Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Won’t Be Under The Tree



Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is books I hope to find under the Christmas tree. I know that there won’t be any books under the tree. I only get practical gifts. Like socks. And food. And random household items with Donald Trump’s face on them because my dad has an awful sense of humor. If I did get books for Christmas, here are ten I would have asked for. These books look beautiful on the outside and sound amazing on the inside.









Books That Won’t Be Under The Tree







1. The Dark Vault by V.E. Schwab (The Archived #1-#2.5)



Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Mackenzie Bishop's grandfather first brought her here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now her grandfather is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.














2. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera




Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?










3. Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman



The drought—or the tap-out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while. Life has become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t take long showers, don't panic. But now there is no water left at all.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation and violence. When her parents go missing, she and her younger brother must team up with an unlikely group in search of water. Each of them will need to make impossible choices to survive.















4. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo



Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.












5. Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files #3)



Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? 

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.












6. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens



For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.















7. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid



Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.












8. There There by Tommy Orange



There There is a relentlessly paced multigenerational story about violence and recovery, memory and identity, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people. It tells the story of twelve characters, each of whom have private reasons for traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle’s memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and has come to the powwow to dance in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and unspeakable loss.













9. The Outsider by Stephen King



An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad . . . .

















10. Tales From The Inner City by Shaun Tan



Tales from the Inner City is a collection of incredibly original stories, rich with feeling, strangely moving, almost numinous. And when the reader comes to the artwork, it's like walking into an amazing room, and then throwing open a curtain to see a brilliant scene that makes you understand and appreciate everything you've encountered in a deeper way.














Have you read any of these? What did you think?










57 comments:

  1. That's a great list!! Where the Crawdads Sing was great, I loved Evelyn Hugo and I enjoyed The Outsider. I still need to get to Obsidio.

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    1. I’m glad you liked them! I have to reread the first 2 Illuminae books. I’ve forgotten everything that happened.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. Love your spin on the topic. I don't get books either because my family doesn't know what I have vs don't. That said, I don't hesitate to pick out some books for myself, they just don't end up under the tree. Hope you collect all of these eventually. :)

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    1. I get gift cards from my family. Those will for-sure be spent on books.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. Nice list! Dry is one I'm really hoping to read soon. Practical gifts are always great, but it would be awesome to get books, too!

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  4. Merry Christmas! I really want Obsidio, The Poet X, and The Seven Husbands too. I don't tend to get many books because I have a ton of them so people don't like buying me more (RUDE), but hopefully you can get some of these soon.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Haha, same. I have so many books that people don’t want to get me more.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. Merry Christmas AJ! Both Dry and Seven Husbands are really good.

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  6. you always seems to want to read books I don't want to read, I guess we have different reading taste. I hope you get to read all these books.

    have a lovely holiday.

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  7. I wouldn't mind have found some of these under my tree as well! Great list. Hope you are enjoying the Holiday Season!

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  8. Obsidio is a must if you read the series. It was a good finale. I thought the Poet X was fabulous. I heard the audiobook is amazing, because Acevedo narrates and her spoken word is incredible.

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    1. I really liked the first 2 Illuminae books. Lots of people have recommended The Poet X audiobook. I don’t usually listen to audiobooks, but I’ll have to see if I can find that one.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I really really have to read VE Scwab's books. 2019. Hope you got some of these. Merry Christmas!

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    1. YES! Everybody has to read VE Schwab’s books. I’m pretty sure that’s a law. :)

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. Great list! I can't wait to read Where the Crawdads Sing. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

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  11. Ooh I hope you got a book or something and hopefully not any Trump paraphernalia lol? Obsidio was pretty fun. :)

    Hope you had a merry Christmas!!

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    1. Haha, I did get some Trump paraphernalia. *Sigh.* I’m glad you liked Obsidio!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  12. I picked up What If It's Us recently after reading the first 5 chapters through Epic Reads' newsletter and loving them. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! :D

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  13. These all look like excellent reads and I really want to get to The Poet X at some point. I've heard great things about it.

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    1. It’s been nominated for a ton of awards, so hopefully that’s a good sign.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. Why won’t you receive one of them? I am pretty sure that any book I put on my list won’t be under my tree :).

    The Crawdad Sing book sounds interesting, but then I grew up on the NC marsh.

    Htto://www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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    1. I have a ton of unread books sitting around, so people don’t usually get me more. I’ve never been to NC, but that Crawdad book has been getting a lot of love from book reviewers. I want to see what the hype is about.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  15. Give me the email addresses of your family and I'm writing these people. C'mon! No books under the tree? Sad, sad, sad.

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  16. Maybe you could tape Donald Trump's face onto the front of a (good) book and trick your dad into buying it for you? You never know... :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  17. It's a fascinating list. Dry is one I want to read. Good luck in getting them. I hope your library is as great as mine.

    Trump items? That's just mean. Who wants to look at him, even if they are a fan of his politics? If I were going to look at married men at all, why not Keith Urban or Jason Momoa? lol
    Anne - Books of My Heart

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    1. Haha, that’s a good point. If I had to stare at a married man every day, I would not choose Donald Trump!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  18. Ha ha, Trump stuff? What a gift! No one in my family buys me books either -- they just assume I already have whatever I'd want. Looks like a great list of books! I've read The Outsider, Dry, and What If It's Us -- all great! I just picked up a copy of Evelyn Hugo, and I'm about to start the first Illuminae book. :) Hope you get to all of these!

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  19. You NEED to read Dry! Immediately. You need to gift it to yourself. I hope you got some amusing Trump gifts, at least! XD

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    1. I did get an amusing Trump gift. I’ll probably be gifting Dry to myself when I have space on my TBR shelf.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  20. Oh god, Trump's face... I can't deal with that, haha, unless it's amusing and makes me laugh (but I'd rather not). My family is practical as well, so if we did celebrate Christmas, no books will be found for sure!

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    1. The Trump gifts do make me laugh. I also got slippers, which I’m wearing right now and love.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  21. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas...even without books under your tree! :)

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  22. Oh this is such a good list, I hope you'll be able to get these books at some point, even if they weren't under the Christmas tree :) I really liked The Dark Vault and What If It's Us :D

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    1. I’ll probably read them all eventually. I’m glad you liked The Dark Vault and What If It’s Us.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  23. Merry Christmas!I hope you're able to get your bookworm wishes!I haven't read any of these but I want to read Obsidio to finish the series and Tales From the Inner City sounds intriguing.

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    1. I’m so bad at finishing series! I need to reread the first two books because I’ve forgotten everything that happened.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  24. Obsidio is marvelous - I hope you enjoy it when you get there. :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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  25. I haven't read any of these, sorry! The nearest I got to any of them was DNFing Illuminae! Santa didn't bring me anything but my dad got me a gift card for Amazon which I'm twitching to use!

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    1. Enjoy your gift card! I got one of those, too. Now I need to figure out what to spend it on.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  26. Aw this is such an epic list! I wish you got books for christmas...but tbh my family is pretty woeful at it too.😂 Although my sister DID give me the Game of Thrones illustrated edition and like?? This must be the first book for christmas I've gotten since I was a teen! I'M EXCITED. Also I hope you get a chance to read Dry, What If It's Us and Obsidio soooon. I also need to finish that Schwab duology come to think of it.😂

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    1. Ooh, illustrated Game of Thrones? That sounds . . . bloody. I love that series, though.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  27. I have Dry and What If It's Us to read already and I want to borrow Poet X on audio from the library.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  28. Dry is one that I've had my eye on, though it does cause a little bit of anxiety (especially living in Southern California). Obsidio was great! I still need to read The Archived books--I own the second book I think, but not the first. It's not super helpful. I hope you get a chance to pick these up!

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  29. I can't decide if I would laugh or disown my family if they gave me Trump gifts of any kind, lol. I really hope you did get a few books for Christmas though or at least some gift cards so you can buy some for yourself.

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  30. DRYYYYY. Find thee Dry ASAP. Also now I want The Dark Vault even though I haven't read The Archived yet oops. Also need Evelyn Hugo, and crap, now I want Crawdads too. Ugh. But Idk, the Trump stuff sounds so, so much worse than not getting any books, I want to cry on your behalf.

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  31. Aw bummer to not get any books under the tree. They're practical! They save a girl's sanity! lol

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  32. I misunderstood the post. I thought there were reasons they wouldn't be under the tree. I really want to read most of these. I hope you get them at some point. Have a wonderful New Year!

    Mary

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  33. You don't get books for Christmas? That's so sad! Anyhoo! I have Evelyn Hugo and Obsidio. I have yet to read them but I'll stalk you for reviews when you read them.

    Great list!

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  34. Oh my gawd! Tales from the Inner City's cover is delightful! 😍

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