over a year ago and at the time was very tempted to steal it from the library.  I was good and returned it, but would love my own copy either in paper back or as an audio book as I've heard Fey reading it is hilarious!  For more info, click here.

4.  Grimm Tales For Young and Old - Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman and Grimm fairy tales?  I'm already intrigued but then there's that cover and it was love at first sight.  For more info, click here.

5.  Hell Train - Christopher Fowler

Another one I got out of the library and enjoyed so much I would read it again and again.  Click here for more info.

6.  The Parasol Protectorate - Gail Carriger

Technically cheating here as The Parasol Protectorate is comprised of five books (Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless and Timeless) yet it is one of the most consistently well written and exciting series that I have ever read and I really want to own them so I can relive my adventures with Alexia and Co. all over again.  For more info, click here.

7.   The Gathering - Kelley Armstrong

I'm a big fan of Kelley Armstrong but have been putting of reading her latest YA series until all three books are out as I like to read them in one go.  The Rising, which is the last book in the trilogy as far as I'm aware, is out in 2013 so it's finally time to go back to an off-shoot of the Otherworld. For more info click here.

8.  Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote

I love all the covers for the Penguin Essentials collection and would happily buy them all!  However, if I had to pick just one, it would have to be Breakfast at Tiffany's.  To have a look at the rest of the gorgeous collection, click here.

9.  The Diviners - Libba Bray

Again!  I had a library copy, really enjoyed reading and would love to give it to my friends to see what they think!  For more info, click here.

10.  Imagination Illustrated:  The Jim Henson Journals - Karen Falk

Imagination Illustrated is my most wanted Christmas gift this year.  I would be very happy if it was the only thing I had wrapped under the tree this year.  It came out on my birthday but I was unaware of its existence until this week!  I'm a huge Muppet fan (a lot of my Christmas traditions involve The Muppets) and I would be really thankful if I received this for Christmas.  For the brilliant blog that inspired the book, click here.

 

So that's my list, what's on yours?

The Diviners

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City - and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic.  It's 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls and rakish pickpockets.  The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will - and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.
Evie worries he'll discover her darkest secrets: a supernatural power that has only brought he trouble so far.  But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.
As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps.  A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds.  A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past.  A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret.
And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

 

 

I had seen The Diviners being review on many other blogs and had read relatively good things about this supernatural tale set in the 1920's.  Even though I have a self-imposed ordering from the library ban on at the moment in order to get all my reading done by the holidays, I had to make an exception for this intriguing book.

 

Firstly, this is definitely not a quick read.  My edition was a hardback and at 500+ pages long and my poor arms were aching after about 10mins of reading but I had to persevere.  The Diviners page count is not the only reason it will never be a quick read; Bray's attention to detail - both about the setting and her character backgrounds - is awe worthy and her extensive research translates well into the text without dragging the story to a halt.  While it may put some off, I think the story benefits from Bray's inclusion of many small details, giving the story the air of needing to be savoured and re-read.  Yes, certain things could be cut, but would I have had the same understanding of the characters or enjoyment of the book as a whole? 

 

My main reason for wanting to read this book so desperately was that it was set in Manhattan in the 1920's.  I've had a streak of reading paranormal books set in either alternative our time or far flung in the future that I found talks of flappers and prohibition refreshing, making me imagine the city in a  completely different way. 

 

The Diviners has a huge cast of characters, and this is normally the downfall for a lot of books.  Amazingly they each get their allotted page space, even if they are to become victims of Naughty John, and have rich, detailed histories that transform them from stereotypes and into real people. Speaking of which, the Naughty John segments (especially the early ones) were adeptly pulled off, and read like they had come from the pages of an adult crime/thriller novel. 

 

My only disappointment with The Diviners was that I felt towards the end the last few pages were too occupied with setting up plot threads for the next book.  However, I am intrigued to see where Libba Bray will take her cast next. 

 

I also have to mention the great website for The Diviners!  Click here for character profiles, etc..