Today’s Ten On Tuesday topic comes from Amy and I think it’s fabulous one! You see, today is Beverly Cleary’s birthday and it’s also Drop Everything And Read Month. I’m always ready to drop everything and read, believe me, and so, our topic is 10 Books That Made ME Want to Drop Everything and Read.
I initially thought I would just be able to sort my Good Reads list by rating and pick ten that I rated with 5 stars. But a number of those are nonfiction and, while I may have rated them highly, they weren’t necessarily books that made me want to drop everything to read them. For me this list just has to be 100% fiction – books that I had to just read until I was done because I simply had to know what would happen next. Let me just say right now this is probably the fastest Ten On Tuesday list I have ever written.
- A Man Called Ove. My review: This is the best book I’ve read in ages and I want to hand it to everyone I know and say, here! read this! right now! It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and you will fall in love with Ove and all of his people. And his cat.
- The Art of Fielding. My review: What could be more perfect for a summer read than a book about baseball? Set at a college in Wisconsin, this book centers around 5 flawed and wonderful characters. I was drawn in immediately and literally could not put this book down until I finished it. Highly recommended.
- The Fault in Our Stars. My review: I didn’t see the ending coming on this one, that’s for sure. And I cried and cried and it was heart wrenching but in that “I just read a great book and it made me wicked sad” kind of way. Highly recommended but be prepared for sadness.
- The Art of Racing in the Rain. My review: If you’ve ever loved a dog then you simply must read this book. It will make you smile, it will make you look at dogs with a whole new understanding, and it will break your heart. Highly recommend.
- The Book Thief. My review: You know how there are books that everyone says you should read, they are amazing, blah blah blah, and then you read it and you’re, like, meh? Well this is NOT one of those books. It is better than I ever expected. Beautifully written and moving and sad and hopeful all at the same time. Truly, it is fantastic and, aside from crying so hard I could barely read the last few pages, I have no complaints at all. Read it. Now.
- Pack Up The Moon. My review: Rachael Herron hit it out of the park with this one. The story is tragic but hopeful and the characters are real – they feel like your neighbors or coworkers. The descriptions of love and grief are achingly true. I couldn’t put it down but I hated to see it end.
- Wonder. My review: This was amazing and, as a good friend said to me recently, EVERYONE should read this book.
- The Golem and the Jinni. My review: This is one of those books that I want everyone I know to read. Immediately. In other words, I loved it! The characters, the setting, the story, the writing – it’s all wonderful. It’s a different kind of story, a bit of a fantasy, and the ending was completely satisfying without being at all predictable. Highly recommended.
- Me Before You. My review: I don’t often rate a book 5 stars but if any one that I have read recently deserves the full 5 star rating then this is certainly it. The characters of Will and Lou felt like my own true friends and their story was such a perfect mixture of tragedy and sadness and hope that I am sad to have finished this book in only 2 days. It’s a story that will make you cry but in a completely satisfied and perfect way.
- Good Night Moon. Okay, I don’t actually have a review for this but I had to include it on my list because I read this book to Hannah every night for years. That means that, whatever I happened to be doing at bedtime got dropped so that I could read this immediately. She loved it, I loved it and it remains one of my favorites to this day.
I hope I’ve made you want to drop everything and read one of these books. This is one of those topics where I almost dread reading your lists because I know it will make me to-read list explode. That’s actually a really good problem to have, though, so I’m just kidding about the dread.
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I’m almost always looking for those “drop everything and read” books, so this is a great topic! I can’t believe I forgot to put Ove on my own list. I’m reading Fredrik Backman’s latest (Britt-Marie Was Here), and while it’s good, I’m not sure anything will measure up to Ove. I love that Goodnight Moon is on your list!
I think this 10 on Tuesday will round out my reading wish list! I can’t wait to see what makes everyone D.E.A.R! Great list Carole! Thanks for sharing!
Such a fantastic topic as we near summer with longer days, a few more days off, and enough heat to procrastinate on a chore or two. Bring on the lists!
Ove is definitely on my list! You made it sound like if I didn’t read it, there would be a hole in my soul!
Wuthering Heights & The Great Gatsby are two books that can make me waste an entire day…I can’t count how many times I’ve read them!
Ove now on my list. I would have a super hard time making this list, some of my most favorite books need to have some pacing or you get overwhelmed by the density of the stories. Or, maybe I don’t drop everything and read very often, and need to! (I think I’ll take the latter).
This list would be so hard for me. I love so many books and The Fault in our Stars just might make the list. All the participants lists are so varied!
One of the book groups I belong to on Ravelry is discussing A Man Called Ove this month. I’m currently waiting for it to come off the holds list for me at the library, but I’m looking forward to reading it.
The Book Thief WAS great!!! I have some new ones here to add to my list! Fun topic!
You know that I love A Man Called Ove — it was a delight to hear it read! I was listening to The Golem and The Jinni but, holy cow, that is one s-l-o-w read-er. I sped up the playback quite a bit and it still expired before I was even half-finished. I love it, though, so have put it on hold again and, well, maybe it’ll take a while (I have the Kindle ed, also, if I tire of the check out & wait pattern… one of the things I dislike about Overdrive). Thanks for some other books to consider…
A Man Called Ove was my favorite book of 2015. I still think of him when I see a Saab on the road.
Right now I’m reading Georgia by Dawn Tripp. It’s fantastic. I definitely am slacking on other things to read it.
I will be keeping this list handy for reference on future trips to the library. And I’m looking forward to reading (and preserving) the lists that come from other Ten on Tuesday participants. Thanks, Carole …and everyone!
Thanks for using this prompt, Carole! 🙂 I pulled together a list of drop everything “kids” books – but I can tell my list is going to grow as I check out the others who are participating today. So many books…so little time…sigh. I’ve got several flights next week so looking forward to that reading time, woo hoo!
I love listening to audio books while knitting. Two great hobbies. Your list is awesome!
Carole, this is perfect timing! A dear friend of mine is recovering from surgery and I’m getting a basket of books ready to give her as a get well gift. I’ve just started looking at titles and several of your suggestions will definitely be included! Thanks so much for sharing!
this was another fun topic – thank you! sadly, DEAR can be dangerous these days…nothing worse than needing/wanting to DEAR …and not being able to! I still have The Golem and the Jinni in my TBR (technically TBL – audible!) and know I need to set aside a week where I’ll have plenty of time.
I LOVE the book list posts!! About The Art of Fielding…do you need to know anything about baseball, or even be a fan? I know zero about the game but anything billed as a great summer read may be worth the risk.
But so many of your 10 made you cry! (Do I want to cry over a book? I don’t know. I have read a number of those, but I don’t think I cried! I only want to read HAPPY BOOKS – limiting, I know.)