April 30, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up a Book

1. New Adult - It's no secret that my latest obsession is the New Adult genre. I have a weekly feature dedicated to it, for crying out loud. So, whenever a book is described as "new adult," my interest is piqued right away. Examples:  Easy, Slammed, Walking Disaster

2. Vampires - I forcefully avoided vampire books for years because I was annoyed at all the Twilight hype. But, since I also can't stand not knowing what everyone else is talking about, I eventually gave in. And, while I had mixed feelings about that particular series, I did develop a penchant for the fanged. Now, some of my most favorite series of all time are all about vampires. Examples:  The Night Huntress series, The Chicagoland Vampires series, The Immortal Rules

3. The Beach - This is a weird one. See, I don't particularly like the beach myself. I hate jellyfish, feeling fat in a bathing suit and getting sand in my crack (and everywhere else). But, for some reason, books that take place at the beach always seem so romantic and exotic. It's my favorite way to experience the beach. Examples:  Fallen Too Far

4. Academy/School/Institute - I love books that take place at boarding-type schools. Usually there's some sort of paranormal aspect, and most seem to involve a bad ass chick in training. I love these books, because there always comes a point where our heroine has to put what she's learned into practice, and that culmination is always so, so sweet. Examples:  Vampire Academy series, Covenant series, Mythos Academy series 

5. Mythology - Mythology - particularly Greek mythology - has been of great interest to me ever since high school. It's so awesome that men came up with such amazing stories so many thousands of years ago, and they're still alive today. And now, we put cool modern twists on them. Even better. Examples:  The Goddess Test series, The Heroes of Olympus series

6. Scotland/The UK - I love to travel. I've been to Europe twice (Spain and Italy), but I've never been to the UK. It's on my bucket list. Until then, I love to read about books that take place there. The locales, the accents, the fun phrases ("Sod off, wanker!") - they make me smile. Examples:  On Dublin Street, Outlander

7. Werewolves/Shifters - I will read most anything having to do with weres and shifters because I absolutely LOVE the pack aspect of the story. There's something so awesome about a group of people who are bonded so closely that they would give their lives for one another. The dominant alpha males are pretty hot too, right? Examples:  The Mercy Thompson series, The Phoenix Pack series

8. Time Travel - Perhaps it's the Trekkie in me, but I do love a story that stretches the boundaries of the space/time continuum. Although they can get a bit mired in detail, the plausibility is intriguing. Examples:  Outlander, The Hourglass series, The River of Time series

9. Assassins - Especially FEMALE assassins. This goes along with the whole I-love-bad-ass-chicks thing I got going on. There's just something so empowering about reading about a girl who puts a serious smack down on a bunch of bad guys. Rawr. Examples:  Throne of Glass, Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph

10. Dual POV/Male POV - I love getting in the guy's head so much. Guys are typically not very vocal about their feelings, so getting to read about their feels as they run through their heads is so satisfying. I love the back-and-forth of the dual POVs, but the all-male POVs are just as awesome. Examples:  The Collector, Elixir, Pushing the Limits

33 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Beaches are a big draw for me, too. (I love to go there, too, however!)

Here is my list of Books I Can't Pass Up!

Anonymous said...

Yay! I put boarding school and the UK too. Even better when they're combined :)

Anonymous said...

Great list! I really should have added assassins to my list, but I totally forgot about them - opps! I really enjoyed your explanations.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.

JoAnn said...

Great list! Beaches, schools,dual POVs all made mine, too. Scotland is definitely a draw - someday I will visit myself!

Mary Catherine Miller said...

ooooh, I totally forgot about boarding schools, what a great idea!!

Stephanie @ Bookfever said...

Ah, dang! I should've added werewolves too. I love books about them. And Scotland too! Great list!
Thanks for stopping by! =)

~Stephanie @ Bookfever

Kimberly said...

Boarding Schools! That's a great one! You might check out Wolves Of Mercy Falls for the Werewolf genre! :)

LisaILJ said...

I love reading these lists, because I totally forgot about The Beach and Mythology, both which are triggers for me as well. Thanks for visiting my TTT.

LisaILJ @ "I’ll Tumble for YA

Unknown said...

How did I forget to include assassins in my list?! What a great topic - I adore books like Throne of Glass and Grave Mercy. I'm also a big fan of dual POVs and werewolves/shifters! Great list!

Nicole said...

I agree with many of these! Dual POV/Male POV is on our list, as well as assassin's! I have recently enjoyed a few good books involving Time Travel or that take place at the beach so both great picks! Overall, awesome list!

our TTT @ The Quiet Concert

Addicted to Films said...

I have boarding schools in my list too. Though the one that I've read were just the contemporary/realistic ones. I've got to check out one of those paranormal/supernatural types.

Maggie @ Just a Couple More Pages said...

Good pick with the beach. And boarding schools, I didn't think of that at all, but I am a fan of those books.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Mel@Thedailyprophecy said...

Vampires & Mythology made it to my list as well. Assassins and dual/male POV are two great words as well!

Mel@thedailyprophecy.

Carmen B. said...

Boarding school!! How could I forget that one?! Love it ^^
Oh, and yay for the Night Huntress series! Cat & Bones rock ;)
Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier! And in reply to your comment there: YES, finding an actual bad boy is hard! Most of them are just good guys in disguise...

Carmen @ Shelfspace Needed

Smash Attack Ash said...

MYTHOLOGY! How in the heck did I forget that one! I love that stuff. And I also love shifters, toooooo!

Anonymous said...

Time travel is on my list too, and I'd love to read more books set in Scotland/the UK! :) My TTT list: http://aliceinreaderland.com/2013/04/29/topicsword/

Alice @ Alice in Readerland

Natalie @Natflix&Books said...

Yes to academies, the beach, and mythology. Great list!
Here's my TTT

Anonymous said...

I am the same with New Adult. I come running to the book if I read that it's New Adult. I haven't been to the UK either but I'm a sucker for books that are set there or has a British person. It makes it better? :D

Here is my top ten!

Kierra said...

OMG! I wish I could have done the academy one! Love those. I love when the setting is in an European country! I especially enjoyed Just One Day!( And time travel is pretty bad ass...)

Unknown said...

Gah. I really wish I had done mythology now. Stupid brain! Great list anyways :)
<3!
Beth | The Reading Vixens
Vixen's Top Ten!

Anonymous said...

Ooo, I love books set in the UK. I should have listed that one, because my interest is grabbed immediately if I set if the book is set there. I've read a few New Adult books and really liked them. My favorite was probably Wait for You. Any recommendations?

Unknown said...

I see what you meant on your comment on my blog - we do have a lot in common! For time travel (or I suppose in this case, it would be more accurate to say parallel universe), have you read Pivot Point? Loved that book!

Thanks for visiting.
Stephanie (Go Flash Go) @ Read, Rinse, Repeat

Unknown said...

We have a lot in common :) I haven't read a lot of time travel, but I've liked what I read so far. I love New Adult too (Easy was amazing!) I haven't think about it, but I do like books with assassins in them, go figure!

Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

I love your list! I also want to travel to the UK and love to read books that take place there. And I have to agree with assassins and mythology! :D

Kelly said...

Yes for spies/assassins, mythology, and academy/school/institute books! :D
And oh my goodness, I'll love to read about Scotland and UK!
Great list & thanks for stopping by my TTT! (:

Unknown said...

Krista- we DO have a lot that are the same! What can we say? Great minds think alike! :) I'm with ya on New Adult, even though I forgot to put that on my list. I'll read any of them- they are also my latest obsession. I love that you have a feature for it! And WOW- we like a lot of the same books too! Great list!!

Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

Jessica@Lovin' Los Libros

Anonymous said...

If you like books with boarding schools, you should read the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter! The boarding school is a school for female spies :)

Elizabeth said...

I read and LOVED Slammed a while ago. I just read Easy last month and Oh.My Gah. !!! New adult is where it's at! I love absolutely EVERYTHING you mentioned on your list! Great list and thanks for stopping by my blog :)

Angie @ Beneath the Jacket said...

You have a few that I didn't think to add to my list: Assassins, shapeshifters...I was going to add boarding schools, but while it's a topic I do love, it doesn't make me pick up the book immediately. Great list! :) LOVE the Chicagoland Vampire series. If you haven't already, you should check out Anne Bishop's new book/series Written In Red. I loved it.

Tin said...

Yay for Schools, Mythology, and the UK! :) I would love to read more about Scotland, Assassins, and Time Travel. Must remedy soon. :D

Unknown said...

Yes! Love the list :) Assassins are always great so is the beach and everything else you mentioned, actually. Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

Julianne said...

I'm attracted to stories involving boarding schools and mythology too. Great list!

Anonymous said...

I've heard so much about the New Adult genre, but I haven't read any books from it yet (unless you could Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling books because they fall into this genre as well as YA).

I avoid vampires for the same reasons you did (at one point they were everywhere and they were just...not that well written, no matter how many I attempted to read), but I"ll definitely have to try out some of those titles and see if they change my mind about them entirely.

I love beach books too! Most of my favorite Sarah Dessen books take place at the beach.

Books about schools and academies, especially boarding school, appeal to me too, especially in the fantasy genre. I blame Harry Potter for this obsession Mythology and awesome European places (especially the UK) were on my list as well.

I haven't read any books about assassins, but I am intrigued. (Have you ever seen the show Nikita? It's kind of brilliant and it's about assassins and the leading actress, Maggie Q is freaking amazing. I highly recommend it.)

Great post!