Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they come up with a topic and invite whoever wants to add their own list to their own blog.
I’m sure we all do this, but I have moments where I crave certain things in books and have trouble finding them. I don’t know if maybe I’m just not looking in the right places, or maybe these things aren’t very common, but when one of those cravings hit I need to find a book with them right away!
Here are the Top Ten Things on my Reading Wishlist:
Southern Gothic Settings – There are quite a few books out there that do take place in the South, but what I’d really love are more Gothic (or old spooky) type settings. Charleston/SC, New Orleans, rural cities, etc. Give me a good ghost story set in the South and I am there!
Historical Figures in Fiction – I love when an author cleverly uses a real person in their books. Maybe uses that person in a clever way or something. I love discovering real people in historical novels and then Googling them, getting lost in Wikipedia reading about them.
Victorian/Progressive Era – There’s just something so sophisticatedly weird about this time period, especially when events are set in the seedier parts.
Dancing – Wanting this MAY be slightly selfish of me… but I’m trying to write a sexy dancing scene and am completely stuck! I need some inspiration!
Boats – Even though I’m not great on boats anymore, I love books set on the high seas! Which brings me to…….
PIRATES!!!! – I love pirates. While I would love more books about pirates and their adventures, I would LOVE some historical fiction pirate stories about for-real pirates.
Portal Fantasy – I don’t know if this is an actual thing, but I feel like there is a lack of books about modern day people visiting fantasy worlds. Like Narnia.
Romance where people just fall in love and no drama ensues – Have you noticed that a lot of the romances in books, while they are great, start out as two people disliking/hating each other? Or maybe there’s major drama and they break up 2 weeks into the relationship? I was reading something the other day and the two MCs HATED each other and then all of a sudden were all in each other’s pants. THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE! Or maybe it does… I don’t know. I guess drama-free romance does not sell books.
Dancing – Look, I really need some inspiration here…
Prague/Czech Republic/Eastern Europe – This is my new favorite book locale. I know very little about this area of the world (among other areas) but whenever I read books set here I want to devour its history!
If you have any rec’s for books with these things…. PLEASE LEMME KNOW!
The Grown-Up YA 
Historical Figures in Fiction can be a hit or miss for me. I love it when an author name drops a historical figure but it’s when they use said figure as a character that I get nervous about. I did a history degree so it’s hard for me to separate what I already know about the historical figures to what I’m being presented with in the book.
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I bet it’s tricky separating the two! I do have tendencies to be like “OMG THAT IS NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE!” about some things… but for the post part, I let it go and accept that it’s entertainment. I do love that even though maybe it’s not accurate on paper/screen, it sparks an interest to read up on history!
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Haha portal fantasy! Have you read Howl’s Moving Castle? It totally came to mind when you mentioned portal fantasy.
And Prague! I’m in love with stories from there too, though I’ve only read two that have taken place there, so far, haha.
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I haven’t read Howl’s! I never think about that one, but probably should check it out! I’ve only read a couple books set in Prague, and then maybe one or two set in Eastern Europe, but it just seems so magical/fun! Hopefully we can find some new reads!
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Yessss. I need ALL the pirate books in my life! Idk what it is. I just love them. Also dancing… I never really thought about that, but yes please for some sexy dancing. I always love it in movies, so why not books?!
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Pirates = the best! I’m like you though… not quite sure what makes them so great? Especially when you think about them in reality… But still good reading material! I never think about dancing scenes either, but when I read them (and if they’re good) it’s like WOW…! I love dancing scenes in movies too, mostly because I think I have two left feet and will have to settle for living vicariously though those movie scenes!
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Lol I cannot dance at ALL. Which might be why I’m fascinated with dance. Haha. But yeah, I know pirates aren’t the best people like… in real life, but they make GREAT reading material for sure.
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I definitely struggle with romances where there is too much drama or angst. Obviously there needs to be conflict, but I like it more when the conflict is outside their relationship.
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Yes! I wonder if it’s our age though… I remember when I was younger reading books where there was relationship drama and got so totally sucked up into it. Now my attitude is more like “Girl, you don’t need that in your life! Go find you a boy who will bring you pizza and has a good credit score.” Crazy how much priorities change when you hit 30.
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Drama in romances can be hit or miss with me. Like sometimes it can be too much drama and I quit reading but then sometimes its just the right amount of drama that keeps me interested. I would love to read a book where it follows characters who have already been together. I’ve been with my husband since we were 18 & 19. We’re now in our mid twenties with kids and stuff so I guess I want more books like my family dynamic? I don’t know if that makes sense!
Yes to dancing! I can’t dance but I would love to read about it.
– Tina As Told By Tina
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You make total sense! I went through a phase where I wanted books that reflected my life and things I was going through (career, dating, money issues, adulthood). Sometimes it’s good to read books that you can relate to because you’re going through those things!
I think for a book to be good, there has to be drama. For me, I prefer the drama to be outside the relationship though.
Dancing… YES! I love dancing! 🙂
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