Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Reads
My blog friend Jaime Morrow is participating in the Tuesday Top Ten over at The Broke and the Bookish. This seems like a fairly easy meme to participate in given the pile of books on my TBR list, so I thought I’d join in (yes, I know it’s not on the schedule… schedules are made to be broken, aren’t they?). Anyway, here’s my top ten:
- INSURGENT by Veronica Roth. Not out until May, but eagerly anticipated!
- TANGLED by Erica O’Rourke. I enjoyed TORN, so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.
- THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. The premise is intriguing (kids in 1996 find their future Facebook pages). I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a while.
- NUMB by Sean Ferrell. Another intriguing premise (a man who has no memory and feels no pain tries to piece together what happened to him).
- LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green. I’ve read a couple of John Green books, and I need to read more. His books are an education on how to write well, especially for Young Adult.
- MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs. Again, it’s the premise that gets my attention, but this has also been reviewed positively by so many people, I can’t ignore it.
- SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi. Another book that has received a lot of positive attention. I’m told the prose style is unusual too, so I anticipate a learning experience.
- EXTRAS by Scott Westerfeld. I’ve read the UGLIES series, and have put off reading this “extra” for long enough!
- PURGATORY CHASM by Steve Ulfelder. Nominated for an Edgar–I have to find out what the fuss is about.
- THE PERICLES COMMISSION by Gary Corby. A murder-mystery set in Ancient Greece? This I’ve got to read!
You might notice I linked the titles to Goodreads so you can get more details.
I could have added a bunch more books, but what with writing, family, work, and so on, I’ll be happy if I hit the Summer having got through this lot.
What books are on your Spring TBR list?
You’ve got some really great reads here — some that I’ve read, and some that I haven’t. I have some John Green kicking around at home (An Abundance of Katherines) and I really need to get around to reading some of his work. People rave about him, and I’m sure there’s a really good reason for that. Torn has always caught my eye because I like the cover, but until today (for some odd reason) it hasn’t made it on to my TBR list. Thanks for the reminder! 😀
P.S. Thanks for the mention, too!
I read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS a few weeks ago, and I was conflicted about it. I’ll probably say more on the last RTW of the month, but one thing I couldn’t fault was the writing. John Green truly is a master of the YA novel. IMO, of course.
I reviewed TORN on last month’s Book of the Month for RTW. Despite the fact that Erica and I have had some conversation online (she’s a really nice person), so I consider her an online buddy, I can honestly say TORN is a really good book and worthwhile reading. It’s a good example of a series book that could stand alone, but has sufficient loose ends at the end to justify the series.
Good choices! I enjoyed Looking for Alaska quite a bit and am hoping to fit in a couple of other John Green books this spring. I’ve also been waiting for Miss Peregrine (love the photography) and Shatter Me to come free at the library.
Thanks, Elizabeth! I’ve read that the photography in MISS PEREGRINE is worth the cost of the physical book. Apparently, the pictures don’t come through nearly as well on the electronic edition. Of course, if you plan to get from the library, that won’t be an issue! 🙂
I enjoyed MISS PEREGRINE and THE FUTURE OF US, and I love LOOKING FOR ALASKA. It’s my favorite of the John Green novels I’ve read. And yeah… INSURGENT cannot come out soon enough!
That’s interesting, Katy, because I read someone say they thought ALASKA was one of Green’s weakest. Go figure! In any case, having now read two of John Green’s novels (ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS), I can honestly say the guy can write and I can learn a lot from him. I’m sure ALASKA will be just as good.
Yeah, INSURGENT… *sigh*…
Hi Colin — thanks for stopping by my blog! I agree, there are much worse problems to have than too many book choices! Shatter Me is also on my TBR list and I’ve heard really good things about this book. I hope that you enjoy Looking for Alaska — John Green is one of my all-time favourite writers. I swear, anything he writes turns to gold.
Thanks for returning the visit, Melissa! 🙂 As I’ve just been saying to the comments above, John Green really knows how to write a YA novel, so my expectations are high of anything he writes.
It is so hard to pick only 10! 😀
I´ve heard really wonderful things about LOOKING FOR ALASKA and I need to pick it up at some point. While TFiOS made me cry, his writing was really beautiful!
Looking forward to know what you think about SHATTER ME…
Wonderful list, Colin (and my TBR list is expanding fast :D)
Thanks, Elodie! It was hard choosing 10. I had to go with the 10 I think I’m most likely to get through by the end of May. And I’m not convinced I’m going to get through all these! Like I said to Jaime, I’ll probably be discussing TFiOS on next week’s RTW, but I think one way I would describe John Green’s writing is “effortless.” There is a flow to his style that makes it easy to read without being simplistic and trivial. SHATTER ME has been on my TBR list for a while, so I ought to get to it soon. I daresay there will be a review when I do. 🙂
I can’t wait to read Insurgent, too. I never knew that was the premise for The Future of Us. I am going to have to read that one, after all.
Personally, I wasn’t that impressed by Shatter Me and I felt the writing style was gimmicky, but that’s just my opinion. You may like it.
The danger with doing something different is that it can come off as gimmicky. As you say, maybe I’ll like it–who knows? 🙂 I am looking forward to reading THE FUTURE OF US, though. It’s one of those premises that I wish I’d come up with. Thanks for stopping by, Cathy!
I’m eagerly anticipating Insurgent as well! I also haven’t gotten as far as Extras by Westerfeld; I adored Uglies but wasn’t impressed with Pretties. Maybe I’ll go ahead and read Extras anyway. BTW: Where did you go to seminary? My husband graduated from RTS Orlando this past May 🙂
I thought the UGLIES series got less interesting the further on it went. Now, Westerfeld’s LEVIATHAN steampunk series is really good, and it sustains interest through all three books. I recommend that very highly.
I have a B.A. in Theology from Hull University in England, and I earned my M.Div. from Columbia Evangelical Seminary through their mentored distance program (my mentor was Dr. James White). It was a lot of work–many hours of reading, and lots of papers written. But well worth it. 🙂 Congrats to your husband! Check out my Theology section–some of the papers there might be of interest. 🙂
Looking for Alaska is my favorite John Green book, I found it much more powerful than TFIOS… but suicide is an issue closer to my heart that terminal illnesses, so that makes sense in a way.
I enjoyed Shatter Me a lot. 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts, Emma! Now I’m even more anxious to read SHATTER ME, to see which side of the fence I fall on the “great prose”/”gimmicky prose” debate. 🙂