Happy Tuesday, all! Today I'm preparing for a bit of a fail, since I honestly don't think I've read ten books yet this year that I've loved. Might have something to do with the fact that I've been super busy since I got out of school a couple months ago, but maybe I've just had bad luck. We'll see how many we can get to! As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.
1. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
I think this was actually the first book I read after finishing school this year, and it was such a nice way to start my summer. Jandy Nelson is one of my favourite contemporary writers, and considering I've only read two books by her, that's a pretty strong statement. This is a really great story about family, friendship, and reconciliation - guaranteed to make you feel all the feels.
2. Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
I just finished this book a couple of days ago and it's already one of my favourites from the year. It's a contemporary novel set in an alternate universe where a drug-resistant strand of tuberculosis has pretty much taken over the world. The love story between the two protagonists is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. After I finished this book I kind of had to take a little time out to drown in my emotions.
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I know this book is kind of old news at this point, but I read it for my Popular Fiction class this past semester and I loved it. Gillian Flynn has a real talent for crafting mysteries and making her books suspenseful and thrilling for her readers. As weird as it sounds, I really kind of loved the relationship between Nick and Amy and how toxic and hopeless it is. And even though I know the ending isn't what a lot of people expected, I was really glad that it went in that direction - it just felt more real to me. I'm realizing right now that I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so I might do a discussion post on it at a later date.
4. Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman
Guys. This book killed me. I took a class called "Graphic Fiction & Memoir" and this was one of the required texts, and I am SO happy I read it. I said in a previous post that I wasn't really into war/historical books, but this is the one that got me interested and willing to read them. If you haven't checked this out yet, please do! It's so powerful.
5. What Night Brings by Carla Trujillo
This is yet another book that I read for school this year, this time for my Latina/Latino Literature class. This is a book that focuses on a young girl (11, if I remember correctly) who likes girls and wants to be a boy. On top of that, she has a horrifyingly abusive father. This was quite difficult to read at times as it gets pretty violent, but overall it's an extremely powerful story.
6. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
It's possible that I might be sliiiiightly biased about this one, guys. This book is actually set in my town - which may not sound very cool to you if you actually live somewhere exciting, but literally nothing ever happens in Thunder Bay so it's a pretty big deal for a successful YA novel to be set here. Anna Dressed in Blood is a really fun, fast-paced read with just the right amount of creepiness and gore. Also, Kendare Blake is awesome - she was part of a panel/signing here a couple weeks ago and she signed my book "Happy entrails". Awesome.
7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
This is one of the funniest books I've read recently - definitely the funniest I've read so far this year. I love how real and unapologetic this book is - it's not trying to be one of the typical teen illness, sad love story type novels. It's honestly how a real teenager would approach this kind of trouble, and I appreciate its truthfulness. I'm kind of scared to see the movie, because I don't know how they'll translate the dry humour to film!
8. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Have you ever read a book and immediately been like, "I need to tell _____ about this."? Well, that's what happened when I finished this book. The characterization of this novel is so incredibly deep and beautiful, and the writing style is stunning. This is a book that I actually want to email one of my professors about - and trust me, that's incredibly rare.
9. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
This is one of the most beautiful books I own. I can't even begin to tell you how stunning the artwork is, and how perfectly it blends with the short stories in the book. As for the actual writing - so deliciously creepy and awesome. I'm going to reread this again around Halloween for sure.
10. Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling
If you haven't heard about this book, it's pretty much just a gorgeous, printed version of J.K. Rowling's Harvard commencement speech in 2008. The way the book is laid out reads almost like poetry, and I just had to include it because it's so damn beautiful. If you don't want to buy the book version of it (although it's so pretty I think you should), go and listen to the speech anyway! It's incredibly inspiring.
11. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
So, I'm adding this as a kind of honourable mention because I feel like I read it more than seven months ago, but Goodreads is telling me that I read it in January so I'm just rolling with it. Anyway. This is one of my all-time favourite books of life, forever. Please read this. It's such a fantastic story and I'm going to reread it as soon as I get it back from my friend.
I'm kind of in shock by how successfully this list turned out! I was expecting to top out at around 5 or 6. I'm interested to know about any books you guys have loved so far this year. Also, leave me suggestions for any graphic novels! Have a great day, guys. :)
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