Tuesday 11 October 2016

5 Books I Read From Recommendations

(Top Ten Tuesdays is a fantastic meme from The Broke and The Bookish. Check it out here. Mine are shortened to 5 because I can only 4/10 times find the time to do 10 books, but the sentiment is the same.)

Top Five:
Books I Read By Recommendation


I can't believe I missed last week's Top Ten Tuesday on villains! Villains are one of my favourite aspects of literature. Anyway, here's 10 books I read by recommendation. I don't get recommended books often - I have an unusual taste in books - so I've done my best.


1. The Lie Tree
by Frances Hardinge

I was recommended The Lie Tree by a friend on Twitter a year ago (so don't ask me who; my memory only extends to five minutes ago) and bought it a few weeks after and have stared at it every day since, excited af to read it. That's right, the first book on this "Books I Read" list, I haven't even read. Go me! But seriously though, it's not often that I'm recommended a book that I'm genuinely interested in and excited to read. A year on and I still look at it on my shelf anticipating the time when I will finally read it.

2. Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard

Now for one that I have actually read. I had Red Queen forced upon me by my best friend late last year after I bought it her for her Christmas present, then I had Glass Sword forced upon me when that came out earlier this year, and currently Cruel Crown is sitting on my bookshelf saying "Hey! You! Read me! Hi! Can you hear me? Over here! Stop god damn ignoring me!". I did enjoy these books however I was much more into the banter we had over Cal, Maven and Kilorn afterwards than the books themselves.

3. The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho

I need to clarify something first: I wasn't recommended this, I stole it off someone's bookshelf. I swear it was an accident though! I stayed at my uncle's in Edinburgh last weekend and happened to notice this, a marvelous book that has been said to change lives, sitting unassumingly on his bookshelf, and decided to read it over the weekend. Then didn't finish it and forgot to take it out of my bag. I will get it back to him, I swear. As a review though, I didn't see as much in this book as people proclaim. A lot of the "lessons" it teaches resonated a lot with what I believe, which was really refreshing for me, but I don't think I actually learned anything new from it. I reckon it's just one of those books that you have to read and see what it does for you though. Astoundingly magical for its simplicity.

4. Half Bad
by Sally Green

By far the best book I have ever been recommended. Also my favourite modern novel. Like shit I love this. I've never resonated so much with a book in my life. I know I liked Half Bad for different reasons to most fans, and, like All The Bright Places, I thus feel unqualified to review it. But. Just please. It's so good.

5. The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey

I have to say, I expected better from my friend's girlfriend. I really didn't like this book. I mean, you're in a world where most people are dead and the rest are going to kill you, and all you can do is dream about that boy you had a petty high school crush on? That's the definition of an unrelatable and hatable character. Nu thanks. I know lots of people loved it. But no. Thank you. Goodnight.


Abi Ainley

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