Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish for people who love books and lists of books. This week's topic is a little complicated - It's the top ten books I'd give readers who have never read X (example: a particular genre, author, books about a certain topic). Rather than listing ten books related to a single X, my approach will be more scattershot, listing a book or two for a few different topics.
Science Fiction
I'm operating on the assumption that for most people who haven't yet read science fiction it's because they are not folks looking for super techie, hard sci fi.
1) The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold: Starting with Shards of Honor. Bujold is a fantastic writer and her books are all about the complex characters and their relationships. It's all wrapped up in fun space adventures!
2) Hyperion by Dan Simmons: This is flat out stupendous and sophisticated storytelling. A Canterbury Talesque narrative set in space that I found hard to put down.
Historical Romance
3) Georgette Heyer: She's the grand dame of regency era romance and almost all her books are a frothy, witty delight. She has the perfect touch and they're romantic without even the hint of sexy times. I'd recommend Devil's Cub or Frederica as good starting places. I know a lot of folks really love The Grand Sophy as well.
Fantasy
4) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I just recently read this book and was really charmed by it. The fantasy elements are really well blended into a historically atmospheric and mysterious romance. So plenty of other stuff for folks not sure about fantasy. My Review.
5) The Rook by Daniel O'Malley: Fun British spy thriller with super cool paranormal elements. My more coherent review.
Young Adult
6) His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman: This is an adventurous and epic story while also being thoughtful and smart.
Non-Fiction
7) Anything by Mary Roach: She's insanely readable and gives you all sorts of information you didn't even know you were dying to know. My favorite of her books is her first Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
Urban Fantasy
8) Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews: I'm not the biggest fan of Urban Fantasy but this series won me over.
Books that Take Place in Iowa
9) A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley: This is a whopper of a family drama that takes place in the heart of Iowa and it's a brilliant book.
I think that's it for my list. Can't wait to see what's on everybody else's list!
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