Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I've Read Because of a Recommendation

Hi there! So this is my first time following a Top Ten Tuesday post (as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish). I really want to try to get more involved in these kind of things, but... well... it's hard enough to do regular review posts, if you know what I mean. Anyway, here's my first attempt, in no particular order: books I've read because of a recommendation.

1. Kisses from Katie
I sponsor and correspond with kids through Compassion Canada. I love it. I love developing a relationship with these kids through letters and prayer. And Compassion made it possible for me to visit one of my sponsored kids, and one of the kids I correspond with, which is so so special! Anyway... through these trips, and meeting like-minded people from across Canada, this book was recommended to me. I don't typically read biographical/non-fiction books, but I made an exception for this book, and I was not disappointed. It's the story of the amazing Katie, who decided to be a missionary to Africa straight out of high school. Once there, she fell in love with the children, and so (after a long story), at 20 years of age, far far from home, Katie becomes an overnight mother of 13. It's such an amazing story... I adored Katie's story and was totally inspired by it - I'm so happy I listened to this book recommendation!

2. Unshaken
Again, a book recommendation through my friends at Compassion. I went to Haiti to visit my correspondence child in 2012, just two years after the massive 2010 earthquake. We visited the memorial at the Hotel Montana (a big hotel at the heart of the city which collapsed in the quake), our guide was a man who had been there just moments before everything happened... it was an incredibly overwhelming emotional moment. Even now, thinking about it, I've got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Unshaken is another biographical non-fiction, but I am definitely not sorry I read it, and have recommended it to several people. It's written by Dan Woolley, who was there and trapped in the rubble for 65 hours, and due to a last-minute hotel change, only a handful of people even knew that he was at the hotel. It is a chilling story about Dan doing his best to remember all the survival skills he'd ever known and keep his spirits up; the hope and despair of hearing rescuers speak to him, but not being able to reach him and therefore moving on to other survivors; communicating with other trapped survivors through the rubble... A really incredible story.

3. The Uglies trilogy
It wasn't exactly a recommendation, per se, but several years ago, a friend was asking around on Facebook to see if anyone had read the books because she was interested. After looking them up, I was totally intrigued, and quickly found the books and devoured them - love these books and the world they're set in!

4. I Am Number Four
Way, way back in 2011, I was visiting my best friend (we don't live in the same province). We were going to see I Am Number Four in theatres, and she made me promise that if she bought me the book for my birthday that I would read it. I promised, we watched the movie, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I read the book after I got home, and loved it. I have subsequently bought and read almost every other book in the series, but it's starting to get old, and I'm anxious for it all to be over.

5. Still Alice
I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but I think it was my cousin. It's a really emotional story about a woman going through the stages of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, and the effect on her family and those around her.

6. The Legend Trilogy
This series was recommended to me by an online algorithm, because I had read The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies. It's a similar YA series, set in a dystopian futuristic world. I enjoyed the books, but not quite as much as the Hunger Games or Divergent. It's about the Republic's sweetheart June, who crosses paths with the Republic's "villain," known as Day, after her brother is murdered and Day is the main suspect.

7. 1984
I know a lot of people read this book in school, it was not a part of my curriculum. My mother and brother, however, read it and both enjoyed it, so I decided to read it on their recommendation. I liked the book, I liked that it was sort of prophetic... but I definitely didn't love it, and did not enjoy as much as anybody else I've ever known who has read it. It was interesting, but just didn't appeal to my preferences.

8. Arranged
My cousin recommended this book to me (actually, she gave me a copy) because she knew the author, and had really enjoyed the book. It was a really fun story about a woman who subscribes to what she thinks is a dating service, but is actually a marriage service! I liked it. :)

9. Harry Potter series
So obviously, these books were recommended to me innumerable times in my youth, but I never listened. As a kid, I just really wasn't interested in magic. This year I finally got around to starting the series, and I absolutely love everything about it! Love the characters and the world Rowling has created, which I find to be quite complete. I've just finished the 5th book, and I'm so looking forward to acquiring and reading the rest of the series in the next few months!

10. Worlds of Ink and Shadow
So this book was "recommended" to me in the sense that it was featured in OwlCrate (I wrote a review about it here). It is not a book that I would have picked up on my own. It was an interesting read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Well, there you have it. It was actually pretty difficult for me to come up with 10 books I read because of a recommendation... There are only a few people in my life who read very much, and as a rule, I read books because they interest me, not because anyone told me I should. And when I see "Because You Looked At" or "Other People Also Bought" on book buying websites, I don't necessarily consider that a recommendation.