Top Ten Tuesday #45: Some Good Reads I Hardly Mention

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish but is now managed by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic:

Books I enjoyed but rarely talk about

I enjoyed these 10 books and comics but hardly talk about them lately. I’ll link to my reviews of them (some of which were published in my early blogging days when I didn’t think much about including spoiler warnings).

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

A fun middle-grade fantasy novel about the princes charming from fairytales. I really enjoyed reading it and loved that the story is accompanied by Todd Harris’s illustrations of the characters. I still hope that this will become an animated movie. I’d like to reread it as well.

In Search of Lost Dragons by Élian Black’Mor (illus.) and Carine-M (illus.)

I can’t believe haven’t mentioned this book much on here for a while now. It’s a graphic novel presented as a reporter’s journal as he travels through what seems to be Europe and parts of Asia to document the existence of dragons. There isn’t much plot because it’s not exactly a full story. You read his notes and observations and get the gist of what’s happening. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. They are the focus of the book and why I bought it and why I love it so much. I wish there was a second book.

Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor

I absolutely love this novel. It’s one of my favorite books, but I haven’t reread it since starting this blog, so I don’t have a review of it up. It’s about the people who live in an affluent Black community called Linden Hills who are all chasing the American Dream and how doing so affects them. I love that the setting is modeled after the levels of hell described in Dante’s Inferno, which heightened my interest in the story. I seriously need to give it a reread.

Jinx by Sage Blackwood

Another fun middle-grade fantasy novel I really want to reread. It’s about a boy whose stepfather abandons him in the middle of a mysterious wood. While there, the boy, Jinx, meets a wizard and goes off to live with him. Adventures happen. I’ve forgotten much of the story, but I remember that I liked it although there was some pacing issues. Also, I liked this cover more than the U.S. one.

Infinite Spiral, Vol. 1: Another World by Kristy Cunningham (illus.)

A fantasy comic book series about a girl who’s transported to a different world where magic is outlawed. The purple cover attracted me, and I quickly got hooked on the story. I was happy to learn that it’s actually a webcomic series. I think I read the entire thing because I remember waiting for more to come out. I thought it was a fun read too.

Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That: And Other Reflections on Being Human by Jesse Bering

This is one of my favorite nonfiction books. Bering is an evolutionary psychologist and this books contains several of his essays that were published in Scientific American and Slate magazines. He discusses several topics including the titular one: Why is the Penis Shaped Like That?

Audubon: On the Wings of the World by Fabien Grolleau, illus. by Jérémie Royer, trans. by Etienne Gilfillan

This is a biography in graphic novel form about the artist and ornithologist John James Audubon, who’s best known for his book Birds of America. Of course, the book condenses Audubon’s life a lot but much is included to communicate the importance of his work and achievements and how strong was his drive to record all the birds of America. I really enjoyed reading it and would like to read the one on Darwin as well.

The Fog Diver by Joel Ross

Another fun middle-grade novel! 😀 (I take this as a sign that I miss reading middle-grade novels and should work some into my reading diet this year.) This one is like a sci-fi dystopian set in a future where the world is covered in a deadly fog so people live on high mountains and get around in airships. The story is about a group of kids who go fog diving to scavenge the abandoned places for things to trade. It focuses on friendship and teamwork and has some humorous moments.

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

A book of unsettling short stories set in Argentina. Oh man! I really enjoyed reading this book despite how macabre the stories are. They are all well-written and cover various topics such as gender, drug abuse, mental illness, and the political and sociological climate in Argentina. It’s really good. If you want something dark and unsettling that packs a punch, try Things We Lost in the Fire.

Here by Richard McGuire (illus.)

A graphic novel about the passage of time, which it depicts by focusing on a corner of a room and showing how it changes and has changed over the years. It’s a very interesting and unique read that I highly recommend.

That’s it for me.
Let me know if you’ve read any of these.