10 Hype Worthy Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  Today’s theme is top ten books that are worthy of the hype they received.  These are my ten picks, in no particular order.

 

The Language of Flowers  by: Vanessa Diffenbaugh – This was before Goodreads was as popular and before I was part of The Silent Book Club on Facebook.  So I heard about this book a on a few book blogs and from my mom.  It was excellent and I’ve always heard good things about it, whether or not that qualifies as “hype.” 🙂

 

11/22/63  by: Stephen King – I read this fairly soon after it was released, but I still hear a lot about it today from book lovers.  On Silent Book Club it is always one of the first recommended when someone asks what King book they should read.  I loved it, in spite of the weird ending (which is true of many of King’s books).

 

The Book Thief  by: Markus Zusak – Awesome, amazing book that people recommend all the time and rightly so.  My husband did read the first chapter and decided he didn’t like it, but he’s not a cultured reader so he doesn’t count.

 

Beneath a Scarlet Sky  by: Mark T. Sullivan  – I haven’t heard as much about this book recently, but it was talked about a lot when it was first published.  I loved it, whether or not it was an accurate portrayal of the real Pino’s life.

 

Room  by: Emma Donoghue – This has been made into a movie that I haven’t seen yet, but it’s an excellent novel.  The first few chapters were some of the most agonizing suspense scenes I’ve ever read.  My oldest child was the same age as the protagonist of the book, which made it affect me even more.

 

 

The Help  by: Kathryn Stockett – There’s a reason this book is one of the most popular novels of the modern age.  The fact that it’s a movie has helped, but that’s the reason it became a film in the first place.  Great story, well written, interesting characters.

 

 

Water for Elephants  by: Sara Gruen – I don’t hear as much about this book now, but for a while it was highly talked about amongst book lovers.  I never watched the movie, but the book was excellent and deserved to be recommended as much as it was.

 

Harry Potter series  by: J.K. Rowling – Do I even need to justify why this is on my list?  This series grows along with the characters and along with many of the first readers.  That is neat in and of itself, but the original story, fun characters, and unique setting tops it off.

 

Wonder  by: R.J. Palacio – For years I heard about this book but kept putting off checking it out.  I figured it was just blown out of proportion or just appealed to young readers.  Boy was I wrong.  It’s fascinating how well this was written that it can reach young and adult readers.  The message is so important as well.

 

To Kill a Mockingbird  by: Harper Lee – Once again, I don’t feel there’s anything I can really add to make you understand why this book is on this list, but it truly is a classic tale.  Part of it is how incredible this book was released when it was, at a time when the message was controversial as well as important.  The message is still incredibly important.  Also, I want to take this opportunity to say that I didn’t like Go Set a Watchman and I honestly don’t think it was ever supposed to be published.  Harper Lee wouldn’t have wanted that considering it was a first “draft” of Mockingbird and she obviously decided to write something else instead.