Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week the theme was Top Ten Hidden Gems/Underrated books that I have read. I thought about narrowing it down to one genre, but I think I would have a hard time coming up with ten. So I am keeping it broad, choosing books that span a wide variety of genres, including both fiction and non-fiction.
Most people have heard of The Namesake, and the Interpreter of Maladies is also fairly popular, but this lesser known work should definitely not be overlooked. I especially loved the second short story in the collection.
I am a big fan of The Books of Bayern series: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets. (I haven’t read the fourth book yet.) A retelling of a Grimm fairy tale, and an excellent book, despite the terrible cover art.
I wish more people were talking about George! I just read it this month, and you can find my review here.
You may be wondering how a book that was nominated for both the Booker Prize and Nebula Award, and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, made it on to my list. It’s more about the author. While Atwood is well-loved and well-known, she seems stuck in the “Great Canadian Women Authors” category, rather than just “great author”. And The Handmaid’s Tale is my all-time favorite book, which is being remade into a TV series…which will hopefully be much better than the horrendous 1980s movie. READ IT. Please.
A fascinating, fictional depiction of life in a North Carolinian hospital for mental illness and addiction, during the 1940s and 50s. Based on Asheville’s Highland Hospital, the story takes place during the time period when Zelda Fitzgerald was in residence.
An excellent biography that offers insight into the life of a young transgender girl, and her family.
I had never heard of Jamaica Kincaid until I started searching for authors from the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean. She is definitely an author worth exploring.
Obviously, The Secret Garden is not a hidden gem. But this edition is! Beautifully illustrated by Inga Moore, I get lost in the pictures. I found this two years ago in our local indie book shop, and it puts all other editions of The Secret Garden to shame!
This is one of the graphic novels that helped me fall in love with children’s comics! Kazu Kibuishi is a genius, and his art is out-of-this world. There are seven books so far in the series, and we are anxiously waiting for the 8th one to be published!
Labyrinth Lost seems to be getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere, but not so much outside of it. Definitely one of the best YA fantasy novels I read in 2016, and I’m thrilled that Zoraida Córdova is working on the second in the series! My review here.
4thhouseontheleft 