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Top Ten Tuesday (3) – Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read

toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, a new topic is chosen and people are allowed to make their own lists.

Despite really liking this week’s theme, I really struggled to find books to feature. There are so many ways to interpret the word ‘unique’ so the books I’ve chosen to feature are for many different reasons.

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I don’t think I’ll ever read such a unique and original book as Every Day. Its concept is phenomenal and I can’t think of a better person to write it as David Levithan.

More Than This by Patrick Ness is also a book with a breath-taking concept. I wish I could read it again for the first time because I can remember the feeling when I first read it, and how blown away I was by it.

I can’t write this list without talking about Harry Potter, can I? It screams ‘unique.’ The world, the way it is written, the dedication of the fandom. Will there ever really be a book quite like it again? I doubt it.

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This Star Won’t Go Out (I write this wearing my TSWGO t-shirt) is totally unique, not just because it’s non-fiction, but because of how it affected me. It’s such an emotional book and that’s what makes it so special. It’s real life and honest.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart has to be unique because THAT. ENDING. I’m still reeling, over a week after reading it. I don’t think I can risk saying any more, but, yes, I haven’t read a book quite like it before!

I love Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle because it seems very straight-forward but so much happens. I can’t wait for the sequel!

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The Library of Unrequited Love is a very small book, less than 100 pages, but so much is discussed within so few pages. It’s also translated from French, and set in France, which I think adds to its originality.

I think The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy (or the two books is it so far) win the prize for the biggest change from a first book to its sequel. I can’t wait for the final book because I know there’s going to be a lot going on.

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Dreaming of Amelia is written in the form of exam papers, which I thought was such a great idea. All of Jaclyn Moriarty’s books are written in a quirky style – as letters, emails etc. – and I think this is my favourite of hers.

Magus of Stonewylde by Kit Berry is unique because of its setting. There will never be another Stonewylde for me. If I could live in any fictional world, I would live there; it is the place I imagine when I close my eyes, and the place I dream of when I sleep at night.

That’s my list! What would be on yours?

Book Review

REVIEW: The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry

After it popping up quite a lot and being rather intrigued, I decided to buy The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry. Being around ninety pages, it’s an incredibly quick read, and I managed to zoom through it one morning.

The Library of Unrequited Love tells the story of a French librarian who opens her section of the library one morning to find someone who has been locked in overnight. Written in second person perspective to this person, the narrator discusses her love of books, her problems with the library system, and shares her attraction to one library visitor in particular.

The Library of Unrequited Love is, of course, a book that will be loved by book lovers. There are many passages throughout the book I wanted to highlight and scribble over but it would probably pain me to do so because I hate to treat books in such a way. Even though the narrator isn’t in her dream section of the library, her passion for books really shines through. It’s one of the things I loved most about the book, and really stood out.

Something striking about our narrator is her bitterness. It was nice to read about a character who had such strong opinions about things as this really helped connect reader and narrator. This connection was very important, as there are a few gaps in the reader’s knowledge of our narrator, her name being one of those things. I think this worked in the books favour though, so it’s not a bad thing. It’s what makes the book so unique.

I’m not sure why I only rated the book three stars. The rating is not a true reflection of my feelings towards the books, because I could have given it five stars. There was just something stopping me from giving it five, or even four, stars. Rating does not equal enjoyment, though, so please remember this.

For such a short book, there was so much emotion and feeling packed in. It’s not a book I’m going to forget in a hurry. The length of the book was something I particularly liked. It wouldn’t be the same if it were drawn out for hundreds of pages.

And, another thing I liked reading about, was the French culture. As the book has been translated from French to English, I think the culture was shown more than if it had been written in English and not been translated. In the past, I haven’t enjoyed books that have been translated so I was pleased to see how well this was translated.

I really think you should all read The Library of Unrequited Love. It won’t take you long and is a lovely book to curl up with on long, winter nights.