Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" To Read
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I wasn't exactly forced to read this, but I was at a dinner party at a colleague's house and she kept talking about this book and how great it was and how we all had to read it. I had never heard of this book and I was a bit wary given the premise and although I would occasionally read YA (and had not really read any dystopian), I mostly read "adult" books. But I ended up reading it and absolutely loving it and then started recommending it to everyone I knew. And now I love dystopian books.
2. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. This is not YA, but I was truly forced to read this book and I am so glad that I was. In my book club, each person would get a turn at bringing approximately three books for us to choose from. One of our members brought three science fiction books. At the time, I was very anti-science fiction and I did not want to read any of the books she brought. And everyone else felt the same way. We whined and complained and chose this one and kept whining and complaining. Until we read the book. We all loved it so much. This is the story I tell whenever people argue that they don't read this type of book or that type of book. That's why I love being in a book club because it gets me out of my comfort zone and forces me to read books I wouldn't normally read. Sometimes I hate the book, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it turns out to be a book like The Sparrow. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's been years and I still think about this book.
So that's it, just two.
Posted by: Pam
I was recommended The Hunger Games by another blogger, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking the premise sounded so strange, a bunch of kids competing in a game to the death. But I loved it! ~Pam
DeleteI just couldn't get into The Hunger Games. I don't generally prefer first person books - there are some I love, though. And I really don't like present tense in books because I feel like I'm reading a "Choose your own adventure" novel.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine!!
I like both first person and third person, it never really seems to make a difference to me for some reason. ~Pam
DeleteI love Hunger Games!!! Divergent is actually the book that got me into the Dystopian genre, but I read Hunger Games shortly after and it really solidified my love of the genre.
ReplyDeleteI do love dystopian, but I wonder if I'll get burned out anytime soon. How many can I read?? :) ~Pam
DeleteI am forcing you to read Sanctum. The end. :)
ReplyDeleteI ordered it from my library and it should arrive at my branch this week. Looking forward to reading it! ~Pam
DeleteYay, for THG! I hadn't heard of the Sparrow before but it sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteThe Sparrow is amazing. I was shocked by how much I loved it. ~Pam
DeleteThe Hunger Games is amazing. I "force" it on everyone--or did until it became big enough that forcing wasn't necessary. I haven't heard of The Sparrow. I'll have to check it out. Great list!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this was when it first came out so after I read it, I was telling everyone about it. The Sparrow is fantastic, I highly recommend it! ~Pam
DeleteI loved The Hunger Games and I recommend it to everyone! Great list :)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like that's the dystopian that every other one is compared to...it's really a great book. ~Pam
DeleteI have never heard of this Sparrow book but you make quite a compelling case for it. I am adding it to my ever-growing TBR list!
ReplyDeleteHopefully you'll enjoy it! ~Pam
DeleteThe Sparrow sounds interesting. And I love that the book club helped you break into a different genre for yourself!
ReplyDeleteThat's what's so great about book clubs, I think. Even when I complain and even when I hate the book, I appreciate that part of it. ~Pam
DeleteI finally gave in and read The Hunger Games this year, but I didn't love them. They were just too violent and depressing for me, but I know that I am in the minority. I will have to check out The Sparrow.
ReplyDeleteWell I absolutely adore all of The Hunger Games books and put them on my list. I have never heard of The Sparrow, but now I really want to read it!
ReplyDelete