Category: Top Ten Tuesday

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.

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This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Debut Novels I Enjoyed, a topic suggested by Angela at Reading Frenzy. The publication of a debut novel must be a special thing for an author and, for a reader, it’s the chance to be in at the beginning of what might be a long term relationship with a writer’s work. Here are ten debut novels that I awarded at least 4 out of 5 stars. (Some of the authors have written nonfiction, poetry or short stories before publishing their novels.) Links from each title will take you to my full review.

1. In the Garden of Sorrows by Karen Jewell – Passionate, moving and powerful story of love and loss in the aftermath of WW1
2. Alvesdon by James Holland – Brilliant combination of emotional family saga and fascinating wartime story
3. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – Mindbending blend of science fiction and romance with a dash of historical fiction and an element of mystery 
4. Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson – Lovely coming-of-age story that is just as delightful as its vibrant cover
5. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – Powerful and immersive story set in Malaysia that reveals a lesser known aspect of the events of WW2
6. The Unheard by Anne Worthington – A moving story with unforgettable characters which, although short, packs a real punch
7. In Defence of the Act by Effie Black – A thought-provoking, poignant and powerful story that explores whether it can ever be right for a person to take their own life 
8. Banyan Moon by Thao Thai – An absorbing multi-generational story about love, loss, motherhood and the healing of fractured family relationships
9. The New Life by Tom Crewe – An intricate, detailed and thought-provoking exploration of the search for sexual freedom and equality in Victorian Britain
10. The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph – A thoroughly entertaining historical novel that reveals events in the life of a remarkable man

Have you read any of my picks? Do you actively seek out debut authors?

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.

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This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Ten Things I Loved About [Book Title], a topic suggested by me!  The book I’ve chosen is one I read a few months ago, The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks. I could have come up with lots more reasons why I loved it but here are just ten:

1. Set in 2030, it depicts – through the medium of fiction – the havoc that extreme climate change might cause, including changes to our lifestyles and limitations on our freedoms
2. It explores the various ways society responds to those who are different: acceptance, curiosity, exploitation, intrusion, prejudice, fear
3. It is about the unconditional love of a parent for a child
4. It poses the ethical question, just because you are able to do something does that mean you should? 
5. It highlights the danger of what can happen when technology, power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals
6. It brilliantly evokes what it’s like to be a person who is uniquely different from everyone else
7. As well as dealing with serious issues it’s also a moving love story
8. It taught me a lot about the evolution of our species
9. The ending left me with tears running down my cheeks
10. I had the opportunity to tell Sebastian Faulks just that before he signed my copy of the book at last year’s Henley Literary Festival