Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist

Top Ten TuesdayHi, Readers!

     Have you ever started reading a book and found out that it was nothing like you'd expected it to be?  Well, this actually just happened to me with the last book that I read, Crap Kingdom, by D.C. Pierson.  I was utterly disappointed at how, well, "crappy" it was. After this horrible reading experience,The Broke and The Bookish Blog's Top Ten Tuesday meme was perfect for me: the Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist.  Here is a list of ten things that I would like to see in the future books that I read, complete with a number of pictures and gifs.

Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist:

1. Dystopian setting
The post-apocalyptic and the utopian-gone-wrong settings are my absolute favorites because they make me consider the impossible.  These settings can be found in some of my favorite books, from Rot and Ruin to The Testing to the cliche favorites, The Hunger Games and Divergent.  I especially enjoyed the dystopian setting in Shatter Me, although Juliette is locked up in a cell for most of the book.

The Capitol
The Capitol from The Hunger Games
2. Strong female lead
Give me more characters like Katniss (pre-Mockingjay-breakdown, of course) and Tris Prior.  These awesome girls have empowered millions of teen readers around the country and have proven that females are just as strong as males.  They don't need any help from men to defeat the bad guys.  Keep it up, ladies.


3. Realistic romance
Let's get one thing clear - I am not Team Jacob, nor am I Team Edward.  They are both dumb.  Why are more literary characters (*cough* Bella Swan) spending their time daydreaming about romance when they can actually make a difference in their literary worlds? Ugh.

Disappointment gif

4. Fantasy and magic
Throwing in some magical spells and dragons into a novel can never hurt.
Well, unless it's realistic fiction.

Harry Potter

5. Futuristic technology
I absolutely fell in love with the duel-worlds of real life versus RPG life in Conor Kostick's Epic.  When authors consider how modern day technology will evolve in the future, the novel usually turns out to be good.  However, please note that I cannot stand references to current technology, such as iPhones.  Apple already gets enough advertisement.

Epic
Technology in Epic
6. An average athlete
Sure, coming-of-age novels involving athletes usually have the star player learning a life lesson.  However, I wish there were more novels about realistic, middle-of-the-road athletes navigating the confusing worlds of recruiting and high school sports.

Sheldon playing basketball

7. Humor and wit
Characters with a bit of sass and spunk are instantly more entertaining.  There's nothing wrong with cracking a few jokes along a difficult and life-changing journey.  A.K.A. We need more people like Percy Jackson and Mia Thermopolis.

Percy Jackson

8. Normal character names
Katniss?  Four?  What ever happened to Bob and Sally and other all-American names?  Well, that may be taking it a little too far.  But when every single character name is incomprehensible, I sometimes wish that they were a smidge more ordinary.

That's not my name gif

9. Book to movie potential
A lot of people say that the book is always better than the movie, and I completely agree with that statement.  However, I still enjoy watching my favorite novels come to life on screen, even if the producers' interpretations of novels are different than my own.

Princess Diaries gif

10. Serious controversy
When I read a book, I want to be able to take a side on the book's issue.  No more petty high school drama for me (Yes, I'm talkin' to you, A Match Made in High School), I want serious business.  Bring on the adventure and the excitement, because I don't think I can stand to read one more silly high school romance novel.

Surprised gif


Here's to hoping that you, my reader, are an author who will craft a book especially for me with all ten of these ideas on my wishlist.  However, if you're not an author, please comment with any book suggestions that you may have and make sure to link up your TTT lists as well.

Happy reading!
Katie

32 comments:

  1. Average Athletes. I fully agree with more books involving everyday Joe's. I do kind of like the weird names though, there's only so many Sally's you can read about without getting confused as to which one belongs to what book. :) Great list!

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  2. Great list! I still haven't read Shatter Me, but I'm hoping to get to it this year. Here's a couple more great dystopians you ought to check out if you have time: Persistence of Vision and Partials. Both are underread, but great books! And I totally agree about movie potential. Even when they screw it up, it's still exciting to see your favorite novels headed for the big screen. :D Happy Tuesday!

    My TTT

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    1. I can't wait to read those two books! Thanks for the suggestions.

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  3. I'd love to see more strong female leads (Katniss is one of my favorite characters ever), futuristic technology (that would be so cool), and books with more humor (books with a lot of wit in them steal my heart)! :)

    Thanks for stopping by my blog,

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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  4. You definitely can't have too much magic and dragons. And I love reading books which have humor in them, because those are the books I always seem to fall in love with.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Humor and Wit.....yes please! I love characters that make me smile. I loved your list! Thanks for stopping by my blog today as well!

    Kristalyn @ The Sarcastic Palmtree

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  6. I'm with you on number 7 and 8. I love sassy and witty characters.

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  7. Ooh great list. I'm with you though, it seems like everyone is trying to be overly creative with the character names lately. Some of us normal people with normal names want to feel like we're a character too lol. I also like characters to show a sense of humor. I don't know that I've read many books that include that, so when it is done right (like John Green books) it is quite refreshing.
    Thanks for stopping by :)

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  8. OOoh great list! Love the clips that accompany them too! Pretty much agree with them all as well!

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  9. I so agree with you on more strong female leads. They are one of my favorite kind of protagonists and I love that they are not dependent on their male love interests to save them. One of my favorite strong female leads in a book is Celaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glass series, I love her.

    I laughed at the gif of Sheldon playing basketball. I'm horrible at this sport so this is almost like watching myself play this sport. But yeah, it would be great to read about average athletes. Not everyone can be the best, so why do we always read about someone who is one of the best in their sport?!

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  10. Great list! I especially agree with on average athletes, and ordinary average people in general. There is no need for superstar heroes/heroines all the time. Thanks for visiting me TTT :) New follower :)

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  11. Strong female lead and humor and wit are a definite YES for me! Strong female leads are what make or break a story for me (If the protagonist is female of course). Let them kick-ass and be badass, those are the best stories for sure!

    A story without humour and wit can be great, but I have to admit that love laughing while reading. I don't mind the stories without (if they're good reads) but a little bit of humour never hurt nobody! Who doesn't like to snort of laugh at ridiculously funny scenes? ;)

    Great List!

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  12. I love your list! REALISTIC ROMANCE, YES. I don't know why we don't have more of that. An average athlete would be refreshing as well. I love basketball, but I'm not a super star so I'd love to read about someone like ME and most athletes. And humor. You can never go wrong with wit.

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  13. I am so with you on average athletes. There is a lot to get out of playing a team sport even if you are not the "star". I would also like to see some books with less petty drama and more big-time issues in it (with characters that are witty and have normal names!).

    Thanks for stopping by My TTT

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  14. Great list. There are some strange names out there but I guess I like them because my name is Stormi and for most of my life everyone thought my name was strange. :) I like the idea of average athletes who excel. Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

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  15. Your list is brilliant, I think I agree with every single one of these. Plus I was very entertained by the photo/video things (what are they actually called?!) with each one, made me chuckle. A definate YES from me for more magic. I love fantasy, favurite genre, so I am all for this one!
    I am also a big supporter of the book to film thing. Yes, the films are nearly always never as good as the film, but like you said, it nice to see our books brought to life, plus I like seeing how other people would imagine some of these worlds that I see in my head! Great list! :)

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  16. I am all for 2,4, and 5! We should never be in short supply of those three. I actually don't mind weird names so long as they are not just weird for the sake of being weird. It's hard for me to remember normal names because I see them in other books.

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  17. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I LOVE that there are other tall girls out there who want to see more tall characters!
    Have you read Sarah Dessen's books? I find her romances are totally realistic. In fact, they're so realistic that they're not even the main part of the book. All time favourite author. I'm guessing you probably read Rainbow Rowell's books this year? Tons of wit in those ones.

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  18. Humor and wit are so fun! And I love romance, and a realistic one would probably break my heart. Thanks for stopping by!

    Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf

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  19. First, I adored your GIFS (especially number 3 =] )!

    I am right with you on this list. I love strong female leads like Katniss & Tris - they knock Bella Swan right out of the competition. Your list made me wish for a fun & amazing book to appear. :)

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  20. So much great stuff on this list! I love dystopians... The Hunger Games and The Testing were both excellent. I'm with you on book to movie potential - it doesn't always work, but when it does it's magical. I think Harry Potter, Twilight, and Catching Fire were all really well done.

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  21. Fun list, Katie!

    Three cheers for realistic romances as well as humor! Both are always appreciated in the books I read. Realistic love stories are too few and there can (really!) never be enough humor. (Love the Princess Diaries love in this post. :D)

    Thanks for visiting Dreaming Under the Same Moon today, Katie! I really appreciate it.

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  22. I love all your ideas especially the strong female leads (We really need more of that!) and the humorous and witty main characters! I've recently read a lot of YA books with tortured and depressed main characters who have just too many issues - I want something with a little more positive protagonist.

    Followed your blog! <3 hope you can follow ours too!

    Our TTT

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  23. I absolutely love your list and completely agree. We especially need more realistic romance and I really want more kick ass female characters! Ha and I really understand the hate for all the strange and weird names! Great picks :)


    My TTT :)

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  24. ah, I LOVE your GIFs!! I am totally with you on humor, believable romance, realistic names, and more dystopian and fantasy!

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  25. Oh man, I totally agree with you on character names. It's one thing in fantasy to have weird names, but it's a completely different kettle of fish to have a mildly futuristic novel in which every character's name is completely bizarre...

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my list! :)

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  26. I love your list!

    I definitely agree with the strong female leads and normal/average athletes!

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  27. I love your list and I especially agree with a strong female read, more magic and realistic romance. We really NEED more of those. As for dystopian, I think I first need to catch up on the existing ones and only then think of moving to others. Nonetheless, I hope there's all this in store for you!

    Thanks so much for stopping by my post earlier and apologies for stopping back at yours so late! Happy reading!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

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  28. Witty characters are the best! I also love seeing the different ideas authors have about futuristic technology.

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  29. I totally agree with you on humor and wit! Mia is one of my all time favorite characters and there needs to be more like her.

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  30. I really like your list.. More re-tellings please.. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my blog earlier :)

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  31. Love number six. It's so true -- why does the star quarterback always get the lead.

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