Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Underrated Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.

I haven't done one of these lists in ages.... Ooops... They were just really hard ones for me to come up with enough to write to justify a top ten post, so I just didn't do them... Anyway, I'm back now, with this week's top ten post being about the top ten books we believe are underrated. I don't know if I'll make it to ten, but I'll try!

So, in no particular order,

1. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I don't know if this one actually is underrated or not, but I, for one, haven't really heard that much about it. I think it has been lost a little because of the fact that Meyer also wrote the extremely popular Twilight books. I can go as far as saying that, even though I had been avoiding The Host for nearly two years, when I finally did read it, I enjoyed it a lot more than the Twilight books. (My review HERE)

2. Sabriel by Garth Nix
I read this book many, many years ago. I actually own a hardback copy of it for some reason or another (and it's one of the very few that I own). Since I started blogging and looking through people's ''read'' lists, I don't think I've seen it a lot. And I think it's a pity. Sabriel was one of the first fantasy books I ever read and I really enjoyed it. And I've never read anything like it since then. I have been wanting to get my hands on the next two books in the series, Lirael and Abhorsen, for years, but I still haven't.

3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
I only read this book this year, even though I had had it sitting on my bookshelf for at least a year before that. And I can say that it is one of my favourite books ever. Diane Setterfield's writing is just amazing and the whole story just kept me wanting to read on and on and on, until quite late into the night. (My review HERE)

4. Any book by Scarlett Thomas
To be fair, I have only read The End of Mr Y and PopCo by her (but not our Tragic Universe), but she writes too well for you to miss out on her books. Plus, you'll learn a lot of weird metaphysical and logic stuff at the end. (My review of PopCo HERE)

5. Tyme's End by B.R. Collins
I won this book as part of a prize pack and when I finally got round to reading it, I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was so much better than that. It's a children's book, but the writing is very good and the story is engaging. It leaves you guessing at the end of every chapter and you just want to keep reading. (My review HERE)

6. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
I happened to find this book, when I was looking for her other book (Sharp Objects). Though I had only heard of Sharp Objects before (mainly through my brother, whose friends had read it), after I had read both, I realised that I preferred Dark Places just a teeny bit more. To be honest, I don't think I've heard it being mentioned anywhere even after having read it. Shame, because it really is a good book. I know crime novels/thrillers aren't for everyone, but it is a brilliantly written story. (My review HERE)

7. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
I have only read two books by Tracy Chevalier and they don't include Girl With A Pearl Earring, the book she is most well known for. Burning Bright is one of them (the other being Remarkable Creatures) and I've loved them both. I think Remarkable Creatures is a little more well known, but I don't think I know anyone who has read Burning Bright. I loved the two main characters in it, as well as the story, and I do recommend giving it a try! (My review HERE)

I think that's it... But yay! I made it to 7! To be honest, I didn't think I was going to make it that far!

Which books do you think are underrated?? Books that you have enjoyed but not really heard much about elsewhere??

Author A-Z Challenge: C

Today is Day 3 of the month-long Author A-Z Challenge. Today, we have our favourite authors whose surnames begin with the letter C.

I know it's coming up rather late today, but I have been really busy today and have only just managed to sit down!

C is for

Suzanne Collins

Tracy Chevalier

Trudi Canavan

Suzanne Collins
I don't think there are many people who don't know who Suzanne Collins is. Maybe except for me, as I only found out about her and her notorious Hunger Games series just this year. Anyways, she has now officially joined the ranks of my favourite authors! I have read all three of them, but have only posted reviews for The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (which you can read by clicking on the links). I must get my hands on her Underland Chronicles (which is considered MG, but I have heard is also very good)!

Tracy Chevalier
What to say about this amazing author? I just love her stories! She has a truly amazing voice and I cannot wait to read more of her books! I have only read Remarkable Creatures and Burning Bright (both of which have been reviewed on the blog) and I loved them! She is more well known for writing the book 'Girl With A Pearl Earring', on which the well-known film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson was based. I haven't read this one yet, but I will be borrowing it from my Grandma when I visit this summer!

Trudi Canavan
I remember that this book had actually been a present for my brother many years ago, but I was the one who read it, loved it and decided I had to have the other two books in the series! (Fortunately for me, they had already been published!). I was so sad when I finished the last book, both because there wasn't another book and because of the actual ending. I must reread them sometime! It has been too long...

Please stop by tomorrow for the letter D!

Remarkable Creatures

Today I am going to write about another book I read quite recently, while on holiday in England! The book is ''Remarkable Creatures'' by Tracy Chevalier. For those to whom the name of the author might mean something, she is the author of the very well-known book ''The Girl With The Pearl Earring'', which has been made into a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth (yummy!!!). Anyway, this post is about ''Remarkable Creatures''. So, let's get on with it!

As someone might realise just by looking at the cover of the book, the story is about fossils. More specifically, it is the story of two women and their love of fossils, which led them to many great discoveries. Two women who are actual historical characters (even though I have to admit I had never heard of them before...). The book tells the story of two women pioneers in the field of fossils: Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning.
Set in Lyme Regis, the book tells the story of Mary Anning, who was struck by lightning when she was only a baby and miraculously survived. Mary Anning is an actual physical person, not a fictional character. She used to collect fossils (or ''curies'' as she called them) with her father from a very young age, which they used to sell to people who came to visit Lyme Regis. The used the curies as a way of providing an extra income for their family, as many people would pay for a memento such as that.
The story follows Mary through the years, beggining with her childhood and first meeting with Elizabeth Philpot and going through her big discoveries in the field of fossils, while, at the same time, describing her unique relationship with the other main character, Elizabeth.
I think that I have said more than enough about the book, now... Maybe even TOO much. I think you get the gist of it though!
So, now, on to my own comments about this book. As I mentioned in the introduction, I read this book in the summer after my Grandma recommended that I read it. I was a bit reluctant at first, because I had never read a story by Tracy Chevalier before (even though I had heard of her) and because of the fact that the story did not sound particularly interesting to me, after having read the back cover. But, nevertheless, I decided to read it and I have not regeretted my decision. It truly is a wonderful book! It is very well written and the story is not at all boring (as it turns out). She describes everything in great detail, which is very important, especially in the fossils' department. All in all, I would give this book a rating of 8/10.
Tracy Chevalier is an American novelist, who lives in London. She has a B.A. in English Language from Oberlin College. In 1993 - after many years of working as an editor - she quit her job in order to participate in an M.A. in creative writing, at the University of East Anglia. The first book she published was ''The Virgin Blue'' in 1997, but she rose to fame with her second book, ''The Girl With The Pearl Earring'', which was published in 1999. Her other books include ''The Girl and The Unicorn'' and ''Falling Angels''. ''Remarkable Creatures'' is her latest book.

And, as always, some links for anybody who is interested!

Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier Official Site

Tracy Chevalier on Amazon

Goodbye for now! Until next time!