Welcome to my Top Ten Tuesday! This week I’m talking about the Top Ten books I’d recommend to someone. I chose the Top Ten books I’d recommend if someone wanted to read something thought provoking. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog post hosted by The Broke and Bookish

Now to clarify, these are books that really made me stop and think about them long after I finished them. These are books that I’d recommend when someone asked for a ‘thinky-type book’.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters: I harp on and on about this book, but I think it’s interesting and thought provoking. What would you do if you knew the world was ending? Would you continue on your daily life or would you go and do everything on your bucket list before it was too late?

Pierced by J.C. Mells: This is another book that I continually harp about. It’s interesting to me, and it made the list because the main protagonist has a lot of interesting issues that you don’t normally see in a lot of characters.

Darling Jim by Christian Moerk this book really plays off of family ties and what happens when those ties get severed. Mystery, murder, and a cover-up plot all run rampant in this story, and it’s a excellent piece of fiction.

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jameson. A no holds barred look at mental disorders, and how they affect not only the person who has them, but the people around them. A fascinating piece of non-fiction. I was originally introduced to this in my Abnormal Psych class, and I loved it.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis. I think this is great, thought provoking fiction because it takes the post-apocalyptic trend and creates a very real, very plausible world.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Oh I could go on for days about this book. It’s a great look at man v nature, good v. evil, church v. man, and environment v. man. If you haven’t read this, please do. It’s wonderfully written, incredibly cerebral and just a ton of fun.

Not Simple by Natsume Ono. A manga that tells the story of a homeless traveler who is looking for a woman who made a promise years ago. A story of family, loss, grief and some really heavy issues. Seriously, I shove this manga at pretty much everyone I know. The art style may not be for everyone, but this story is one that everyone should read.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Just read this. Just do it. This book is so moving, so incredibly relevant that everyone should read it. And then talk about it.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Another ‘what would you do…” books, and one that I think everyone should read. It’s not an easy read/easy subject matter to swallow, but overall it’s something that I think everyone should read.

The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien. They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated bibles, each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. This is a book that I think everyone should read. A conglomeration of stories and shorts that intertwine and create a lush story about a hellish war.

That’s my top ten. Let’s talk about books. What are some books you’d recommend to people…and why? If you’ve done a TTT, please leave a link in the comments below and I’ll check it out.