A Little More Love: Underrated Books

September 9, 2014 Top Ten Tuesday 36

Greetings Bookworms!

It’s Tuesday again, and I’ve been a-pondering. Every so often I think about things other than penguins and flowers and how much I wish I could develop magical powers. Sometimes I think about books that don’t get as much love as I think they should, so that’s the road we’re taking today. I’m picking out some of my favorite lesser known books in a variety of genres. Because why the heck not? Thanks, as always, to the ladies of The Broke and the Bookish for the inspiration! I should probably warn you that I’ve completely made up my own genres for the purposes of this list. Rebel is my middle name. (That’s a lie. My middle name is Rose. I suck at rebellion.)

TTT a little more love

 

1.  Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi: I read this book quite a few years ago and it’s always stuck with me. Now, I really enjoyed The Book Thief (review), but it reminded me SO MUCH of Stones from the River. The Book Thief, despite its difficult subject matter, falls into the young adult category, so if you loved it and want something a little more sophisticated, Stones from the River is your book. It’s just fantastic and I think everyone should read it. What are you waiting for?!

stonesfromtheriverlove

2. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (review). I love me some post-apocalyptic fiction, and one that I find flies a little under the radar is Alas, Babylon. It’s an older title (released in 1959) but it TOTALLY holds up. I don’t know what the deal is but Alas, Babylon doesn’t get enough love in my opinion. Maybe people aren’t as freaked out by the prospect of nuclear war as they used to be. You know. The Cold War and all that. Still. Fabulous example of the genre. A classic, really.

alasbabylonlove

3. Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Talk about your Sweeping Family Epic! (Don’t you just love my fake genres? I know I do!) It’s been at least 10 years since I first read this novel but it wormed its way into my brain and never left me. I don’t mean to call it parasitic like it’s a BAD thing, it’s just intense and affecting and WHOA. It doesn’t deserve to fall into obscurity, y’all!

fallonyourkneeslove

4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Young adult novels seem to be ALL the rage these days. Heck, I can think of approximately 8 bajillion book blogs that are dedicated exclusively to YA. I like to dabble in the genre, it can be a lot of fun. It can also be incredibly powerful and be used to send important messages to young folks. I love a good dystopian romance as much as the next girl, but sometimes teenagers have some real-life ugly stuff to deal with, and it can help to know they’re not alone. The boys need to be reading this one right along with the girls.

speaklove

5. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Why did I not know about this book until I was a grown up?! It’s so incredibly magical and charming. It’s like Lewis Carroll and Madeleine L’Engle defied the space/time continuum and conceived Norton Juster who went on to write this book. Punny, funny, and delightful. If you have kids, get this and read it to them. Don’t let them grow up deprived!

phantomtollboothlove

6. Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. Ooooh, Hist-ART-ical Fiction, how I adore thee! There are scads of novels based on famous works of art and the lives of the artists who created them. One that I simply don’t hear of often enough is Girl in Hyacinth Blue. It’s a beautiful novel that traces a supposed Vermeer portrait back in time. Can you even imagine all the things a centuries old painting would have seen? Fascinating stuff.

histarticalfictionlove

7. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. I very nearly wrote this entire post about so-called “chick lit” and how I both love and loathe the term. Unfortunately, too often I think it’s dismissive of some really fabulous books written by women. Throw them in the “chick lit” category so they won’t be taken seriously. Well. I OBJECT. And make up my own genres. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is my favorite Fannie Flagg novel. Heartwarming doesn’t begin to describe it. This is Southern Fried Fiction at its best, you guys. Read it!

cantwaittogettoheavenlove

Well kids, I am fresh out of made up genres, so I’m going to call it a day at 7 underrated books. What are some of your favorite books that just don’t get enough love? 

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36 Responses to “A Little More Love: Underrated Books”

  1. Heather

    Fall on Your Knees is definitely “WHOA.” I must have used that word at least a dozen times while reading that book. I really need to reread it.

    Reply

  2. Anne @ Lovely Literature

    I’ve only heard of Speak on this list, so good work! I’m off to go look into these books more, particularly the sweeping family epic Fall on Your Knees. We Were the Mulvaneys falls into that same category and really loved that book when I read it, oh ten years ago?

    Reply

  5. Daddio

    We listened to Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven on the way to Niagra Falls from Chicago. Just excellent! It was so good we listened to it again on the way back.

    Reply

  7. Megan M.

    Speak is such a great book! Love!

    My contribution to “Charming and Magical Kid Lit” would be… A Plague of Sorcerers by Mary Frances Zambreno! Out of print but still available from sellers on Amazon, or perhaps at your local library. 😉

    Reply

  8. Loralie

    What an awesome post! I have only heard of Speak, so now I have lots to check out. A book I loved when I was pre teenish was The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It had romance & drama & a girl who doesn’t fit in, everything a bookish girl needs! 🙂

    Reply

  9. Hobbie DeHoy

    Margery Sharp, who wrote The Rescuers (the children’s book that inspired the Disney movie of the same name) wrote a number of novels for adults that I firmly believe will be rediscovered some day. Fortunately, one of our local libraries seems to be hanging on to my beloved Margery Sharp novels. I will weep if they ever discard them from the collection.

    Reply

  10. AMB

    Most of these books are new to me (which makes sense considering the type of list it is!). I’ll definitely check a couple of these out. As for me, I think Elizabeth Gaskell’s books deserve more attention than they typically get. I don’t know why anyone would read Dickens when they can read Gaskell (or, preferably, both)!

    Reply

  15. Jenny @ Reading the End

    Ugh, there are so many books in this world that I’d like to see get more love. Delighted you included Speak on your list! Despite the difficult subject matter, that’s just a wonderful book.

    Reply

  16. Annabel Smith

    I also love post-apocalyptic fiction – How did I not know about Alas, Babylon? Thank goodness for you digging up these long lost treasures like bookish time-capsules. Also I LURVE the Book Thief so I’ll be unearthing that first book too. Nice work, as always.

    Reply

  18. Molly Field

    I’m going to check out “Fall on Your Knees” after I finish “The Prince of Tides.” Then someone can pick me up off the bathroom floor, brush my hair and take me out for coffee. 🙂

    Nice post! (Lilly sent me here…) 🙂

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      Welcome, dahling! Lilly is pretty much the greatest person ever, but I’m sure you already knew that. You will need someone to pick you up off the floor after that double whammy!

      Reply

  19. Alison's Wonderland Recipes

    Some of the best books I’ve ever read were given to me as assignments back when I was homeschooled (which is funny, since I rarely liked anything I was given to read in “regular” school). The Phantom Toll Booth was one of my first assignments, and I still love that book. I think the idea of the “half boy” is so clever! 🙂

    Reply

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