Tuesday, April 2, 2019

A Handful of Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. found family: I know that I'm the millionth person to say this but. Listen. It's a quality trope. A scrappy crew who slowly manage to bond with each other and build a life including each other... is really good.

2. sisters: despite the fact that books featuring sisters are almost always disappointing to me... my quest shall continue...

3. criminal masterminds: it is possible that reading Artemis Fowl was a formative experience for me, who can say?

4. heists: related to the criminal masterminds. I feel like writing a heist successfully is a really good test of an author's abilities too, just because it requires incredible pacing, and an understanding of exactly how many jumps readers can make, strong characterisation, excellent worldbuilding (in the case of fantasy or sci-fi) and a capacity for being surprising but still believable

5. horses: even though it disappoints me almost as often as books featuring sisters... I've spent quite a bit of time working with horses and so I'm picky



6. dragons: I have a lot of books featuring dragons... it's a thing with me...

7. fae: I initially thought that I'd been on a faerie kick recently but then I looked back and realised that... nope... I'm actually just like this all the time

8. vampires: okay so I actually have been on a bit of a vampire kick recently, by which I mean I've just been listening to The Coldest Girl in Coldtown constantly... it's just really interesting to me? There's some really interesting worldbuilding there.

9. fantasy with political intrigue: The Goblin Emperor is my favourite example... and that isn't even all political intrigue, sometimes it's just... political day-to-day management, which was really interesting too

10. steampunk: this is another one I'm picky about but also... I have read a lot of really really good steampunk

22 comments :

  1. Love a lot of these too! Also, I feel you on being picky about steampunk stuff!

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    1. I am... so choosy about steampunk. I just keep picking it up, though, because I really enjoy it when the author strikes a good balance with it.

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  2. A good heist is forever and always good motivation. Also, I love a story that has a solid sister relationship. Oddly enough I don't think I've seen this much.

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    1. That's because there really aren't a lot of books with strong sister relationships? (I've read good ones, of course, but they're a really small proportion of the overall sample). (Especially in fantasy/sci-fi, where there's a habit of making the sisters just... hate each other?)

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  3. Found family does seem to be popular this week! Rightly so, I think. My TTT

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    1. It really is making it's rounds this week. I guess it's good to know there's demand?

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  4. Dragons, fae... definitely agree. and steampunk! I need more. Also found family is so awesome when done well.

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    1. I feel like there's a lot you can do with all of the things you've mentioned and I love seeing different author interpretations. (That said, I'm am terribly picky about thing...)

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  5. When I was in middle school I used to read all the horse books. They don't have too many new ones out now though.

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    1. Yeah, there really are fewer. Also the ones that do exist, they tend to have a younger audience in mind.

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  6. I love a good heist, found family and yes sisters! I've actually read quite a few books with sister relationships that I've really loved, but they're probably ones that disappointed you!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/02/top-ten-tuesday-205/

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    1. I mean, they might be? But also possibly not. The real problem is that I'm really picky, quite probably.

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  7. I love heists! They're my go-to movies, but I haven't read many books that have them in.

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    1. I really haven't read that many either, it's just that... they are some of my favourites. (Especially magical heists.)

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  8. I always love a good heist story, and novels with lots of clever fantasy political intrigue fascinate me.
    My TTT this week.

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  9. The found family trope has popped up on a lot of lists this week, but I think that's for an excellent reason. It's timeless.

    My <a href="http://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/>Top Ten Tuesday</a> post.

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  10. I don't even know where to start here today.

    Thrillers and crime novels are one of my favorites. And as far as heists go, I love the Fox and O'Hare series by Janet Evanovich - cons, heists, and all kind of insanity! Fantasy novels with political intrigue are so good though. Have you ever read Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel books? SO GOOD.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

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  11. I love many of these tropes. Who does love some good found families and some fae?

    www.tbrandbeyond.com

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  12. DRAGONS. YES TO DRAGONS ALL DAY. I should have added this to mine, I've been seeing it on a few TTT today! Also fae. Seriously, it says fae and I'm already handing over my money. Take it all.

    Here's my TTT: http://goodeyreads.com/2019/04/02/top-ten-tuesday-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/

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  13. Oh my gosh, the Marie Brennan dragon book covers are SO gorgeous. The first one's ending broke my heart too much to keep reading, but it was a wonderful concept.

    And speaking as someone who will read All The Horse Books Always but loves quality recs...are there any that pass muster you'd recommend off the top of your head? Any age group.

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  14. Great list! I love criminal masterminds as well! They're so much fun to read about!

    Our TTT: https://thebookdutchesses.com/2019/04/02/ttt-73-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/

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  15. I really like found families as well. And heists! I feel like I need to pick up more of these books

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