Happy Tuesday and welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week's topic is Things On My Reading Wishlist. Basically, these are things I'd like to see more of in books. I'll try not make this too similar to April 18th's post of things that will instantly make me want to read a book, so here we go:
Alternate history or historical fantasy rooted in the real world like My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows - Preferably with a good sense of humor!
Book blogger leading characters - This was my favorite part of Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Characters in YA contemporary who love listening to big band swing or bluegrass music - These are two of my favorite music genres and I'd love to see them represented in contemporary (or historical fiction, if it's set in the 1930s - 1940s) YA a least a little bit. The only contemporary I've read that featured bluegrass is Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen, which was honestly my favorite part!
Characters with the same first name as me - I don't see my name show up often in books, but I feel a small thrill when I do!
Fantasy or sci-fi (neo) noir - I need to find another book as awesome as The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford!
Historical fiction, YA or otherwise, that features women in WWII - WASPS, WAVES, and WACS (or their British counterparts) - A favorite example of this is Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, and I'm really looking forward to reading Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith for Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge.
Librarian leading characters - Have you read The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman or Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine? I need more books like those!
More YA set in rural areas - I've read plenty of YA where the characters live in small towns, but I really want to see more characters who've grown up on a farm (like me). I could relate to the leading character from Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - if only it had a better cover, and title for that matter - and I need to try the sequel!
Present and supportive parents in YA - Please? Like the Weasley's from Harry Potter or Joyce Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
YA characters who love watching classic old Hollywood films - I just watched La La Land and I loved how it paid homage to classic Hollywood musicals - particularly Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris, along with plenty of others. Maybe this will inspire some authors to feature classic movies (of any genre) or set them within that time period.
What do you think of my list this week? Would you like to see any of these things in books? Thanks as always for visiting my blog, and perhaps even commenting!
A book blogger leading character would be awesome! Fantasy or scifi noir? Yes please. Rural locations (imagine all the trouble you could get into on a farm in YA lol) and classic movie appearances would be nice too. Great list.
ReplyDeleteFor sure! Thanks for coming over, Greg!
DeleteHave you read Alex, Approximately? The main characters in it love old Hollywood films! Also, I just got a ton of recommendations from this post, so thanks haha :)
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't - it's going on my tbr. :)
DeleteI think there has been a huge movement, or at least I am reading a lot of book, that show fantastic YA parents. I just finished Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno yesterday, and the family was phenomenal. I need to be adopted by them. I cannot think of many YA with old film lovers, though Alex, Approximately (and now I see someone else said that!) comes to mind, but I would be all over that. I grew up watching old movies with my Grandma, and I never turn down a movie musical on AMC. Great list!
ReplyDeleteSam @ WLABB
I've started noticing that myself. Alex, Approximately is definitely going on my tbr. :)
DeleteYES to alternate history! I love it so much!! My Lady Jane was one of my favorite reads of last year! I'd also love more librarian main characters! Great list!
ReplyDeleteHere are my Top Ten!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Tracy. :)
DeleteI love reading books with librarians as main characters. Not sure why....
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/05/book-ish-wishes-all-my-dreams-come-true.html
Bet I can guess. :)
DeleteGood ideas all. I think I would settle for PARENTS in YA, not every kid needs to be an orphaned street rat to be interesting, especially in stories of a more high fantasy feel.
ReplyDeleteI am the opposite of you though, I hate seeing my name in books.
For sure there! :D
DeleteAgain, I don't know of any of these books and feel super uncultured, but they look pretty good. The Dairy Queen looks good, although I do know what you mean about the cover. It's a shame, because I feel like covers really do put us off, regardless of whether or not the story itself is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAmy;
Little Moon Elephant
Dairy Queen is excellent - just ignore that cover (or any of the covers for it because they're all pretty terrible).
DeleteI love when parents ACTUALLY make appearances in books! And you're not thinking, "Um. Hey. You're fifteen. Are your parents aware of all this??"
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteOh yes please for parents! They don't all need to die in some tragic accident or be terrible people.
ReplyDeleteI know right. :)
DeletePresent and supportive parents... My list for next week is actually on famous characters with missing moms. I can't believe how often in YA characters have one or both parents out of the picture.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: http://books.thetechchef.net/top-ten-tuesday-24/
I'll be sure to see what characters you list! You could easily make more than a list of ten!
DeleteWhy are there so many absent parents in books? It's like with many Comicbook characters who are all orphans.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: Marie @ Pages to Explore
I know! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteIt would be a miracle if a book had my first name! I love all of your suggestions on this list. The Invisible Library is on my kindle too, so I'm definitely going to give it a read after this!
ReplyDeleteMy TT: Vena Isabella
I hope you like The Invisible Library, Vena! :)
DeleteOh! I really want to read My Lady Jane (I heard it's funny), but then I also know about the historical figure and how she met her end...and if it's funny, they've probably changed that...
ReplyDeleteBut still. Want. To. Read. :)
AND THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY IS MY FAVOURITE SERIES!!! XD Have you read The Masked City and The Burning Page yet?
There take on history is awesome! :)
DeleteI haven't read them - yet, but soon.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I'd love to see more books like My Lady Jane. Such a great combination of alternate history and humor. Great list!
ReplyDeleteYes, that would be so cool! :)
DeleteI love librarian characters. It also grabs my attention when I see my name in a book...it doesn't happen often.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. :)
DeleteHi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteGenerally, I am quite happy with the mix of things my review and TBR piles are offering right now.
Greg's idea about the book blogger lead character would be good, as I don't think I have ever come across that one before. However I have the funny feeling that by default, that would turn into a cozy mystery, which probably wouldn't appeal to you too much?
I have come across quite a few books and fellow bloggers with my name 'Yvonne', which is always quite flattering. It's funny, but back in the day (1958), my mum and dad thought they had given me a fairly uncommon name which couldn't easily be shortened, only to find that out of a class of barely 20 pupils at primary school, there were now three of us with the same name, which were then duly shortened to Bonny, Vonny and Eve - They were horrified!!
Nice post, thanks for sharing :)
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne,
DeleteOf the book blogger characters I've read so far they've either been featured in sci-fi or contemporary actually. You're right, though, cozies really aren't my thing, you're right about that.
Huh! When I was in school there were two other kids in my class with the same name as me. :)
Thanks for coming over, Yvonne.
Lauren
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteOh I am really intrigued by this one: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Great post!
Hi, I hope you'll like it if you try it! :) Thanks for coming over to my blog!
DeleteYou have some great ideas here. I agree YA needs more rural settings. Also, I like the idea of science fiction/fantasy noir books. Hope some authors find your suggestions!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed! :D
DeleteI am totally on board with more present, supportive, non-idiotic parents. They can contribute so much to a story!
ReplyDeleteRight! :)
Deletefantastic list!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carrie!
DeleteHistorical fiction and characters who are book bloggers are definitely two of my favorite topics as well. :) Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks for visiting me, Zoe!
DeleteOh I love reading books were main characters have the same name as me! I have a pretty unusual name but I have seen a rise of popularity of it in the last few years. It helps that there is a famous actor with that name, too! :)
ReplyDeleteThat does help! :)
DeleteI agree wtih all of these! The cover of The Last Hot Time looks so intriguing! And yes to supportive parents. I just finished reading The Hate U Give, and love how Starr's parents stood by her no matter what! Great list!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ whatadifferenceawordmakes
Great to hear about The Hate U Give - I'm on hold for it at the library and I can't wait for it come in. :)
DeleteHi! Oooh, I love all of these. I saw rural YA on another list and think it's a great idea. More of that, please :)
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Leslie
Yes, please! :)
DeleteThanks for sharing, Leslie!
YES! YES! YES! Book bloggers as characters! Bring it on.
ReplyDeleteAlso, librarians sounds great too - especially as they can fall into the blogger character of being "bookish" leads. :)
Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland, Lauren.
Yes!
DeleteThanks for visiting mine too Rissi!
I remember reading these last week... I must have been pulled away and didn't leave a comment! Anyway I love how specific your list was... big band and classic movie lovers and blogging main characters. A popular one was good parents, I called it more relationships than lovers, but it's the same thing and I couldn't agree more! Just because a parent is good doesn't mean they will be able to save their child all the time...
ReplyDeleteOh I love reading books were main characters have the same name as me! I have a pretty unusual name but I have seen a rise of popularity of it in the last few years. It helps that there is a famous actor with that name, too! :)
ReplyDeletegoldenslot
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