Today I'm joining in with Musing Mondays, a weekly meme hosted by Should be Reading that ponders a new question every week.
This week’s musing asks…
Are there any “raved reads” –books that everyone seems to be talking about– that you’re hoping to get read this year, yourself? What books are they, and why are you hoping to read them? Is it because you want to say you’ve read it? Or, would you have chosen to read it, even if you’d discovered it yourself, and no one was raving about it?
Oh, goodness, there are tons of raved reads that I'm hoping to read list year. I've recently signed up to Goodreads and am always reading people's reviews and book blogs, so my wishlist has boomed.
Here are the ones I most want to read:
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
I REALLY want to read this one because I've been following Tahereh's blog since before I knew about her novel and I always really enjoyed her witty writing style and practical advice. When I heard she was releasing a book I knew I had to get it and I signed up to the facebook fan page, which posts regular teasers from the book.
It was this quote that I fell in love with:
"I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”
The imagery is just so beautiful and I can really relate to it. Also, it's a young adult paranormal dystopian novel, so it ticks all my favourite boxes and still sounds original. I've seen so many great reviews and heard so many recommendations that I'm convinced I'm going to love it. I had a look for it just after Christmas but it wasn't in any of the local shops yet, so I'm going to have to order it from the internet when I next get paid. CAN'T WAIT.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
I don't know why, but I have a strange interest in books and films about memory loss like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Anastasia, The Notebook and Fifty First Dates. I suppose it's because I'm such a nostalgic person and I define myself by things that have happened in my past, so I can't imagine what it would be like to forget them. I'm also interested in the psychology of repressed memories as a result of trauma. So I was intrigued with this one as soon as I heard that it was about a girl who wakes up in hospital with no memory of how she got there. Ooh, a mystery!
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and Divergent by Veronica Roth
My main reason for wanting to read these two novels is that I adore dystopian fiction and these both sound so smart and original. I'm loving The Hunger Games at the minute and hoping that these will be similarly compelling.
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Really I am just intrigued to read this because I enjoy science fiction TV and film and have never tried reading the books before because they all seem a bit dated. This, however, seems lot more modern and exciting. I'm not sure if I will love the romance aspect of it, but I really want to give it a chance just out of curiosity really!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
This one stands out to me because the synopsis is so unlike anything I have ever heard of before and I'm really intrigued as to what it is actually about! It seems very mysterious.
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
The synopsis for this one sounds similar to Stephanie Meyer's The Host to me, and I really enjoyed that so I must give this a go. Also the cover is just stunning. I have to have it.
I don't really want to read any of these books just to say I've read them, but there is a massive element of curiosity involved. I'm not the kind of person that really goes along with trends, but at the moment the genres I genuinely love (paranormal, fantasy and dystopian) seem to be really popular, so I'm being introduced to new novels that intrigue me all the time. The ones that I've chosen today all appeal to my particular interests and experiences of similar novels, so I would probably want to read them even if no one was raving about them. I've heard really good reviews from other authors and bloggers that I trust and admire, so of course that encourages me even more, but I wouldn't be put off a book if I hadn't heard people talking about it. I don't think any of these novels will disappoint and I'm really looking forward to reading them.
Pretty much everything you named is also in my TBR pile. So many good books, so little time!
ReplyDeleteMy Musings are My list is HERE.
Your 'must read' pile is much more up-to-date than mine. If I tell you 'Kite Runner' has been on my bedside table for several years, you'll get the idea that I tend to catch up with the hype after it's all died down!
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