top ten most unique books i've read

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 |
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

top ten tuesday

These top ten lists are always very interesting to me (NERD ALERT!).  Sometimes book titles spring to my attention and jostle for position on the list, and I have to regretfully leave a couple of good choices off entirely.  Sometimes I sit and stare blankly at my computer screen, and then scour my Goodreads shelves for ideas.  This week’s topic was about halfway between those two poles.  I knew as soon as I saw the word ‘unique’ that I wanted to concentrate on books that felt new and different, and maybe like they’d tweaked my brain so that I thought about/felt/saw the world differently.  They may not be unique to anyone but me, but they made MY list.  And that’s all that matters.

Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read


1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – I read this book in high school because it was on a recommended pre-college reading list, and no one else I knew had read it.  I had to start it over 5 or 6 times because it was just… itself.  I think my brain might still be bent because of it.

2. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson – The most interesting and unique magical system award goes to… this book!  Many thanks to the CYBILS award for forcing me to pick it up. *grin*

3. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo – This one has a quirky factor to the max, and I’m not just talking about the half graphic novel, half novel (all heart!) format.  I couldn’t help but love it, and I left feeling like I’d never met a book like it before.

4. Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes – Seriously depressed novelist bakes cakes to keep herself alive.  Writes darkly funny memoir/cookbook as a result.  Astounds/delights this reader!

5. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton – Oh yes, this is the Regency-esque novel of manners, but with dragons.  As in, dragons are the protagonists/antagonists/ONLY CHARACTERS.  Effing awesome.


6. A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan – A fictional memoir by an elderly scientist expounding on her younger days and first expedition to study dragons.  And yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds.

7. Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox – An impressive onion of a book.  Only rarely do I feel so intellectually challenged and impressed by a young adult fantasy.  And to top it off, this one’s based in an alternate New Zealand (unique settings FTW!).

8. Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger – Oh, this book!  It’s like an updated A Tree Grows in Brooklyn/The Catcher in the Rye mash-up, with baseball.  It makes me feel all the feels, every time.

9. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis – I’ve never read a serious book about a serious topic that was so easy-to-read and at the same time deep, important and timeless.  I am just in awe of Lewis’ writing in general, but this one is something special.

10. Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach – Geoff Herbach is a genius, and he created one of the best, strangest, REALest characters I’ve ever read in Felton Reinstein.  The awkward just oozes out of that kid, and his adventures make me laugh my head off.  What a book!

What are some of the most unique books you’ve read?

13 comments:

Unknown said...

SO many people put The Rithmatist on their lists this week. I own it, but haven't read it yet. Hearing everyone talk about it is totally making me want to pick up that book and devour it right now!

Here's my Top Ten Tuesday!

Christine said...

Catch-22 for sure!

Anne@HeadFullofBooks said...

Good choice on picking Stupid Fast!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that I haven't read any of these books! I should check some of them out as they sound fantastic.

Unknown said...

So many have listed the Rithmatist this week and now I'm just dying to read it! Catch 22 also is on my TBR list and I have no excuses why I haven't started it yet. Great list!

Anonymous said...

The Last Days of Summer has been on my TBR list FOREVER. Maybe I should give it a try!

Liviania said...

I'll have to read Last Days of Summer - I've enjoyed other books by Kluger.

Bekah said...

OOOOOooooo, I love this list! Mine would definitely include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I own multiple copies of it just because I love lending it out so much!

Caitie F said...

This list is great! Flora & Ulysses was so cleverly and interestingly done. Kate DiCamillo has a talent like no other.

Tales of Whimsy said...

I realllly must try Catch 22. I keep meaning too.

I have to read Mere Christianity. I just started Screwtape Letters and his writing is blowing my mind. SO SO SO good.

Joy Weese Moll (@joyweesemoll) said...

Great list! This topic is really making my TBR grow.

Katherine P said...

Great list! I've never heard of Saved by Cake but now I'm having to talk myself out of buying it right this second! I've had the C.S. Lewis sitting around for ages but have yet to pick it up. Sounds like I definitely need too!

Jenny @ Reading the End said...

I love this topic! One of mine would have to be Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- it was and remains one of the most original books I've ever read. Nothing else is even remotely like it.

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