Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Top Ten Books Natanya Loved But Never Wrote A Review For


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!


Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.


Hey all, it’s Natanya. This week it’s time to give a shout out to all those books you loved but never reviewed, either because you read them before you started blogging, or because you didn’t get a chance to or couldn’t review when you read it. Most of the books on my list are ones that I read before we began this blog. A couple of them I could have easily reviewed at the time, but for the most part I don't know if I could have managed to review these. This is actually almost a list of my all-time favorite books, give or take a couple.

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: I read this at the end of my senior year of high school, and may have done poorly on my AP chemistry exam because of this book. I literally couldn't put it down. I walked through the halls to class reading it, and spent a decent amount of time in class reading it as well, instead of studying for my AP and IB exams.

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: The book that started my Atwood obsession, which I read at the end of junior year of high school. It blew me away. I probably wouldn’t have been able to write a review of this even if I’d read it more recently…I couldn’t have put my feelings into words.

3. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss: Sigh. This book is beautiful. I read this freshman year of college and wrote a very short review of it on Goodreads in which I said that I couldn’t explain it. You just have to read it.

4. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes: I read this the summer after my sophomore year of high school. I read the whole book in one night and cried at the end. Another book I probably couldn’t have written a review for, and one which I’d love to reread.

5. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch: I read this in a few hours (it’s very short) a couple years ago, and my copy of it is now filled with little post-it tabs because there are so many amazing quotations in here. This is so inspirational.

6. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: I first read this in 8th grade and barely understood it, but still loved it. I read it again in 10th grade and it became one of my favorite novels. I read it again in 11th grade, and still loved it, but it definitely had a different effect on me each time I read it.

7. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee: I read this in my first college literature class, and it was amazing. The main character is pretty hateable, but that just makes the novel even better. It has a ton of commentary on South African apartheid, which I found pretty interesting.

8. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami: This was my first Murakami book, and it was fantastic. Many Murakami fans don't like it because it isn't very similar to his other novels and is a bit more “normal” than the others (so maybe it wasn’t the best one of his novels to read first), but I loved it and loved the other 2 novels of his I've read.

9. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje: I read this in February and loved it, but I wasn't sure how to review it because it’s just so unique. I kept procrastinating on my review until eventually I gave up on ever writing it. (And…a fun tidbit: Ondaatje, like Atwood, is a Canadian author, and is the author of The English Patient!)

Hmm…I don’t have a 10th right now. Obviously there are many more books that I enjoyed but read long before blogging, but these are, I guess, the most significant ones.


Check here for future topics!


45 comments:

  1. I agree with all the books on your list that I've read. The History of Love is one of my all time favorites.

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  2. The Handmaid's Tale is great, as is Flowers for Algernon. I haven't read the others.

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  3. I was reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo during finals this year, so I am actually very surprised that didn't happen to me...

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  4. I had The Handmaid's Tale on my list too - loved it a lot and it also kickstarted my interest in Atwood.

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  5. I've only read two books on this list so I can't really say much about anything.

    I didn't like the Handmaiden's Tale although weirdly enough we both read it during our junior year my junior year was last year so I'm pretty sure my opinion on the book hasn't change.

    I love Brave New World it's just such a weird in a good way book.

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  6. I've only read flowers for algenon, and that was back when I was in middle school.

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  7. The Last Lecture-- what a great and unusual pick! There are definitely so many inspirational quotes there- without ever being heavy-handed. As usual love the topic of the week.

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  8. The Time Traveller's Wife is just amazing! Great topic this week :)

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  9. I'm glad you liked Brave New World at a young age. I'm teaching it to 15 year-olds this year and was a little nervous they wouldn't get it.

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  10. You have some GREAT ones on here! The Time Traveler's Wife was phenomenal, as was Flowers for Algernon and Brave New World. I didn't read The Last Lecture but I watched it and it was inspirational beyond belief.

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  11. Great list! I loved The Handmaid's Tale.

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  12. eek! I've only read the Time Traveller's Wife (which I loved!) The others sound great though - will have to check them out:)

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  13. Time Traveler's Wife is on my list too.. what a fantastic book :)

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  14. I have yet to read the books you mention, except The Time Traveler's Wife. This is my first time participating:)

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  15. I loved - it's on my list, too. I only read it at the beginning of the year, but it was before I started blogging, so no review. I remember really liking A Brave New World, too. My copy is still on my shelf, so maybe it's time for a re-read.

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  16. The Time Traveler's Wife almost made my list too! I'm not a fan of romances but I really enjoyed that one.

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  17. How ironic that today's topic is this...I was just musing about the very same thing on my blog yesterday. ^_^ Great post...and um, yeah...would still love to see you take a stab at reviewing them fully. Favorites are hard but the passion behind them comes through in your words. Great post!

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  18. I haven't read any of those! I'm a newbie to this meme and I had fun coming up with my titles :)

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  19. Ooh, Flowers for Algernon! I completely forgot about that book,

    Great list! :)

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  20. I forgot to put The Time Traveler's Wife on my list! Such a great book!

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  21. TTW made my list as well. Such an amazing story. I also enjoyed Norwegian Wood, but have reviewed it already so I didn't include it in my list.

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  22. I haven't read ANY of the books in your list, I'll have to check them out!

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  23. I haven't heard of most of those. But some of them sound really interesting. :) Will make sure to check them out.

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  24. This is my first Top Ten Tuesday. I loved your list, even though I've only read a couple of them. Handmaid's tale was my first Atwood book, too. I have Oryx and Crake laying around but haven't got to it yet.

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  25. I loved your list and one of the easier top ten lists to make. love this meme :)

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  26. Great idea for a list. I so wish I had started blogging a long time ago. Ironically, I've only heard of one or two of these books.

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  27. Nice theme for a top ten. Funnily enough, I haven't read any of these books!

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  28. A very thought-provoking list. Thanks for posting Top Ten Tuesdays every week.

    I've only read BRAVE NEW WORLD - ages ago. Enjoyed reading your list.

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  29. Love this topic! And enjoyed reading your list. I've never read Murakami, but he's been recommended to me so many times...

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  30. Fantastic choices and a great topic!

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  31. I also love your numbers 2, 6, and 7, and plan to read 8 soon. Great list!

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  32. I absolutely loved "The Flowers of Algernon". What a heartbreaking story!

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  33. First time to participate and man, I am glad I FINALLY got a review out for all those books I LOVE but couldn't quite find the words for!

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  34. Great topic and awesome list! I found it ridiculously hard keeping mine down to 10 - not quite enough room for Darren Shan or Elsie J Oxenham who I'd thought were nailed on.

    http://yayeahyeah.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-i-loved-but.html if you want to check mine out.

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  35. Mistress of Rome
    sounds like a great book.

    Love this list. There are so many books I haven't reviewed, mainly because of time.

    http://deadtreesandsilverscreens.blogspot.com/2011/08/top-ten-tuesdays-aug-23.html

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  36. Haha, i did my list a little different. I added a couple books I didn't like too, because there are just those books that are just so bad you just want to get the word out for all innocents to avoid. ^.^

    But Mistress of Rome was fantastic. I love that book!

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  37. Disgrace was a great book. It was the first book I read in grad school. I also love, but never reviewed, Norwegian Wood.

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

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  38. The Handmaid's Tale is on my list too and much for the same reason as you. I love it greatly but no way did I feel adequate enough to write a review that would do it any justice.

    I loved The Time Traveler's Wife - great book.

    I have a Murakami book on my list - don't know why I never reviewed it because I certainly loved it. I actutally have not read one Murakami book that I did not love, so far anyway.

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  39. +JMJ+

    As always, thanks for hosting! =)

    Natanya, we have similar reasons for not reviewing some really great books. Most of the entries in my own list are those which were so beautiful and had such a powerful effect on me that I didn't think I'd do them justice in a review.

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  40. I have "Brave New World" and "Norwegian Wood" on my TBR list. Looking forward to reading them!
    Not sure if I'll be able to participate every Tuesday (time is my enemy) but I loved this week's meme and couldn't let it pass me by. I hope it's ok.

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  41. This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday! i have Stephanie Perkin's first book on my list. i've been a little slow with the hyped books this year. Boo on me, i know.
    Great list though! You've given me even MORE TBR book ideas! :)

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  42. I love this meme! It's a great idea. Thanks for thinking up the idea lol.

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