Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist
65January 20, 2014 by Alice in Readerland
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
Top Ten Things on My Reading Wishlist
1. More Mysteries
I love a good mystery! Ever since I was little, most of my favorite stories have always been mystery/detective stories, so I’d love to see more of them.
3. Inner Character Growth
Whether the main character learns to accept themselves, or they go from being unlikable to likable, or they start out having no backbone and become strong, I love watching a character grow and transform before me.
3. More Retellings
Last year, my three favorite books all ended up being retellings. I’ll take fairy tale retellings, classic novel retellings, myth retellings, just give me more retellings!
4. Fun Settings
Ireland! Hawaii! London! A jungle! I love it when books let me “travel” to different places.
5. Books with an “Average” Lead
“Look! The lead is a special snowflake: Absolutely gorgeous, solves everyone’s problems, can do karate, guys fall for her, and yet she is humble despite her awesome-ness!” Yes, those characters can be fun, but I’d love more books where the lead is just your average, un-perfect girl.
6. Fun Time Travel
I love those books that are all “we must travel back to the past to stop the world from being destroyed” and are all full of adrenaline, but I’d also like a lighter, more fun, time travel book.
7. Treasure Hunts
I’d love to read a book set around a treasure hunt, I think it would be a lot of fun!
8. Un-Reliable Narrators
Unreliable narrators can be so much fun and give a book tons of twists!
9. “Behind the Scenes” Books
I’d love to read books that show you what you don’t normally see, like how hard an actor has to work, how much gymnasts have to practice, how hard singers have to train, etc.
10. Fun Friendships
I see a lot of really good books about friendships, like Friend A is going through something, so friend B supports her, or Friend A and Friend B get into an argument and they have to grow and make up. But I’d also love to see a fun book featuring friendship without a ton of drama; I love seeing characters who work really well together!
What’s on your reading wishlist?
Alice in Readerland 
Last year I read a lot of retelling (well more that I usually read) and I really loved them. I’d totally love to read more of them. I think it’s so good because you have the original story as a back bone that people can relate to but at the same time you’re able to make it your own and change and surprise readers. It wasn’t until your list that I realized that I’d totally love to read more books with unreliable narrators (and hopefully write one as well).
Aly @ My Heart Hearts BooksMy TTT
Exactly! Retellings are a gold mine. :)
Wow, why didn’t I think of mysteries. That’s like the #1 thing I’m always looking for! Behind The Scenes books are always fun to read. I like reading what they have to go through to achieve what they are well.. achieving :)
I recently read Being Sloane Jacobs, and while it wasn’t really a “behind the scenes” book I learned a lot about figure skating and ice hockey and I liked that! :)
Hmmmm, I’ll have to add it to my TBR list. lol
1. Heck yeah mysteries! I think YA is severely lacking in that genre. If you want to read a book that has you guessing about what happened, I would suggest All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry. I finished it today and it is fantastic!
2. Character growth is paramount! I mean, sure we read a lot of books about strong girls, but we never get those novels about HOW they became strong. Gimme an awesome back-story :D
3.Asdfghjkl. So much love for retellings. I even have a novel idea for one – booyeah!
4. I recently downloaded a book off NG and it is set in a jungle! So I know what you mean. A lot of the worlds that I am reading about seem like carbon copies of each other.
5. Your commentary on this one made me laugh. But it’s true. I want a girl who isn’t drop dead gorgeous, but also doesn’t whine about the fact that she isn’t DDG, you know?
6. Read Clockwise by Elle Strauss! It’s free, and a cutesy and fun time travel story!
7. I have never come across a book about a treasure hunt, but I would totally read that.
8. Ooo. An unreliable narrator sounds fun. I would love to read a book where you have no idea if the narrator is telling you what actually happened.
9. I think there are quite a few of those books coming out, especially to do with dancing.
10. Friendships are often overlooked in YA – or they are made into love interests, or sources of drama. A real to life friendship would be great to read about :D
I love this comment!!! :D
1. *Adds to TBR list*
2. There are so many kick-butt characters and I’m just like “I want to see your backstory! Please?”
3. Yay! :D
4. I’d also like more unique Dystopian worlds too.
5. LOL, thanks! And you’re right, I’ve read some books with MCs who whine a lot about not being pretty and it gets on my nerves.
6. *Adds to TBR list*
7. I read this book last year called In Too Deep that had a treasure hunt theme, but I’d love to see more.
8. Imagine all the plot twists we could have!!!
9. Ooh, I’ll have to check them out.
10. Yeah, I love it when good friendships turn into a romance, but I’d also just love a good friendship where they have each other’s backs.
Thanks for your comment! <3
I agree about retellings. Did you read Far Far Away this year? I am a fan of fairy tale type writing.
No, I hadn’t heard of it, but I’ll go look it up! :) Thanks for the rec!
I love retellings, and if they are about specific fairy-tales some of them are insta-buys. I also really love books set in different locations, I think one of my favorite places is Prague.
I’d love to read books set in Prague! :)
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman are the two I’ve read set in Prague. The Wasserman book was okay for me overall, but I loved the scenery.
Thanks for the recs! :)
Great list! I really like the idea of more books with fun friendships.
Hopefully there will be some coming out this year! :)
I would read books about all these! Retellings have been some of my favorite things to read lately, and I’m really looking forward to the ones that are coming out this year too. I absolutely adore time travel novels, so a big YES to that too.
My TTT: http://thebrokebookgirls.blogspot.com/2014/01/top-ten-things-on-our-reading-wishlist.html
I’ve been loving the retellings! (I’m so excited for Cress to come out next month)! :)
Inner character growth – yes,yes YES! I don’t like books or series where the characters are the same at the end as they were at the start. it’s a let down! Retellings are awesome too. Great list Alice!
Yes! Most of the time, if the character hasn’t been changed in some way from the story (mainly inner growth), I feel so disappointed.
Or if they revert back. That’s even more frustrating and disappointing. Anyway – great list Alice!
I also had time travel on my list! And retellings! I love those so much! I think it’s why I’m so obsessed with the show Once Upon a Time. =)
Happy to see that you had time travel and retellings too, hopefully there will be more books coming out this year that feature those! :)
Yes. An average lead. Especially in YA.
I made a book-ish wishlist of book-ish things I wish I had. Hope you’ll stop by!
Yay! Glad you agree. :)
More retellings!!! And I love the treasure hunt idea. I actually have a YA pirate book on my list which kinda goes hand in hand with that. And I also have more unique settings on my list. Take me somewhere far away! Like Africa! Or Asia! Someplace I’m not familiar with.
Ooh, I’d love to see a book set in Africa or Asia!
The closest I’ve come to a treasure book is one I found last year called In Too Deep. :)
Love these, esp 4 & 5, I hadn’t thought of those!
Thanks for stopping by! :)
I looove your gif! It’s perfect lol and I’d also really love to see more unreliable narrators and behind the scenes books. They would be refreshing!
Thanks! :)
Love your list! These are all things I want to see too. Retellings are one of my favorite types of stories too. I didn’t put them on my list because I feel like they do get done a lot, but there is always room for more.
I hope to see more good retellings this year! :)
I had retellings on my list, too! I also had something similar to that average girl lead :D Your list is great. I didn’t think of the whole “fun setting” thing when I made mine, and I wish I had. I love books in cool places.
Megan @ Bookworm in Love
Ooh, off to check out your list! :)
Ah, such good ideas! I love the thought of having an unreliable narrator. It always keeps you guessing. PLEASE, RETELLINGS.
I’d really like to find more books with unreliable narrators to read this year!
Great list; I love all of these! Your #9 makes me think of one of the things on my list, about teen athletes in the Olympics and what it takes to be a part of it.
Ooh, that’d be fun to read about! :)
I think there IS a book like number 9. Have you read Secrets of my Hollywood Life?
Great list! All your ideas are pretty awesome :)
Our TTT
Yes, it was one of the first YA books I ever read! :)
I agree that there should be more YA books with fun settings. I’ve been reading a lot with generic, blah settings lately, and when you mentioned Hawaii, it made me long for a book about warm weather and tropics. Great list!
Check out my TTT list: http://booksavvyblog.blogspot.com/
The closest YA book I’ve seen set in “Hawaii” was Across a Star-Swept Sea, which is a Dystopian setting inspired by the tropics. The descriptions in there were gorgeous, so I’d love to read a modern-day book set in Hawaii! :)
1. Yessss, mysteries are great! I definitely want more of these.
6. I also adore time travel books, whether they’re light and fluffy or serious. I just want more time travel in general, really.
7. HEEEEE, along with pirates, right? RIGHT?
8. Ermehgerd, yes! I forgot to include this in my list, but I love having my mind blown by unreliable narrators.
1) Yessss! More mysteries, please!
2) I’d like to see more time travel in general too!
3) I seriously can’t believe we don’t have a treasure hunt/YA Book yet!
4) They have awesome plot twists! <3
Moret retellings, ALWAYS more retellings :D A book with just an average girl would be fun. Some of those kick-ass heroins can really make me feel sucky, haha. So reading a book about a girl like you & me is welcome! :D
Retellings FTW! :D
I like your list! Number 2 and number 5 in particular resonate with me. As for mysteries, there are more out there than I can read in a lifetime! Have you read Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell mysteries? If not, give The Beekeeper’s Apprentice a try. I’ll be surprised if you don’t like it.
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is one of my top favorite fiction books! :)
Mine too!
Love your list!!! I would so love to have more mysteries. And Unreliable Narrators are awesome when they’re done right. I could definitely go for more of those. Oh and good/healthy girl friendships would be really nice to see. It seems like in YA the best friend almost always ends up being a frenemy doesn’t it??
Thanks for stopping by My TTT
You’re right, I’ve been seeing so many frenimies lately! Hopefully we’ll get more healthy friendships, mysteries, and unreliable narrators coming out this year. :)
Retellings don’t always work for me, but they pretty much always intrigue me and leave me with high-ish hopes, so I’d definitely like more retellings (which’ll I’ll hopefully like)! And yes, there are too many perfect leads – even the bookish, “plain” ones are apparently gorgeous and just don’t realize it until the special dude comes along to tell them. And I love the idea of more behind the scene books! I’m kind of obsessed with the kinds of books that do that with Hollywood and the entertainment industry and such, and I’m very excited about the various books coming out this year that fit that!
You’re right, there are too many “plain” ones who don’t realize they’re beautiful. At first I thought it was cool to show self-perception, but now it just seems over-used and annoying. Like, I expect it in Hollywood, but this is a book for Pete’s sake, not everyone has to be perfect. :p
Yes to all of these!!
:)
Great list! I would love to have more mysteries, especially ones where I don’t see plot twists or shocks coming. I really want some more books that are retellings too. Great picks :)
My TTT :)
Yeah, there have been some mysteries I haven’t picked up yet because reviews have said that they were too predictable.
That Frozen gif is wonderful :D I’d love to see more Un-reliable narrators like in the Mara Dyer series and also more average leads! I’m tired of drop-dead gorgeous, but don’t really think they are leads :)
-Marianne
Thanks, I love Frozen! :)
I think drop-dead-gorgeous-but-I-don’t-know-it leads are so common they’re a stereotype now.
I need more books about friendship! I love a good romance but you don’t see enough friendship. I am always down for more retellings.
I know, there are so many good romances, but not even good friendships in YA.
I love books with time travel also retellings are always fun!
Hopefully we’ll get more of those topics this year! :)
I agree that there should be more inner character growth as well as more retellings. I think that would be fantastic.
I definitely want to see more books with those two aspects come out this year. :)