Top Ten Tuesday #21

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

April 18, 2017: Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly Want To Read A Book (topic originally done back in 2013 as top ten words/topics that will make me instantly want to read a book) — so yeah basically any topic or theme or ANYTHING (ie if X person recommends it) that will make you instantly want to pick up a book.

My reading habits have been called eclectic before, and that’s because I’m just as likely to have my nose in a Nancy Drew book as I am the Brothers Karamazov. My taste ranges from fantasy to science fiction, from Greek tragedy to modern poetry, and from Christian Fiction to YA Dystopian. That being said, yes there are somethings that will draw me to a book more that other things, and here is an un-ordered list of ten of those.

Top Ten Topics That Make Me Want to Read A Book

1. Greek Mythology – I love Greek tragedy and try to fit at least 1 Greek play into my reading every year. But I also like to see Greek mythology remixed, retold, twisted or simply alluded to. It’s why I took a chance on Venom & Vanilla, even though I don’t normally like Urban Fantasy. One of my favorites in the category: Nobody’s Princess.

2. Stephen R Lawhead – Lawhead is my favorite author. I have read every book by him, and own most of them. I especially like his Robin Hood and Arthurian retellings. My favorite book of all time is Dream Thief.

3. Arthurian Retellings – If it has Merlin, Arthur, or the Knight of the Round Table in it I probably want to read it. I am an Arthur junkie. (Although I admit to not being able to get into the series Merlin, for some reason.) I already mentioned Lawhead’s retelling, an interesting one I read lately was Shadowland: A Tale From The Dark Ages.

4. Dreams – I enjoy stories where the main character is drawn into their dreams, or lives another life in their dreams, or just where dreams play a major part in the real world. I’ve already mentioned how much I love Dream Thief, another one you may want to check out is Dreamlander

5. Good Fantasy World Building – I don’t look for just any fantasy story, I want one I can loose myself in. Which is why The Lord of the Rings is awesome. Nothing takes me out of the story faster than a world in which the characters don’t seem to fit. But if I hear from other reviewers that the world building really drew them in, it’s a bet that the book is going into my TBR. Check out the The Midnight Sea(The Fourth Element, #1) for some great world building.

6. Newbery – One of my major reading goals is to read through all the Newbery books. I fell really behind on this last year, but am hoping to get up to speed again this year. One of the best of the titles I’ve read so far is Holes.

7. Archers – This one is especially true of comics, but two of my childhood heroes where Robin Hood and William Tell (thanks to two BBC series on PBS.) So when Lawhead came out with his Hood series I was tickled pink. And I also loved The Hunger Games.

8. Philip K. Dick – Is another author I love and will read pretty much anything I can get my hands on. It’s crazy with the amount of books he’s written how hard it is to come across them second hand. Second Variety, is a short story of his that I am still thinking about (and creeped out by) years after reading it. My favorite novel of his is Deus Irae, which I’ve read at least twice.

9. Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys 1st Edition – This one may sounds a little weird, but I look for and collect the original Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, it’s doesn’t have to really be 1st edition just the original copyright before they were changed. That’s right, the stories have been updated several times to change jargon and make them more modern. I recently picked up the original The Secret of Red Gate Farm.

By Source, Fair use, Link

10. Finished Series – I kinda hate having to wait for the next book to come out. So if I stumbled on an already finished series that sparks my interest I’d much rather read that. And if I can pick up the whole thing for Kindle at a good price that helps too. It’s why I read the Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf, which was a total hoot. I also really enjoyed The Five Kingdoms series.

Runner up: Dystopian – I used to love dystopian fiction and this had been a reason to pick up a book, but now the market is SO flooded. It’s like everything has to have a dystopian setting.

Do you related to any of these? What is something make make you instantly want to pick up a book? Leave me a comment below.