I’m A Sucker: Ten Things That Will Instantly Make Me Want to Read A Book

Ten Things That Will Instantly Make Me Want to Read a Book
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by the Broke and the Bookish) topic is Ten Things That Will Instantly Make Me Want to Read A Book.

There are definitely certain book characteristics that I’m a total sucker for. Sometimes with glorious results and sometimes not so much. Regardless of the results, when it comes to these ten things, I’m that girl that continues “doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” (Albert Einstein)

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Ten Things That Will Instantly Make Me Want to Read A Book

It’s a campus novel…
Years ago, I had great success with these (The Secret HistoryBlack Chalk)…then I went through a major dry spell (The Half Brother). Thankfully, my latest attempt was a winner (If We Were Villains).

It’s described as “irreverent”…
I love me some snarky, irreverent humor (in real life and in my reading). ReunionDead Letters, and Home Is Burning are somewhat recent winners in this category!

It’s a novel involving sports…
I love reading underdog sports stories and athlete’s memoirs, but the holy grail is a substantial novel that seamlessly includes sports in its plot (think The Unraveling of Mercy Louis, You Will Know Me, The Art of Fielding).

And one notch better, the main character is a badass female athlete…
Sadly, these novels are fewer and farther between than I’d like, but You Will Know Me, My Sunshine Away, and The Unraveling of Mercy Louis currently take the cake.

It involves a dysfunctional family…
I know you’re all shocked to find this one here! There are too many scandalous dysfunctional family novels to list here, but the last one I loved was Dead Letters.

It involves wealthy people behaving badly…
This category is hit and miss for me…and the key to hitting is having a character that’s somewhat outside the wealthy bubble that can provide biting social commentary on the antics of the wealthy (Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Truman Capote in The Swans of Fifth Avenue, and Mabel Dagmar in Bittersweet).

It features demented high school students…
Another hit (The Fever, You Will Know Me, Reconstructing Amelia) and miss (Girls on Fire) category that thankfully has hit more than missed this year with The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, The Takedown, and The Fall of Lisa Bellow). 

It’s compared to Pat Conroy…
This is pretty rare, but if I saw one I’d grab it immediately!

It’s described as having great writing and being a page turner…
Another rare find. But, Shelter hit the spot for me on this front last year.

It explores the themes of marriage and/or motherhood…
These are “stage of life” timely themes for me. 

What will sucker you into instantly wanting to read a particular book?

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36 Comments

  1. Carmen wrote:

    No surprises from you here. It’s good to know one’s tastes as one makes better book choices that way. I know my tastes well too. I’m trying to incorporate more historical nonfiction now to my regular reading as the books I’ve read in that category have been outstanding.

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  2. I find many of those things irresistible, too. Novels set in NYC seem to be a big draw for me lately.

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Susan wrote:

      Me too! Perhaps it’s because we’ve all seen so many films and TV shows set in NYC that we feel as though we’ve lived there?

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      NYC for me too! This list could’ve been at least double the length…

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  3. So many great categories. I love the campus novels, too, but didn’t think of that when doing my list. The wealthy behaving badly…so fun!

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  4. Angela wrote:

    I love stories about dysfunctional families, or families that are just going through some sort of crisis. I also find myself drawn to books about marriage.

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Agreed and I love books about marriage as well! This list literally could have been double the length!

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  5. I love a lot of those same things!

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  6. Rebecca Pappas wrote:

    I think you might like Beatriz Williams books. My favorite is “A Hundred Summers” but I think you might like “A Certain Age” as well. Wealthy people behaving badly… 🙂

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh my gosh – I LOVED A Hundred Summers! It’s one of my go-to beach read recommendations. However, I haven’t loved her subsequent books quite as much. I feel like she’s publishes a new book so frequently now that the newest ones have felt a little rushed. But, I haven’t tried A Certain Age.

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  7. Greg wrote:

    Wealthy people behaving badly is always fun! And demented high school students are another draw… dysfunctional families too! Bring on the drama. 🙂

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Clearly I love the drama – haha!

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  8. Michelle wrote:

    I feel my triggers are a bit too broad given how many books I have to read and how many I request on a daily basis. Witches, vampires, and the occult tend to be my biggest trigger. Historical fiction. A good thriller. Biographies about people I find fascinating. Quirky history. Sociopathic main characters.

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I love that range – all over the place! I feel like my list could have been double the length.

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  9. Kay wrote:

    That’s where I differ a bit. Nothing gets my back up faster than a the words “If you loved . . .” or “For readers of . . .” These comparisons are made based on only the slightest resemblance in plot or setting or genre and not because they really remind anyone of the cited author or book. At least it’s my experience that believing these claims is setting yourself up for disappointment. There may be exceptions, but I haven’t found them.

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I agree that those comparisons can get really out of hand. But, I have found some to be on target…like If We Were Villains with The Secret History.

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  10. Gabby wrote:

    Dysfunctional families made my list too! And campus novels is something I didn’t think about but I’ve historically really liked. I find humor to be really difficult to tell from a blurb and tend to shy away from “funny” books for that reason

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Humor is so difficult! You never know if it’s going to be your type of humor or not…and what one person finds funny may be really different from what someone else finds funny.

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  11. I was thinking about your love of sports related books when I read an advance copy of Beartown (Fredrik Backman). I think you might enjoy it. I still haven’t gotten to Dead Letters yet, and you know how much I love dysfunctional family stories!

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ll check it out! I hadn’t jumped on it b/c I DNF’d A Man Called Ove, but I also didn’t realize Beartown had sports in it!

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  12. I love campus novels, too. I’ve seen BLACK CHALK mentioned a couple of times today. I really need to read that book!

    Happy TTT!

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oooh – it was SO good! Give it a whirl.

      Posted 4.18.17 Reply
  13. Melinda wrote:

    My “thing” is a good love story–not necessarily a romance (although I will definitely turn to romance when my life feels too hectic), but something really emotional.

    Also, if a book is described as Brontean, I’m there (such as “The Thirteenth Tale,” my favorite “modern” work…)

    Posted 4.18.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – that’s where we differ. Check back on my follow-up post today for Book Turn-offs!

      Posted 4.25.17 Reply
  14. Naomi wrote:

    A local setting always intrigues me. And I love seafaring adventures!

    Posted 4.19.17 Reply
  15. Catherine wrote:

    You already know half my addictions- they’re the same as yours!

    I also have a thing for books about anything to do with books and art. And NYC almost always hits for me.

    Posted 4.19.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      NYC could have made mine too! And – yes – definitely would have put art on yours…and fashion!

      Posted 4.25.17 Reply
  16. Michaela wrote:

    I looooooooved The Secret History and have been unsuccessfully trying to replicate that experience, so I’m excited to see 2 new titles you put with it!

    Posted 4.19.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      OH my gosh – then you definitely need to read If We Were Villains and Black Chalk! Both obviously are not exactly like Secret History, but definitely have the same feel!

      Posted 4.25.17 Reply
  17. Hahaha, I think I have a love/hate relationship with books about students (high school AND college), where I fall for the “it’s like Secret History!” line every single time, and then the book actually IS like The Secret History almost never. But I like school books on their own merits anyway — it’s fun when a wide range of different people are just sort of STUCK with each other.

    Posted 4.19.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Totally agree about campus novels..but did think Black Chalk and Villains really did feel like Secret History!

      Posted 4.25.17 Reply
  18. Leslie wrote:

    Hi! I’m a Pat Conroy fan. I don’t read much southern fiction, but I really enjoyed all his books.
    My TTT
    Leslie

    Posted 4.19.17 Reply
  19. Steph wrote:

    Great list! I also have a weakness for books described as well-written page turners and books about dysfunctional families.

    Posted 4.21.17 Reply
  20. diane wrote:

    I LOVE – campus or boarding school settings as well as dysfunctional people stories LOL

    Posted 4.22.17 Reply
  21. Darlene @ Lost in Literature wrote:

    I love a book that features dinner parties, fine china, foodie-ishness. They’re hard for me to find so if you have any suggestions…..:)

    Posted 4.23.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      There’s a new short story collection coming out called The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris…I think in May? Not sure what the stories are actually about, but the title is promising!

      Posted 4.25.17 Reply

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