Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and Bookish. Each week the bloggers at The Broke and The Bookish put out a topic, and discuss their top ten options for said topic. This week it’s Top Ten Rewind, where we can revisit a topic, or do one that we hadn’t done before. I decided to go with the Top Ten Things on My Reading Wishlist (if you could make authors write about these things you would. Could be a specific type of character, an issue tackled, a time period, a certain plot, etc)
Male and female lead characters who are JUST friends. No hidden love, no repressed feelings, no dark longings. Just two people who are friends and get into all sorts of literary shenanigans.
Books with road trips. Massive, sprawling country encompassing road trips. Heck, more books about trips in general! Backpacking across Europe? Biking in the back country of the US. Just a group of friends packing into a car or some sort of trip and having fun. Maybe it’s because I have such a want to go on a massive trip right now, but reading about one would really help squish the urge to get up and go–at least until it’s warmer.
More anti-heroes. I really love the darker male characters, and I’d love to see more of the ‘dark, dangerous and might not entirely be up to good’ type of literary boyfriends. I think I’ve been reading too many good boy books. I love some bad boys, and need more bad boys in my books.
More alternative history books. Altered timelines. I love that stuff, and I haven’t found nearly enough to make me happy.
More stand alone books. I love series as much as the next person, but sometimes I just get the need to read a single book, and fall for the characters and their world, and simply make up my own ideas as to what happens next. Some things really are best when they’re left up to the imagination. So I’d really love to see more standalone books.
More smart characters. I think it would be fun to read more about people who didn’t hide all of their intelligence, but laid it out. I want books with more characters like Hermione–smart, quick witted and like to research.
More spy books with tech and actual sleuthing, not femme fatale falling for the bad guy and spilling all her secrets. Give me something with mystery and intrigue. I’d love to see a female Bond book. Series. Seriously. I’d be all over that.
Books that don’t make being single such a bad thing. It’s okay to be single. It’s okay to go out with friends, and not date. It’s okay for the main character to live a happy, fulfilled life without a significant other.
Shape shifters. Not just werewolves, but shape shifters. Things that aren’t wolves, or big cats, or bears. How about birds? And while I’m on the subject of shape shifters and things that go bump in the night, I’d love to see something where werewolves/vampires/shape shifters are in hiding. They tuck themselves away from society. They’re not ‘out’ and roaming the streets.
More time travel. More aliens, more space. More stories featuring ancient sciences like alchemy. MORE BOOKS. 😛
Those are my top-ten wants on my wishlist for authors. Frankly, I just want more books, and more time to read them. If you have any books that meet some of my wishes, please leave them as recommendations, I’d love to check them out. What are some of your bookish wishes? If you’ve done a TTT post, feel free to link it in the comments below!
books and writing 
I love finding smart, intelligent characters too, particularly when they’re written realistically instead of as nerds, losers, socially awkward, etc. I also love the idea of more empowered single characters. It would be really helpful to people who might be struggling with not being married or in a relationship, to see that it’s totally normal and doesn’t make them incomplete or a sympathy case.
My TTT
Smart people can have friends, and be popular. I wish more authors would hop onto that! The single thing just came to me, because it seems like everything I’ve read recently every.single.character has a romantic interest. I’d really love to see more authors just put something out there that doesn’t tie up a relationship with a pretty bow. Writing this list made me want to pull out my writing notebook and start creating plots though.
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a great week.
Yeeesssss all of this!! (Particular #10 which is near and dear to my heart). But really, I want more of all the things you’ve listed here. And I’m such a sucker for alternate timeline stories, and I feel like either I haven’t found the jackpot or there are very few out there. So few I can’t think of any right this moment haha. But speaking of shape-shifters – have you read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes books? She has a TON of shape shifter books in general if I recall (my favourite one has a dragon!!)
Writing this list wasn’t very good fro my writing notebook. I want to plan all the stories right.now lol. 🙂 I’m really searching for things that bring my #10 into play. Sometimes it’s nice to read about a group of friends. Ooh, I have not. Do you have any titles off hand that you like best? Or is there a certain starting point?
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a great week.
Definitely her Kiesh’ara series – I think it starts with Hawksong? which is about bird shapeshifers. But there’s also snake shifters, and my favourite book has the dragon shifter which I think would be the most awesome thing in the entire world and now I want to reread that series. All those books have different shapeshifters, and I think her other series is all vampire related.
Your list is awesome! More stand alone books, books with characters who are just friends, and a book that shows that its okay to be single. I’m right there with you.
Check out Kiss the Sky by Krista & Becca Ritchie, not only can it be read as a stand alone but the main characters are both extremely intelligent and are not afraid to show it. Beware the romance part is pretty strong. 🙂
Happy Reading!
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Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll have to check out Kiss the Sky. Looked at it on goodreads and I think I might be in to it. 🙂 I hope you have a great week!
Fun topic! 🙂 I agree with so many of these! Especially more books with time travel, spy books, books with smart characters, and books with road trips!
🙂 I chose Top Ten Favorite Book Covers: http://aliceinreaderland.com/2014/02/24/covers/
Alice @ Alice in Readerland
It really just makes me want to hole up and write. Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate it. Hope you have a great week. 🙂
I looove shapeshifters! (Werewolves are my number two favorite creature, right after vampires.) We don’t know have enough books with those! And yes, more books with trips and spies! Thanks for stopping by!
Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf
Personally I think someone should now write a story about a bunch of shapeshifters going on a trip. 🙂
Bad boys and standalones! Yes, yes, yes! Haha
I need a book that combines the two! I want a bad boy, and I want him alone! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great week. 🙂
More standalones, yes! I looove reading series, but I hate getting into an incomplete series and having to wait.
I’ve even had a couple series just quit on me. The author didn’t bother to finish them. It’s the worse! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!
I adore your list. #s 8, 5, and 1 for sure. I love me some time travel and I’m always on the lookout for new ones to read.
Thanks for stopping by my TTT!
I haven’t seen a lot of them, so I’m searching. This list really wasn’t good for my writing notebook, because now I want to write them all! Thank you. 🙂 I hope you have a great week.
Love, love, love your list because I totally agree with it! Especially 10, 7, 5, 4, and 3…all I can say is yes, yes, yes! Fully agreed. Great topic, great list, and Happy Tuesday.
My Teaser & Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books I’d Like To Reread
Great pick. Amazing choice and yes to your answers, but especially #1 – I want more time travel and aliens. Nice list 🙂 My TTT.
Yes… please more stand alone books. YEESH. All the books now seem to be trilogies. I just want to read a book and not have to wait 3 years to see how it turns out.
Angie
Top Ten Book Covers to Frame
I dislike having to wait, so more often than not I won’t read something until ALL of the books are out, which means I miss out on all the discussions. Plus, there’s also that horrible situation when an author drops a series and doesn’t go back to it.
Great list! I’d especially get into books with more smart characters (yay, Hermione!) and more stand-alones, absolutely. I have total series burn-out at the moment. And I do love the idea of a book with male and female characters who are friends without introducing a romantic element — how refreshing!!
I’m starting to get seriously burned out on series, I think that’s why I’m turning to the classics right now. I seriously need more smart characters too. 🙂
Love your list – especially 1, 3, 7 and 10. I want to read more time travel and alternate history. I looove stuff like that. And I’ve often thought about what if someone wrote a story about close male/female friends – that would be so cool! I can’t think of any books like that. In fact, I can’t name that many movies or TV shows where that even happens.
It’s really hard to find things where the main characters are just friends, and stay friends. It’s like we’re all so concerned about pairing off that everything else gets shoved aside. I just want more books. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by.
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