"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, August 22, 2011

Top Ten Books I Love But Never Reviewed

Hosted by the Broke and Bookish
The Top Ten question of the day relates to books that I have never reviewed either because I just didn't get a round to it or because I read the book before I started blogging. I started blogging in July 2009. The date in parenthesis is when I read the book.

1. Feed by M.T. Anderson---This was my favorite YA read of summer 2007. The feed is an implanted computer in brains. Teenagers are constantly bombarded with consumerism and marketing messages as the world falls apart. (July 2007, published in 1999.)

2. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock--- I sing the praises of this series quite often on my blog, but I have never actually reviewed it. DJ Schwenk is a jock and works on her family dairy farm.  She helps out a family friend by working with the quarterback from the neighboring team. This story is very touching and fun.  I like the whole series. (September 2007, published in 2004.)

3. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell--- a coming-of-age tale set in England. Jason Taylor is the protagonist who experiences many trials because he is also a stutterer. Both my husband and I could relate to Jason and his troubles. (September 2007, published in 2006.)

4. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli--- This story is just about as perfect as any YA story I've ever read. I listened to the audiobook version of it and the performer was John Ritter, the late, great actor.  He did a magical job. (October 2007, published in 2000.)

5.  Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L.Going---my favorite book of the Fall of 2007. Though there is plenty in the book to make the book-burners prepare their coals, I loved the book.  It is very funny. (October 2007, published in 2004.)

6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak--- I'm guessing that I will see this book on others Top Ten lists today.  This book is remarkable for many reasons. One, the narrator is death. Two, the setting is Nazi Germany during WWII with a view of the war from within Germany. Three, the book is masterfully written and is very inventive. This book is on my Top Ten favorite YA books of all time. (November 2007, published in 2006.)

7. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie--- this book is amazing on many levels. Reluctant readers actually will read this book and come back to tell me how much they liked it. It is also on my Top Ten YA favorites list. (April 2008, published in 2007.)

8. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank--- Published in 1959, this book addresses the question of what life would be like after a nuclear holocaust. Even though we know today that a lot of things that they thought about nuclear weapons were wrong, the book is very insightful about leadership, self-reliance, inventiveness, and the importance of community. (July 2008.)

9. Paper Towns by John Green--- Actually I should have all of John's book on this list since I think he is one of the premiere YA authors writing today. His characters are all multifaceted, interesting, and edgy.  This book has quite a bit of humor, too. (January 2009, published in 2008.)

10. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart--- I love this book about a plucky character, Frankie L-B. I have the hardest time getting kids to read it, though.  Perhaps if I mention it 100 times on my blog, some will finally give it a try. (April 2009, published in 2008.)


18 comments:

  1. I haven't read the Alexie on your list but have read his The Indian Killer and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - brutal and gorgeous. They make me wonder what he would do with a YA novel...I really need to look into this!

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  2. i loved dairy queen and i'm excited to read paper towns. awesome list!

    check out my top ten list this week.

    -Michelle

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  3. I also loved Feed, Absolutely True Diary, and Dairy Queen. I hate that feeling where we know there is a book students will love, but we just can't get them to read it!

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  4. I loved The Book Thief and am curius about Stargirl. I already herad good things about it.

    Check out my Top Ten Tuesday post here.

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  5. I'm currently reading The Book Thief. I love it so far; it's just taking longer to get through because it's not a quick read.

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  6. I've only went back and reviewed a few of the books that I read before blogging. Love The Book Thief!

    Regarding the Discworld series... I read The Color of Magic and really didn't get what all the fuss was about. Then I read Mort and finally saw the light... Guards! Guards! was just as impressive.

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  7. Love your selection! Haven't read a lot of them, but the ones I did read I agree with you on. Will have to check out the ones I didn't!

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  8. I really want to read the 'Dairy Queen' books... I feel like I *might* have read the 1st book when I was in high school, but I don't remember. I've heard good things about them.

    Oh Frankie. SUCH a good book, I wonder why people aren't more willing to read it?

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  9. I really liked the Dairy Queen series but I read it quite a while before I started my blog. Great list!

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  10. I have both "Feed" and "The Book Thief" on my list as well! I also loved the Dairy Queen series and was sad to say goodbye to the characters after 3 books. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't read "Stargirl" yet. I plan to do so before this year ends.

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  11. I read and reviewed the Alexi book this year - definitely loved it.

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  12. Oooh, you've got a bunch that I've been wanting to read: The Book Thief, The Absolutely True Diary..., and Diary Queen (which another of our reviewers covered last year: http://thebluebookcase.blogspot.com/2010/11/dairy-queen-by-catherine-gilbert.html)

    Thanks for stopping by and checking out my list!

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  13. The only one on your list that I've read is Alas, Babylon. A very good choice! I've got The Book Thief on my TBR list for the year.

    Here's my Top Ten: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-ten-tuesday-beloved-but-never.html

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  14. I always like the books you pick. Stargirl. I feel happy when I simply say the name. Stargirl. And Alas, Babylon. I read that when I was young.

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  15. I've heard of many of these, though not all. I need to give The Book Thief a re-read. I read it when it first came out, and haven't picked it up since.

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  16. I haven't read any of the books on your list, but so many of them are on my TBR. I think I most want to read the Sherman Alexie or the David Mitchell.

    Come check out my list this week at The Scarlet Letter.

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  17. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart - one i want to read because of the raves. i think the title might not be too appealing though.

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  18. It's Ritter actually, John Ritter, not Ridder. I agree, he was a great actor and his wife's book (Amy Yasbeck) was really great too.

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