10 Books I Want to Read in 2015
Recently I posted about the problems with teen fiction and talked about how I've been having trouble finding good books. And then Aimee@To the Barricade! wrote a post about YA books that need to be a thing and I got started thinking about good books that I'd like to see out there. So this is kind of a follow up post for my post about teen fiction, where I tell you what I really want to see in the big world of teen literature. A lot of these books probably already exist. I haven't read them yet, but I'll be on the hunt for them this year.
Books which deal with health, mental, and personality problems.
I suffer from Lyme's disease, and I would dearly love to read a book about someone who struggles with what I struggle with. Also things like narcissism, borderline personality disorder, bi-polar depression, schizophrenia, OCD, and avoidant personality disorder. Firstly, these kinds of problems are fascinating to read about. Secondly, I can relate to characters that struggle with them. I may not technically be a narcissist, but I have narcissistic qualities which help me relate with narcissistic characters. I don't have avoidant personality disorder, but I have two sisters who have it or something very close to it and I can understand the struggle. And thirdly, people like this need a voice. We need to know what they feel like.
Books with extroverted leads/protagonists.
If you run down the list of extroverted protagonists in popular books and movies, it's a short list. The Doctor, Megamind, a few others (though I admit I'm not that familiar with popular books, so there might be more than I think). It makes sense. A majority of authors are introverts. Extroverts are becoming more and more stereotyped as obnoxious, abrasive people. But really guys, we're cool!! One episode of Doctor Who or ten minutes of Megamind and you know that. We can be really fun and fascinating. And we need more characters we can relate to.
Books where the protagonist isn't a selfish jerk.
In particular, in the area of YA dystopians, where the protagonist doesn't assume his/her life is more valuable than anybody else's. It really bugs me that survival is more important in so many books than mercy or integrity. We have Hunger Games, where teens are killing each other in order to survive, and Divergent, where *SPOILERS* Tris is willing to kill one of her closest friends because he's being mind controlled and is going to kill her if she doesn't *END SPOILERS*. That bugs me because it's morally wrong. You don't kill innocent people... kids, really... just so you'll survive. I want a hero who would rather die than kill an innocent human in cold blood. That's a real hero.
Books about dreaming.
As a huge Inception fan, I'm obsessed with the dream world and the possibilities for writing. I mean, if you're dreaming, anything can happen! The possibilities are beautiful and endless. I need more books about dreaming. I've got a plot bunny for a book about dreaming, but you could write billions of dream books and still not exhaust the possibilities. I really want to read some.
Books about big families.
Now hear me out, I'm not saying "books where the story is all about this huge family", or "books that deal with the problems and joys of being in a big family" or whatever else. I've read books like that, and I'm usually not a fan... just bored. I mean exciting adventure or fantasy or sci-fi or spy-fi or mystery books where the protagonist is actually trying to do something and, oh, by the way, he's from a really big family, and that's totally okay and cool and no big deal, but turns out there's no way he'd make it through the story and survive if it weren't that way. I want it. Now.
Books without romance.
I don't like romance. I especially don't like romance when they're twelve. It's always like a breath of fresh air to read a book where guys and girls are just friends and no more, or, depending on age, the guys and the girls totally ignore each other and don't really mingle. Not that every story can be that way, but I want to read more of them.
Books where the protagonist doesn't get the girl.
This is so cool and sad and satisfying. There need to be more books like this and I need to read them.
Books about Asian people.
I don't mean just Asian people, either, I mean Asian people who think and act like Asian people and who are really weird and funny and sometimes annoying. 'Cause Asians are really, super weird, which can easily translate to cool if you write it right. Plus, I'm a quarter Asian (Japanese, to be specific), so I always feel nostalgic when reading about Asians.
Books where the characters disagree and are friends.
You can't be friends with someone who disagrees with you!! Or if you are, you're constantly fighting about it and eventually one of you 'sees the light'. I want books where everyone has differing opinions... on politics, sports, religion, moral standards, etc and it's no big deal. Maybe the characters argue about certain things sometimes, but it doesn't turn into a huge fight, and those opinions don't necessarily change.
Books about superheroes.
I love superhero movies, but I haven't actually read a superhero book. I want to, though. I want to very bad. I'm even plotting one to write, but I'd like to read one first.
What books do you want to read this year? Do you have any book recommendations for me?
OMG I HAVE SO MANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU. hehe. But I totally like your list! I've read a lot of books that fit these categories...except the big family one! WHERE ARE THE BIG FAMILIES?! I can only think of the Weasley's in Harry Potter to be honest. I come from a family of 6 kids, and it's totally different to being an only child, or a small family, so I reeeally want to see more books like that. YES.
ReplyDeleteOmg, but you must read The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B. It's about OCD and they have superhero themes, but they're not actually superheroes. And it fits a few more criteria on your list but I don't want to say which in case of spoilers. xD And Alice and the Fly is INCREDIBLE and about schizophrenia. I've never read a YA book on Lyme's disease, so that's a shame. Someone really needs to write one *nods* All The Bright Places is my absolutely FAVOURITE book of ever (it breaks the heart, tho) and it's about bipolar. And I'm sure there are personality disorders in The Raven Boys, lol, at least with Ronan. x)
Loved your post!!
Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
Yay!!! Recommendations are the best!!! And high-five on the big family thing! I come from a family of 11...but the big families don't have to be THAT big. xD It would just be so cool to see big families portrayed as normal and cool in more YA. :)
DeleteI've heard of The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B AND I WANT TO READ IT SO BAD. I need to see if my library has it... And those other ones sound awesome, too!!!! *adds ALL THE THINGS to tbr list*
Don't mention it! Thanks for your wonderful recommendations!!