10 Books I Read from Recommendation

In yesterday’s blog, I mentioned how important I think it is for you to read books you’re recommend. There’s something very personal about feeling the need to recommend a book to someone, and reading that book can tell you as much about the person who recommended it to you, as it will about the person who wrote it. So without further ado, here are ten books I have been recommended.

The Shock of the Fall
Nathan Filer

I went into this yesterday so I won’t go in to it again, but needless to say I was recommended this by a friend, after they said it was a very personal read for them, and it turned out to be so for me as well. A wonderfully touching book dealing with Depression and PTSD.

The Queen of the Tearling
Erika Johansen

I was recommended this book by the BookTube community at large, when it was first released, and, although it’s not as popular amongst that community as I think it deserves, I have loved it ever since. I am actually re-reading it right now in preparation for the final book in the trilogy, The Fate of the Tearling, which is released soon, and am being reminded once again what a wonderful first book in a series this is. A fantastical gritty YA fantasy crossover.

The Sin Eater’s Daughter
Melinda Salisbury

Yet another BookTube recommendation, this time from Elizabeth @ The Owlery, who went on and on about this book enough times for me to finally grab it. I’m so glad she did, because it’s such a fantastical story, really surprised me, and excellent world-building. Plus, Mel is just the loveliest person, so that’s always a bonus!

Radio Silence
Alice Oseman

This was a recommendation I picked up last year during a few #UKYAChat discussions on Twitter. Everyone kept mentioning what a wonderful book this was, but it took me until this year to get around to it, and I wish I had done so sooner, because I loved it so much. I always recommend it to anyone who’s currently in school and/or applying for university, because I wish I had had the advice this book gives out, given to me when I was that age. Such an enjoyable read about a podcast loving nerd.

Finding Audrey
Sophie Kinsella

Yet another one I mentioned yesterday, but I was recommended this by HelloIAmMariam over on Twitter, while looking for books about Anxiety, and, as I mentioned yesterday, this book honestly helped my own recovery so much. Fantastically hilarious, but moving, read.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Laini Taylor

I was both recommended, and won copies of this, from Mikayla @ Mikayla’s Bookshelf, who couldn’t stop going on about it, to the point she gave away the whole series to celebrate it. I’m so grateful because I fell in love with this book from the word go. It’s such a beautifully written crossover fantasy, that felt like a real old school fantasy story. I’ve yet to read the next two, but they are right up at the top of my TBR, because I loved this one so much!

House of LeavesMark Z. Danielewski

This book was originally recommended by Goodreads, so I got it, and then forgot I had it, until Dawn Kurtagich mentioned it at YALC, and now I’ve just started reading it. It’s meant to be terrifying, so that’s rather worrying, but it’s already really unsettling and intriguing and I love this style of document-style books, like S. and The Dead House, so I’m so excited for this one. Yes, I know, I haven’t read it yet, but it’s so unique I have to mention it.

A Darker Shade of Magic
V. E. Schwab

Was recommended this by everyone, basically, because it was all anyone could talk about, when it came out, but I was travelling so I didn’t read it till a month or so later, and then fell in love with it. Lila is my favourite character from any book in a long while, she’s so spirited, I love her. Once again, like Daughter of Smoke and Bone, this just felt like a real old school fantasy tale, fantastic world building, and dynamic characters.

Ready Player One
Ernest Cline

I have such a love/hate relationship with this book. It’s such a great idea, and I, in general, love the way it turned out, but I hated the ending with a passion, and it is problematic with regards to race, so that’s definitely an issue as well. I guess I just loved the concept of it though, and regardless of issues, the world-building was well done. The film will be interesting, although I do hope they change the problematic parts.

Shadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo

Okay, so I had issues with this book, as well, but in general I really enjoyed reading it. And, like others on this list, the world building was fabulous, I fell into it immediately, and I’m so glad she’s gone on to write other stories in the Grishaverse. My main issues were with Alina’s relationship with The Darkling, which felt too cliche, but that aside, as I said, I did just really enjoy reading this series. I devoured it in a week.

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Top Ten Tuesday is organised by The Broke and the Bookish, and is a weekly discussion involving the entire BookTube/Blogging community.

October 11, 2016September 1, 2019 by somethinglikelydia Categories: books, Discussion, Top Ten TuesdayTags: A Darker Shade of Magic, alice oseman, book, book blogger, book bloggers, bookblogger, bookbloggers, books, daughter of smoke and bone, erika johansen, ernest cline, finding audrey, house of leaves, laini taylor, leigh bardugo, literature, mark z. danielewski, melinda salisbury, nathan filer, radio silence, reading, ready player one, shadow and bone, sophie kinsella, the queen of the tearling, the shock of the fall, the sin eaters daughter, ve schwab, victoria schwab Leave a comment

World Mental Health Day

Books are wondrous chapels of escapism. They can transport us to realms far beyond the reaches of our own imagination. They introduce us to friends whom we’ll never meet but still love like family. They are never ending treasure troves of unexplored adventures. But they can also be the warm hug we need at the darkest of times; the shoulder to lean on when we don’t know where to turn; the friend who understands what’s wrong without a single word.

Today is World Mental Health Day, and I want to share some of the books that have been like warm hugs to me as I’ve struggled with my own demons, in the hopes that maybe they’ll be there for others as well.

Entangled – Cat Clarke

In my review for this book, I mentioned how much I love the realism that Cat puts into her writing, and Entangled is the perfect example of that.

It’s a difficult read, because it’s real, and that’s what made me fall in love with this book; I could relate to Grace because she was so believable. I’d recommend reading Cat’s other works as well, ( I especially recommend Undone), as they very often touch on mental health issues, but I’ve chosen this one because it was the one that made me fall in love with her stories.

Am I Normal Yet? – Holly Bourne

I don’t have OCD, so I cannot begin to understand what it’s like to live with, but the thing I most loved about this first book in The Normal Series, was the fact that this isn’t a story about OCD; it’s a story about growing up and struggling with school and making friends, all those things we all go through but which are made ten times harder when you’re battling demons inside. Holly recognised the need for a story that declared we are not our mental health; we are real people who have to struggle with these issues on top of the daily struggles of growing up. The entire Normal series is a wondrous exploration of friendship and feminism, but this one will always have a special place in my heart because of this, and I’d love to see more stories about characters with mental health issues, which aren’t about their mental health issues.

Finding Audrey – Sophie Kinsella

This book affected me so much that I actually ended up recommending it to my therapist. Detailing Audrey’s life after an untold event that brings about a severe bout of Anxiety, I think I loved this story as much as I did because Audrey felt so real. Everything she is going through I could relate to and there was something incredibly comforting about seeing that in a story. This book honestly helped change my mindset about my own recovery, and it will always mean something special to me.

The Shock of the Fall – Nathan Filer

I’ve always held the belief that if a friend recommends a book to you, you should read it. Not least because you should hold their opinion in high regard, what with them being your friend and all, but because to recommend a book to someone means that book has affected you in some major way, and therefore it’s your duty as a friend to want to understand why.

I never reviewed this book on here or on Goodreads, for the simple reason I couldn’t put into words how brilliant it was, how deeply it effected me, how raw and brutal, yet beautiful it is. It touches on Depression and PTSD, and is a very honest account of how that can impact a person’s life, and if you want to read a story that truly reflects how isolating and painful mental health issues can be, then this is the book to read.

A Boy Made of Blocks

Last week, the BBC aired a documentary fronted by Miranda and Bridget Jones actress, Sally Phillips, in which she discussed a new test that could see the eradication of Down syndrome babies being born in this country. As a mother of a boy with Downs, she was highlighting how sad this would be, because, yes Downs is a major affliction, but it can also be incredibly wonderful, and it is in this same vein that Keith Stuart wrote A Boy Made of Blocks, celebrating life as the father of a boy on the Autism spectrum.

It is a beautiful story that I highly recommend, because it really does show a side to autism we rarely see in the media or literature; a side that celebrates the wonder through which people on the spectrum see our world. It is quite simply a joyful and incredibly insightful read.

October 10, 2016September 1, 2019 by somethinglikelydia Categories: books, Discussion, Genre: Contemporary, Genre: YATags: a boy made of blocks, Am I Normal Yet?, anxiety, autism, autistic spectrum, book, book blogger, book bloggers, bookbloggers, books, cat clarke, depression, entangled, finding audrey, Holly Bourne, keith stuart, mental health, nathan filer, ptsd, sophie kinsella, The Normal Series, the shock of the fall, tw:sh, world mental health day, ya, young adult Leave a comment