Helloooooo! I hope y’all made the jump from onceuponayarn.net… I did lose a lot of followers because I can’t figure out how to migrate them to this new address. I’m very sad about that, but it’s more stress than I can handle trying to figure that out right now. This is very much a transition period, with me adjusting to college and seeing where blogging fits into that. So this is just a warning that things are changing up around here. As you’ve gathered by now. 😛 Thanks for being patient… life is crazy!

I thought we could mix up posts a bit to tie in with the “Once Upon A” part of my blog name. I don’t have much time for blogging anymore and when I do, I want it to be relaxing and not too hard. So today I thought I’d join in with The Broke and the Bookish‘s “Top Ten Tuesday” book tag. Basically, every Tuesday they have a topic for you to list your ten favorites. I LOVE making lists and of course am a huge bookworm/fangirl, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

This week’s topic is…Books You Read Because of Recommendation! So based on hype or your friends saying you really need to read this.

1. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

I saw this series all over the blogiverse before I started reading it. Everyone was talking about the diversity and eclectic group of main characters. I picked up Cinder on sale at the bookstore and got hooked. Luckily there were three books released at the time, but I waited eagerly with the rest of the fandom for Fairest and Winter, attending the launch party (eeeeppp!), and then was super excited to learn that Stars Above was going to be a thing! Ahhhhh I love this series to pieces… I can’t even talk about it coherently. *fangirl* *fangirl*

2. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

I heard a ton about this series from Cait @ Paper Fury, and finally picked up the first book from the library to give it a try. And then I read the next two books and the prequel. 😛 I haven’t liked the most recent books in the series as much, which is a shame, but I will probably read the last one anyway. For closure and all. 🙂 I loves some good epic fantasy, and the main character Celaena is really interesting and multi-layered. Her character development is what kept me reading! (The prequel, The Assassin’s Blade, is my favorite.)

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Back when I was a wee young thing, eight or nine or so, my dad suggested I read this book. He hadn’t actually read it, but he was recommending it because it was popular and got lots of rave reviews. So I sort of got it based on secondhand hype. Of course, this started an obsession with all things Harry Potter, so the recommendation was spot on. 😛

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I had a friend who wouldn’t stop raving about the series, so I got the first two books from the library, devoured them in a couple days, and desperately needed the third one. My grandma lent me her Kindle and bought me the eBook, kindly enough…Nana, if you’re reading this, thank you! I haven’t forgotten. 🙂 <3 I obsessed over this series for years. I don’t think anyone escaped the hype for this series, especially with the movies.

5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Once again it was Cait who inspired me to read this series. She always talks about Maggie Stiefvater’s beautiful writing, and the premise of the books sounded really interesting…it’s about a girl who’s told that if she kisses her true love, he’ll die. And then she runs into a group of boys from a nearby private school. But it’s not a predictable, sappy romance or anything; because of the whole true-love-will-die thing it would be fairly problematic. There are some really beautiful scenes and this lovely paranormal feel to the whole thing. I don’t know, it’s very hard to describe, just that this series is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

6. Anything John Green

I didn’t realize until I was writing this post, but his books seem to be tied to Canoe Island French Camp for me (that’s where I volunteered this summer, and was a camper for the previous three years.) My first year as a camper, my tipi mate had a copy of The Fault in Our Stars, and really enjoyed it, so I checked it out first thing upon returning home. My final year as a camper, I read Paper Towns on a whim before I left…and at camp everyone was carrying around a copy. I was glad to be in the loop. This summer, on my first day off, I kayaked two hours round trip  to the bookstore and bought Will Grayson, Will Grayson. (It makes a great story because on the way back, my fellow assistant and I ran into some trouble with a strong current and huge waves, and we had to radio for help. The camp director came to pick us and the kayak up in another boat. The book was a little waterlogged and worse for wear, but it survived!) A few weeks later I made the same trip, with more success this time, and bought An Abundance of Katherines. I carried the book around with me to read whenever I found a spare minute. John Green’s books are a great de-stressor for me, they’re easy to escape into and always make me laugh.

7. Ash by Malinda Lo

This isn’t as well-known as the other ones on the list, but my bloggy friends raved about it. I love reading fairy tale retellings, so I grabbed a copy on a trip to the bookstore. Malinda Lo’s writing is beautiful, I read this several months ago and since then have picked it up just to read a random page and marvel at her prose. It reads very much like, well, a fairy tale. It’s just a really lovely book, and (this is a possible spoiler, but it’s pretty much in the back cover description) Ash and Kaisa’s relationship is the sweetest thing I’ve read in ages. There’s also a prequel, Huntress, which I have yet to finish, but I just love the author’s writing style. So, a less-hyped book, but I read it based on a recommendation and would have to heartily add my own voice!

8. The Selection series by Kiera Cass

This is your fluffy, feel-good kind of book. The premise is that 35 girls compete to win the affections of one prince, and it’s pitched as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. I don’t remember anyone recommending this to me, but it made the rounds on the Internet and caught my interest. The main character is a little grating at times, but I actually grew quite fond of her, and there’s a surprising amount of depth and character development. So don’t judge these solely based on the covers. I’m happy to admit I own the whole series, the two spin-off books, and Kiera Cass’s other book. Her writing is fun to read and it’s easy to get sucked into the worlds. Once I had a bad cold, so I curled up on the couch with the first book and spent the afternoon reading. Just about the only thing that could make me feel better. 🙂

9. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The hype for this book was crazy! It came out about a year ago, and I think the sequel is coming out this month. It’s basically a science-fiction book told through emails, messages, schematics, “hacked documents,” and some really cool poem-like space-themed things. Hard to describe, but fascinating to read. These authors are a great team. I’m really interested to see where the next book goes. I would have to say the hype was worth it! (It’s a really great book to own in hardcover, too, because the jacket is partially see-through and it’s designed so you can make out words underneath. I’m too lazy to get a picture but it’s really cool!)

10. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and enjoyed it, but Fangirl was getting so much hype that I went, “FINE, I’ll read it and see what all the fuss is about.” Well. I need to listen to the book blogging world more. I have never related to a fictional character so much before. Cath is an 18-year-old, glasses-wearing fangirl who’s just starting college, studying writing, and who has tons of social anxiety and stresses all the time. She’s also obsessed with Simon Snow (which is basically supposed to be Harry Potter), and she’s anxiously awaiting the 8th book’s release. Crazy, right, especially since J. K. Rowling just wrote an eighth Harry Potter book! So I could really get into Cath’s perspective. It has lots of insight into fandom life, and it seemed like the author really has a respect for fans. A lot of people laugh at fanfiction and all that, but there is something to be said for respecting it as well, and the book felt like a sort of tribute to fan life and all that comes with it. Rainbow Rowell also wrote a book about Simon Snow, Carry On, and I will definitely be checking that out. Ahhh I love this book so much.

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Wow, that was longer than I expected! I guess I have a lot to say about books or something, hehe. Have you read any of these? What books have you read based on recommendations? And what do you think of me linking up with Top Ten Tuesday?

Hope you’re all having a wonderful day! <3