Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week there is a new topic for bloggers to choose and list their top ten. This week’s theme is a back to school/learning freebie, so I picked Top Ten Books I Learnt Something From.
It took me a while to come up with this back to school/learning freebie topic mostly because when it comes to the books I read most of them are fantasy stories; stories which keep me on the edge of my seat but which offer an escape from the real world. When they’re over that’s it, but every so often there’s a book I pick up which stays with me long after I’ve closed the last page and makes me want to learn more about the topics it’s discussed, and those are the books I’ve featured on this list.
Circe by Madeline Miller
I’d actual say both of Madeline Miller’s books should be on my list this week.
I’ve always loved Greek mythology books and retellings, but there’s something about the way Madeline Miller writes which feels more real. Through her writing it’s almost like I’m transported back in time, watching the stories of Circe, Achilles and Patroclus play out for the first time.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
I read The Hate U Give back when it was first released and it has stayed with me ever since. This book is such a powerful read, and Angie Thomas has used her voice to bring to light an important issue that’s currently affecting so many people today.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I struggled a little to pick between this book and The Book Thief, but in the end I picked All the Light We Cannot See because it gives both sides of the war a voice. We follow the stories of Marie-Laure who flees Paris with her father, and Werner who is drafted to fight for the German army.
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Before I read this book my knowledge of Norse mythology was whatever I’d picked up from the Thor movies (not accurate at all I know that). Neil Gaiman retells the stories of Odin, Thor and Loki, and through his writing I learnt so much about the gods and monsters who shaped the Norse culture.
The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven
For me it was Izzy’s voice which made this book. She’s such a confident character but as the story unfolded you saw cracks start to appear, it made my heart break for her. There are so many memorable quotes and messages in this book, and overall this is such an important read.
Moonrise by Sarah Crossan
I’d never read a book that was told solely in prose before picking up Moonlight, but that in no way diminished the emotion in this book. Sarah Crossan leaves it down to us as readers to decide what really happened that day to Ed, but in my opinion that just made the story all the more hard hitting.
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber
Katherine Jones focuses on a family on the wrong side of a drink driving accident. We watch as Wing and her family go through so many emotions they can’t truly express because of what happened, and through the writing we see what happens to those left in the wake of an accident like this.
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman
When I saw the blurb for this book I was hooked. All the short stories are based on the mythology of East and South Asia, and at the end of each the authors explain in more of the detail what inspired their writing. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings opened a whole new world up before my eyes.
And I Darken by Kiersten White
I’m not saying Kiersten White’s The Conqueror’s Saga is an accurate retelling of Vlad the Impaler’s story, I do not know enough about the history to verify that. What And I Darken did do was make me aware the history of Vlad, Wallachia, and the Ottoman Empire, and made me want to learn more.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Percy Jackson books are fun reading. They’re funny and fast-paced with characters you can’t help but root for, but they also give so much background into the Greek myths which shape the characters abilities and the quests they find themselves on.
Like with Madeline Miller I feel like I could have put all of the Rick Riordan books that I’ve read on my list this week, but if I had there would have been more than ten and they would all be by Rick Riordan.
So what do you think? Did you take part in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, if so let me know what you picked for this week’s themed free-for-all, or what books you learnt something from. Are any of the books with messages that stayed with me books which had messages that stayed with you?
I haven’t read any of these but I want to read all of them! They all just sound so good! I’m hoping to read The Hate U Give, Percy Jackson, And I Darken, and The Song of Achilles soon!
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Obviously these are all books I’d highly recommend. 😀 The Hate U Give is probably a must considering the film is coming out soon, and oh The Song of Achilles is amazing but it will break your heart. I’m sure you’ll love it. 🙂 ❤️
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The author for The Song of Achilles is coming to my town soon so I want to read it before she comes! I’m very excited!
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Oh wow I’d love to meet Madeline Miller, and yeah there’s never a bad time to re-read The Song of Achilles right? 🙂
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Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology is one of my favorite books of Norse myths. He retells the tales in such a fun way. Not to mention the book itself is gorgeous to look at!
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I can’t really say I’ve read many Norse myths outside of Norse Mythology, but I love Neil Gaiman’s writing so that one was always going to be a winner for me! 😀
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Hi Beth 🙂 ❤
The Exact Opposite of Okay and Moonrise are both on my TBR. Glad to hear that these novels are meaningful for you and I am looking forward to reading them. Great post!
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Oh that’s great to hear. In that case I really hope you love them Sophie, yeah they’re both really moving reads (in different ways obviously) I’m sure you’ll feel the same when you read them too. 🙂 ❤️
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I literally know so much about mythology now from Rick’s books. I took a classical lit class in college and was like, I got this covered. Great list!
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Oh it’s great when you can put the knowledge you’ve got from books into use in real life right?! Yeah Rick Riordan has written a fun and addictive series that actually teaches us a lot, my favourite kind.
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Wing Jones and Moonrise are two of the most impactful books I’ve read this year-both provided such deep things to think about, and Moonrise especially still has me thinking about it regularly, 6 or so months on from reading it! And I really need to read Circe and The Hate You Give…
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Oh definitely, for me they were both books I read last year but even now I still remember the stories and the characters and the messages so clearly (and it’s rare you find books like that I think).
Both of those are amazing reads, I’m sure you’ll love them too. 🙂
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I feel like I learned so much from The Hate U Give too; it completely opened my eyes to police brutality and injustice against black people in the US. I also learned a lot about mythology from The Song of Achilles. Nice post!
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Yeah it’s one of those books that just had such a strong impact on so many people (and you can tell when you consider how popular it is right?!) Same here, I mean I knew a fair bit before going in but I finished The Song of Achilles have learnt even more. Always nice when that happens. 🙂
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Yeah, I think one of the reasons it’s so great is because it’s eye opening for non-black readers, but doesn’t judge us for not knowing more about the lived experiences of black people. Instead it tells us to open our minds and do more, which I think is a great message.
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The Song of Achilles really made me want to dive again into mythology!
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Yeah when it comes to Greek mythology stories Madeline Miller is one of the best there is! 😀
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Wonderful choices, Beth! I have learned so much from The Hate U Give and I’m really happy this book gets all the hype and success it deserves while also bringing tons of well-needed awareness into this world. I’m also REALLY excited to read The Exact Opposite of Okay, this book sounds so, very cool and I can’t wait! 😀
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Thanks so much Marie! 🙂 ❤ Yeah if there is one book that lives up to and exceeds all hype it's THUG, I can't wait to see the film and I really hope that does well too. Also definitely definitely read The Exact Opposite of Okay. It's a brilliant book and it deserves so much more recognition so I'm going to be recommending it to everyone! 😀
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Great list babe! I need to get my hand on A Thousand Beginnings and Endings!! AND GIRRLLL I LOVE RR TOO!! His books teach me so much about Greek Myth more than my school ever was!
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Thanks so much! 🙂 Yes definitely read A Thousand Beginnings and Endings as soon as you get a chance, and can you imagine how much better school would have been if we’d been taught using Percy Jackson books?! 😀
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OMG now I wish I was a teacher so I could “force” kids to read RR books 😂😂😂
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I feel like you wouldn’t even be forcing kids to read Rick Riordan. It would be more fun than not! 😀
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Hahaha true that! 😂
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Great take on this week’s prompt! I’d have a hard time choosing between The Book Thief and All the Light We Cannot See because both are so great in their own right. You do have a very valid point that AtLWCS shares voices from both sides of the war.
Visiting from TTT
http://edb214.blogspot.com/2018/08/top-ten-tuesday-back-to-school-freebie.html
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Thanks so much. 🙂 Yeah that was a tough decision, but I talk about The Book Thief a lot so I figured it was time to show AtLWCS a little love as well. Plus as beautiful as The Book Thief is and as much as I love it I feel like AtLWCS has a touch more realism, which for me had more of an impact when it came to representing the war.
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Oooh Circe! Such s good choice 🙂
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Yeah I love Greek mythology stories but Circe is in a league of its own. 😀
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I’m very new to the Rick Riordan party and I’m so glad you love him toooooo c: c: c:
I’ve only read book 1, but it was so much fun and I related to Percy so much, just the way he sees things?? And I was so impressed with the background in Greek myths, too!!! it’s so easy to memorize them when they are characters, they should use Percy in university courses.
+ I was finishing the book while on a doctor’s visit, and first my nurse took the book from me and we had an obsession moment, then my doctor did the same thing??? I HAD NO IDEA SO MANY PEOPLE LOVED IT?? c: c:
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Oh I’m new as well, I only picked up the first Percy Jackson book like two years ago and considering some people grew up with these books that’s not long at all. It’s a fun series, and oh you’ve got so much amazing things to come with the rest of the series and the other books Rick Riordan has written (also yes! I would have enjoyed school so much more if they’d used Percy).
Ha, it’s kind of a phenomenon right?! I’m that way with Harry Potter because I grew up with the series so I guess for some people it’s kind of like their Harry Potter.
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I loved The Exact Opposite Of Okay and Wing Jones too! They had some really great messages and were super powerful reads.
Percy Jackson is amazing as well – it’s one of the few series I’ve reread all the way through!
Great answers! ❤️
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They’re amazing reads aren’t they? And I think they can be classed as hidden gems too which is a shame because I’d love for them to get the recognition they deserve.
Oh I need to re-read the Percy Jackson books, one day I’ll get around to them I’m sure.
Thanks! 🙂 ❤
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Yes!! I also learned a lot from Norse Mythology, Song of Achilles, and And I Darken! Amazing list!
Here are my Top Ten!
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Thanks so much, and oh I’m glad you enjoyed those books as well. 🙂
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What a killer spin to this week’s topic. As readers we all have those books that stuck with us and expanded our viewpoints and I loved getting to see some of yours! Your blurbs got me so excited about pushing some of these books (The Exact Opposite of Okay, Circe) up my list! Do you recommend reading Song of Achilles before Circe? Does it matter?
If you’d like to check out my spin on this week’s freebie feel free to do so here: http://bit.ly/2MzRJnz
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Thanks so much, and yeah we definitely do. This is only a small selection of mine, but they’re what I think are the main ones, the ones with more powerful lessons you know?
The Exact Opposite of Okay is incredible, and I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to read The Song of Achilles before Circe but I’d recommend doing it that way simply because of one of the characters who appears in both books. 🙂
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Awesome, thanks for the advice. I own all 3 so it’s even more shameful I haven’t read them, but like I said this post got me pumped to dive in!
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That’s all right, and I wouldn’t worry because I have plenty of books I own but haven’t read yet. Part of being a bookworm right?
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Great list Beth! I agree with you THUG is such a powerful read! I can’t wait for the movie!
Also the Percy Jackson books are soo good; glad to see them on your list! 🙂
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Thanks so much Meghan. 🙂 Oh it really is, and yeah I’m the same. The trailer looks incredible doesn’t it?
When it comes to books I’ve learnt something from Percy Jackson is a main one. Most of my mythology knowledge has come from Rick Riordan’s writing. 😀
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You’re welcome! 🙂 Yes it does! I can’t wait!
Oh I know, same here! 😀
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Oooh awesome list! I especially like how there is a mix of YA and adult, sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, etc. It just goes to show there’s something to learn across the board. 😀
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Thanks so much. 🙂 Oh yeah, I mean I don’t often read genres outside of fantasy but there’s always something to learn no matter genre you pick up I think. 😀
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