Portobello Book Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is ‘Things That Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book’. For this, I’ve chosen ten things I could think of that make me want to read a book and also chose a book as an example for each.

Author

There are many authors whose books I will automatically want to read and not even bother to see what they are about. Maggie O’Farrell, Sue Moorcroft, Patrick Gale, Jenny Colgan and Sarah Vaughan are just a few who come into this category. I’ve chosen Mhairi McFarlane’s If I Never Met You for this one. You can read my review here.

Genre

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that romantic fiction is up there as my favourite kind of book to read. I love books that make feel uplifted by the end. For this category, I have chosen one of my favourite books from last year, Jenny Colgan’s An Island Wedding. You can read my review here.

If you enjoyed, then you’ll like…

If I see a recommendation saying “if you enjoyed a book by X author, then you’ll probably enjoy a book by Y” that will make me more likely to give that book a try. For example, I enjoy Kirsty Ferry’s books and I would say if you like her books, then you’ll also enjoy books by Jane Lovering. So I’ve picked Jane Lovering’s A Cottage Full of Secrets for this category. Read my review here.

Cover

Never judge a book by a cover they say but we all do, don’t we? A cover can tell you so much about a book, including whether it’s something you are likely to enjoy or not as the case may be. There are a lot of stunning covers around and many publishers are now putting out special indie bookshop versions which are even more beautiful. I am definitely influenced by a beautiful cover! For this category, I have chosen The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. My review is here.

Publisher

There are many publishers who I tend to know that I will enjoy their books. Simon & Schuster is one of these, specifically the books marketed under the Team Books & The City banner. They are generally books about friends, family, relationships and love. The House That Made Us by Alice Cavanagh in one I particularly enjoyed at the beginning of this year. Review here.

Setting

Setting can definitely influence what books I choose to read. I love to read books set in places I’ve visited before whether that’s home or abroad. I particularly enjoy books set here in Edinburgh or on Scottish islands. I’ve chosen Little Wing by Freya North for this one which is not only set on a Scottish island but one I’ve visited – Harris. Review is here.

Era

I enjoy historical fiction from various eras such as the First World War, Victorian time, Tudor times and 16/17th century. A recent favourite was The Maiden by Kate Foster which is not only set in the time period I enjoy but also right here in Edinburgh. Review is here.

Other reviews

Reading reviews from other bloggers or bookstagrammers can be dangerous! If I know we usually share similar tastes in books, that can make me want to read what they are recommending. It’s often a case of so many books, so little time! One book that falls into this category is Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart which was recommended to me by my friend Sandra. Review is here.

Coming out as an adaptation

I do prefer to have read a book before I see any adaptation of it. One book I read recently, or listend to actually, was Mrs Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. I know this was in the cinema last year but I didn’t get to see it then. I’m hoping to be able to watch it on some streaming channel at some point. My review of the audiobook is here.

Book group choices

Okay, I admit that finding out book group choices maybe don’t always make me instantly want to read a book. Sometimes, the choice is met with an silent – or sometimes not so silent – groan! But one that made me very happy recently was when my friend chose Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I was actually in the middle of reading (listening) to it when she chose it and I was delighted as I loved it. Review here.

Have you read any of these titles?
What things make you instantly want to read a book?