Top 5 Tuesday: Books I don’t talk about enough

Hello friends, I’m not dead! I have not posted for….a bit of a while, but my love of books lives on. And after a year of blogging I think I’ve needed to recharge my batteries with some other media for a bit. But this Top 5 Tuesday looked fun, and it was one of the easier ones to write- there are many books I don’t talk about often enough, but these jumped out at me right away.

Top 5 Tuesday is a meme by the fantastic Bionic Book Worm, and it explores a different bookish topic each week. If you’d like to join in, check out the rest of her Top 5 Tuesday January Topics!

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

I love this book, and perhaps a reason I don’t talk about it a lot is because I don’t know quite how to talk about it? I remember it being a very hard book to review, and just the experience of reading it was so PAINFUL. It’s a story full of missed opportunities and hidden feelings and it HURT ME SO MUCH. I loved it, though. I did. And the writing was beautiful and creative and colorful.

A List of Cages by Robin Roe

Another book I don’t talk about enough that WAS FULL OF PAIN. The two main characters, Julian and Adam, are so incredibly sweet, and their friendship is so incredibly sweet, but the events that surround them PAINED ME, and this is just a really sweet and painful book. I definitely should talk about it more.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

This book blew me away when I first read it a few months ago, and it’s one I remember really enjoying writing a review for. This story was so strange and if magical realism is not your thing, it may not be the most ideal book to pick up, but it worked for me and I thought it was brilliant. I loved the plot twist and was so refreshed by one that I didn’t see coming, but also didn’t come randomly out of left field. This is one I really should have been talking about more.

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

I read this book about a year ago, and it twisted me up so much I didn’t even write a review for it because I didn’t know what to say. It’s about an American spy who is put on trial for Nazi war crimes he had no choice but to commit in his undercover work for the Allies. Kurt Vonnegut presents a moral dilemma that twisted my brain in such a good way, and highlighted a horribly gray area of history (I love books that highlight morally gray areas of history). It’s the first and only Kurt Vonnegut book I’ve read, and he certainly lived up to his reputation.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

I’ve mentioned this book a few times, but certainly not enough. It’s a gruesome historical thriller about a serial killer in 19th century New York City killing young boys, and it it’s not for the faint of heart, but I enjoyed this book immensely because the characters are BRILLIANT and the historical atmosphere is fantastic. It’s an intricately plotted story that genuinely scared me and creeped me out, but appealed to the softer emotions in me. It’s a book about murder and friendship and honestly? I had the time of my life reading this book.

Have you read any of these? What are some books you love but don’t talk about enough?