Top Ten Tuesday: Unique Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish (click the image to visit them) who pick a different topic each week. This week the topic is Top Ten UNIQUE books that you’ve read (can be in terms of plot, style or character etc.)

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey: This was the first book I read that uses a stream-of-consciousness style of narrative. It is a work of fiction but written as a memoir, which is a pretty unique, powerful tool.

Water by Terra Harmony: I really need to read the rest of this series. I didn’t love this book, but I’d never read anything quite like it. It’s an eco-fantasy novel in which a girl gets kidnapped by what I could only see as a cult. It was strange, and horrible in places, but I sort of enjoyed it.

The Corporeal Pull by Sara B. Gauldin: This is another book that I liked but didn’t love, but I also found really unique. It’s a love story that transcends time and space. I thought worked on some levels but not on others. However, it’s one I’ll remember for a long time, which can only be a good thing.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: Dystopian YA books are everywhere these days, but this was truly ahead of the game. In Ness’ world, everyone can hear each others thoughts and yet somehow, nothing is as it seems. It is written from the 1st person perspective of protagonist Todd, bad spelling and rambling thoughts n all.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley: I found this book unique because it puts a young woman protagonist together with a vampire, yet it’s not concerned with romance, nor are the vampires seen as attractive. Refreshing these days.

Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo: This book is amongst the most visceral of books I’ve read. It’s a beautifully written, often disturbing novel exploring gender roles, oppression and colonialism on a small Cabribean island. Elements of the plot were unique, as was the writing which used vivid descriptions of smells to entice or repulse the reader.

Paprika by Yasutaka Tsutsui: Granted I haven’t read much Japanese fiction, but for me this book was unique for the simple reason of how insane it was. Futuristic, innovative, and down-right creepy, this book is about a dreams taking over reality when a psychotherapy device is stolen. Weird.

The Book With No Name by Anonymous: It’s by anonymous for starters. And has no name. And, the only way I can describe it is if Quentin Tarrantino and Robert Rodriguez got tanked up and decided to write a b-movie in novel form. It’s completely Batshit!

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende: A story within a story… and I loved how the text was printed in red and green to differentiate between Fantasia and the real world.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore: There was something pretty unique about the relationship between Katsa and Po in ths book. It was realistic, natural and healthy. Something that’s rarely found in YA series.