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Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share our top ten “Books I Read Because Someone Recommended Them to Me.” This may be tough. I can generally remember that someone recommended a book but I might not remember exactly who recommended it. I’ll give it a try.
Ahab’s Wife; or the Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund–One of my aunts recommended this to me years ago and I loved it. I’ve re-read it a couple of times since then.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling–Another aunt (I have a large family) recommended that my mom buy the Harry Potter series (I believe four books at that point) for my sister one Christmas. I, of course, read them when my sister wasn’t and the rest is history. I received my own set shortly afterwards.
These two aunts have supplied me with endless awesome recommendations all on their own. I’ve tried to keep this list to one recommendation per person though.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones–Fiona at The Book Coop (who seems to have moved to a private site) loves all things Diana Wynne Jones and recommends her books shamelessly. Howl’s Moving Castle was everything she promised it would be!
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot–My parents are both readers too. I would occasionally rummage through their shelves when I finished my library books before our weekly trip to pick up more. I found this gem on my dad’s shelves. It’s another book I’ve read countless times. I did eventually receive my own set of this series.
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville –I don’t remember if Jensownzoo, one of my friends on GoodReads, directly recommended this or if her review grabbed my attention, but either way, she introduced me to this Wonderland-inspired tale.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune–Author Gail Carriger (Soulless, etc.) recommended this book on one of her social media channels and I’m so glad she did. It made my heart smile.
Persuasion by Jane Austen–Misty at The Book Rat recommended this to me years ago and man, I fell hard for Captain Wentworth.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore–Allison (The Allure of Books) is a huge fan of Graceling and pushed it on all of her GoodReads friends. She was right. It’s a great book!
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan–My much-younger cousin loaned me her copy of this book years ago. She was probably about 10 years old (Now she’s 22–where did the time go?) but she’s always had great taste in books and movies. I’ve continued reading pretty much all of Riordan’s mythology-based books!
Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman–Becky, another GoodReads friend, recommended this to me. I think it was the first graphic novel I read? It was definitely the first graphic novel memoir. In addition to be an important Holocaust story, this book opened up the world of graphic novels for me.
That’s my list! Have you read any of these? What did you think? What books have been recommended to you? Link up every Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl!
23 Comments
Percy Jackson was on my list too! My TTT
I’ve really enjoyed all of Riordan’s books that I’ve read so far.
That’s really cool that a graphic novel on the Holocaust opened up graphic novels for you.
Right? I read some Archie comics when I was a kid but that was about it. I somehow assumed graphic novels were just superhero comics. There’s nothing wrong with those; I’m just not generally interested in them. Maus showed me that the medium can be used to tell a lot of different kinds of stories, including some powerful ones.
Great choice! I love James Herriot. It’s great to see Maus on here, too, though.
The James Herriot books and Maus are so very different but both so very good.
I think I was in college when Maus came out. We had read the Lenin for Beginners a very daring “comic book” [no graphic novels then] so Maus followed that vein. I love James Herriot. I’m not sure I can watch the new version when it comes to PBS. I have read and reread the books and have the series memorized. Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy and Peter Davidson ARE Sigfried, James and Tristan to me!
I’ve never even watched the old show. I should try to find it!
It’s gorgeous! And fun! Probably on youtube It’s on BritBox and some library streaming platforms.
I read both Percy Jackson and Graceling because of my daughter, and loved them! That’s quite a feat considering they are outside of my norm.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some recommendations that are outside of my normal reading choices as well.
I’ve read several of the books on this list, and enjoyed them too! Some of them were recommended to me also. (Though I read Maus for a college course. I don’t think that counts as a rec?) I don’t usually remember who recommended books to me, though, so I had trouble with this week’s prompt.
I used to keep track of who recommended books in GoodReads so I was able to reference that. I’ve stopped doing that but I should start it up again.
That’s a great idea!
Percy Jackson is on my list this week as well! Here is my post-https://paigesofbook.blogspot.com/2020/10/top-ten-tuesday-books-series-i-read-am.html.
Percy seems to be a popular choice this week. Those books are always a solid recommendation!
I love that you come from a family of readers. That’s awesome!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
It’s funny how very different my family’s tastes in books are. My mom loves sweet romances, my dad loves westerns, my sister loves fantasy, and I lean heavily toward fantasy but like to read a good mix of most genres. The important thing is that we’re all reading though!
I read Percy Jackson because of a friend recommendation too. My dad used to read James Herriot’s books to me when I was a kid, I don’t think we got through all of them but I remember loving the ones we did.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/20/top-ten-tuesday-286/
I started reading The Lightning Thief to my son but he is only 10 months old so really it’s me reading a book aloud because I want to read it lol I’m enjoying it! I think it’s such a fun book and can’t wait for him to read it when he’s older.
I remember being told about Maus long, long ago, and being completely amazed at the power of that story. The James Herriot books are the same way for me.
I loved the topic this week, looks like you did, as well.
My TTT.
Howl’s Moving Castle has been on my list for years. Now I know I should move it up the list. My TTT list