Phrases That Make Me Want to Read a Book

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Phrases That Make Me Want to Read a Book

There are many different keywords and phrases that automatically interest me in a book when I hear them.  I'm very much a fan of certain tropes. Below, I have listed ten of the phrases which draw me to books, along with different examples of my favorites for each of them.  

1. Time Travel/ Time Loops

    -  Time Travel/Time Loops has always been one of the buzzwords that gets me to want to read a book. It is one of my favorite subjects in books that I cannot get enough of. 

2. Books Dealing with Books

    - As a book lover, I've always been a fan of books that have a focus on literature. Each of the books below have a speculative take on that. There are so many examples I could have put here. 

 

3. Found Family

    - Found family is one of my favorite tropes in books. I love reading about these types of groups so much, especially in cozy fantasy books. 

4. Descents into the Underworld/Hell

    - From the classic stories of heroes going down into the Underworld, to the stories still being written today, I have always had a passion for these types of tales. This obsession started with my love of Greek Mythology. Particularly with the Disney movie Hercules. I love this type of Hero's Journey and the ways it can be used for both a physical and mental journey. 

 

5. Books  with Academia Elements 

    -  I'm a big fan of books where the characters are enthusiastic about the pursuit of knowledge in a specific area of expertise. Especially books with librarians, art, history buffs, literary lovers, magic, or fantastical creatures. These books can fall in the darker academia category or my particular favorites being more on the cozier end. 

Cozy Academia:  

 

Darker Academia/High Subject Interest books:  

 

 

6. Epistolary Novels/ Interesting Formatting 

    - I already talked at length on this blog many times about how much I love books that are told in unique formatting, such as epistolary novels. These are just a few examples of some of the books I have enjoyed. 

7. Similar Writing Style to Diana Wynne Jones 

   - I cannot help but be drawn to books that are said to have a similar writing style as Diana Wynne Jones. Diana wrote some of my all-time favorite books, Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite book and The Chrestomanci books are one of my favorite series. Over the years, I have found authors and books similar to her style. I particularly love books that make me think of Howl's world and characters in some way.

 

8. Friends to Lovers 

   - My favorite romance trope will always be friends to lovers. I love the dynamic this brings and the growth of the characters' relationships as the story goes on.

9. Fictional books with Authors/Writers as Characters

   - I love books that use famous authors as characters in their stories. Whether this be as a main character of the story or just as a minor character. These are the types of books I will always love picking up, especially if it is an author whose books I love. 

~ The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series by James A. Owen- many different famous authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, and James M. Barrie 

~ Insanity Series by Cameron Jace- Lewis Carroll

~ My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows- Charlotte Brontë

~ Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan- C. S. Lewis

~ An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker- William Shakespeare

~ King of Shadows by Susan Cooper- William Shakespeare 

       

10. Humor Similar to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 

   - I first read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams back in 2012 and fell in love with it instantly because of Douglas Adams's sense of humor. At the time, I found a list on Goodreads which had books similar to his humor. This included the entire Discworld series that was out at that time and many of my other favorite books.