Tags: boarding schools, death, dinosaurs, dragons, hackers, islands, London, murder, plot twists, SciFi mysteries, serial killers, time travel
“Top 10 Tuesday” is a weekly meme by The Broke and the Bookish
We all try to expand our horizons when finding new books and want to see fresh ideas but let’s not deny that there are some things we just can’t resist when we browse for new stuff to read. Some people never get sick of love stories, some love historical fiction to pieces and then there are sick psychopaths like us who just want to see people suffer in books 😀 So, authors, if you want us to read your books, just make sure that one or more of the following things are a part of your story 😉
#1: Dinosaurs/Dragons:
As much as everyone says they love reading about dinosaurs and dragons, no one ever seems to be able to list more than a few books that actually feature them which is such a shame because obviously dinosaur and dragons are the coolest creatures ever 😛
Favorites: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly, Realms of the Elderling series by Robin Hobb, the Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce
#2: Creative Deaths/Murders:
We read a lot of murder mysteries, but books with deaths that are particularly gruesome or creative always stand out. Not sure what that says about us (or the authors), but it’s fascinating to read about the horrifying things people think of to do to each other.
Favorites: Ragdoll by Daniel Cole, the Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter, the Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain, the Smoky Barrett series by Cody McFadyen
#3: London:
Let’s be honest: London is the coolest and most interesting city in the world and it just never gets boring to spend time there, even if it’s just in books and not for real. Also nearly every British crime novel seems to be set there and those are usually pretty good. There’s probably only one city that more exciting than London: Victorian London with Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and it’s dark and dangerous streets that hide all kinds of evil.
Favorites: The Murder Squad series by Alex Grecian, The House of Silk & Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz, the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith
#4: Serial killers:
Murder stories are already pretty exciting but the real fun starts when a serial killer is on the loose and people bite the dust every few chapters. And if you want the real thrill than look for books with female serial killers because those are the really scary ones!
Favorites: Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain, Kill me Once by Jon Osborne
#5: Time Travel:
Since we can’t travel in time it’s always fascinating to think about the „what ifs“ or what kind of effect a single change would have. Also we just love to get our minds blown and even though our brains sometimes feel close to exploding when we read about time paradoxes etc. we just can’t resist good time travel stories.
Favorites: 11/22/63 by Stephen King, Das Jesus Video by Andreas Eschbach, All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
#6 Boarding Schools:
Obviously Harry Potter is what first comes to mind when most people think about books set in boarding schools, and there’s a reason the location worked so well. Boarding schools are the perfect setting, whether it’s a fantasy, a thriller, or a YA contemporary.
Favorites: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Winger by Andrew Smith, the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray, Variant duology by Robison Wells
#7: Hackers:
As soon as a book blurb mentions hackers, we’re in. Lisbeth Salander is the most badass hacker we’ve ever read about, and we’re still on the search for another one who can live up to her standards. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!
Favorites: The Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, Find Me Trilogy by Romily Bernard
#8: Plot Twists:
Probably the easiest way to get our attention with blurbs is when you add teasing lines like „with an ending you’ll never see coming“ or „the most shocking plot twist“. Then it’s not even really important what the story is about but we just have to know what the big secret is 😀
Favorites: Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
#9: Islands:
There are several things that make island settings so interesting: people are often in a desperate and life-threatening situation which automatically builds up suspense, exotic islands make for good summer reads, they often hide really crazy secrets and when a murderer is on the loose it’s the ultimate thrill because you just can’t escape.
Favorites: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, Nil by Lynne Matson, I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Written in Bone by Simon Beckett
#10: SciFi Mysteries:
Science fiction novels and mysteries are both great. When combined, they’re even better! There aren’t nearly enough of them, but hopefully the idea catches on.
Favorites: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, The Fold & 14 by Peter Clines, The Forever Watch by David Ramirez
Oh I do like me some interesting murders/deaths and serial killers they are always so interesting! Great picks!
There’s just something that makes reading about them so hard to resist!
A great list this week! 🙂 So many of your points work for me as well.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to checking out your list as well. 🙂
I love stories about hackers too though don’t think I’ve really read any since the Millennium trilogy.
My Top Ten Tuesday.
It’s so disappointing! I always look out for hackers in blurbs, but I guess Lisbeth sets the bar too high, haha.
Ooh you both have fabulous taste. Dragons particularly! YES to the dragons! I’ve read a fair few dragon books but most of them seem to kind of fall short haha. So we obviously need more (quality) dragons. Plus plot twists. Plus London. Although all I can think of is A Darker Shade of Magic now… ?
Thanks, Cait! You should probably start listening to Robin Hobb’s books on audio so you can read her dragon series. 😉 Aaaand let’s pretend I didn’t forget Shades of Magic under favorite books set in London. xD
I definitely haven’t read enough serial killer books. LOL Such a great list! 🙂
Thanks! If you want more serial killer books, definitely check out the ones we listed. They’re great! 🙂
Great list!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/top-ten-tuesday-103/
Thanks for stopping by, Jo!
Great list! I love a good plot twist, and I love London as a setting. I’ve never been there, but I so want to go! Time travel is a big one for me lately, too.
I haven’t been to London yet, either! It will be even cooler to read about books set there once we’ve had a chance to visit ourselves. 🙂
#1 & #2 for definite! I never thought of anything that specific, but I definitely agree with those.
Seriously, though, where are all the dragon books? I want more!
I have such love for time travel. It all started with Doctor Who for me but I’m glad it’s a topic more authors are writing their books around. 🙂
Everyone loves that show, but I’ve only seen a few episodes. /o\ It’s definitely fun to read about, though.
Oh great list!!! Love London, time travel, and especially plot twists are things I love in a book.
Thanks, Grace! Have you been to London or do you just enjoy reading about it? I still need to visit. 🙂
I love books set in London too. I have to make myself read books set in other places sometimes just to get some variety.
I love your graphics!
It’s such a great way to ‚travel‘!
Sadly, I can’t take any credit for them. That’s all Sebastian. 🙂
Wow! You’re icons are FABULOUS I am just fangirling over them! I’ve seen 11/22/63 on a couple lists, I’m nervous about reading Stephen King though because I’m a scardy cat!
All credit for the icons goes to Sebastian! 🙂
I was nervous about reading Stephen King, too, but 11/22/63 isn’t scary at all! I definitely think you’ll be fine.
I can never resist time travel! All Our Yesterdays is one my favorites! 🙂
Did you see that Cristin Terill is coming out with a new book? I hope it’s as good as All Our Yesterdays!
Yes! and I can’t wait! 🙂
I can’t believe I forgot about hackers! Whaaaat. I love those books. I’m definitely checking out your recommendations on hackers and serial killers, because those themes are just epic.
Haha, I saw something on almost everyone’s lists that I forgot on my own. I saw that you added the Archie Sheridan series on GR, so I hope you like it! The first one is definitely the weakest, but by book two, the series is fantastic.
Oooh, how come I forgot dragons?! Because big fat YES! to dragons, they are so cool! I love books with plot twists too but the problem is that when I know that there will be a plot twist I won’t be as caught off guard as I would have been if I hadn’t known.
And also: I didn’t know that I needed SciFi mystries in my life but know I desperately want them!
Yay for dragons!
That’s a good point. I don’t like waiting the whole book for an exciting plot twist because it loses some of the suspense that way.
Right?! I definitely recommend starting with the ones we mentioned! 🙂
oh London is a good one. It is the coolest and since I’ve been there a few times it is also a bit familiar. 😀
That’s awesome! It’s fun reading about a place you’ve been. I still need to visit some day. 🙂
Great list! I kind of get freaked out by crime, but I really liked All Our Yesterdays because the time travel made the book so complicated and interesting omg. I’ve only read the first Gemma Doyle book, which was mainly scary tbh, but also good and messed up and unique. Great list, you two!
Thanks for stopping by, Shar! I don’t blame you for getting freaked out by crime. There’s plenty in the news already. Are you planning to read Cristin Terill’s upcoming book? (I actually have no idea what it’s about.) I hope A Great and Terrible Beauty wasn’t too scary! Are you planning to finish the series?
Okay, I’m commenting on this like a month late but a) Dave was in town when this was published so I was busy, b) I wanted to find a post of Maraia’s to respond to since she’s been so lovely commenting on my blog and this was the most recent one I could find, and c) I do what I want. >;)
You know, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read a book featuring dinosaurs. Dragons, yes, but dinosaurs? None come to mind. And while I definitely love picking up books featuring dragons, I’m just not sure about dinosaurs. I’m going to blame that dinosaur erotica movement that was talked about a lot a couple of years back. It put a bad taste in my mouth for dinosaurs in literature. XP
Yes to London but I MAY be a little biased in my love of books featured there. For reasons. 😉
So excited to see All Our Yesterdays on this list. I loved that book. I think it’s the only time travel book I’ve read and really fallen in love with.
And geesh, I feel like a lot of these are a BIT biased towards thrillers/mysteries. Deaths, serial killers, islands you can’t escape… you two are a bit dark, eh? It’s interesting for me because I LOVE evil characters but for some reason such books don’t often appeal to me. I guess it’s because most of the time it focuses on trying to figure out who did it instead of living in their shoes and understanding why. I’m not sure. Maybe I should pick one up sometime. (Though let’s be real, I have 80 unread books sitting on my shelves right now that need to be read before London. I’m not going to be picking up anything different anytime soon.)
Thanks, Asti! Your comments are the best.
I can only think of a couple books I’ve read with dinosaurs, but they’re all children’s books. I want to change that this year and read Jurassic Park! LOL, what a terrible fad. >.< I first got interested in dinosaurs my freshman year of college because one of my friends is super obsessed with them (he's a paleontologist now working for the Chicago Field Museum), and his enthusiasm was catching. Hey, I'm sure Dave isn't the ONLY reason you love London. Haha. It's funny that, out of all of these, AOY is the one you've read. I don't know too many people who've heard of it, sadly. Well, it IS Sebastian's blog? What else do you expect? ;P Hmm, interesting. I'm trying to think of a thriller that would satisfy your curiosity. I'm sure Sebastian could think of some. If I come across any, I'll let you know. ?