(Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish. Want to make your own list? Clicking the image will take you to this week’s post. Happy listing!)
This week’s list is all about underrated books. It’s been a tough one for me, mainly because I read a lot of books that are read and loved by many. But this list also feels even more subjective than others — kind of like a “list of overrated books” would be really hard for me to write. I can’t wait to see what everyone else’s lists look like.
1. Something Missing (Matthew Dicks) – The story of a ridiculously OCD thief who bites off far more than he can chew when he decides to start helping the people he robs. Read this, read this, read this (or at least check out my review, linked above)!
2. The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux) – Hear me out. A lot of people have seen the musical, and even more have seen the 2004 film; but a lot of people I know haven’t read the original tale. And it’s amazing, and even more dark and scary. And Erik is even more evil and devious and brilliant. Totally underrated novel.
3. Cheaper by the Dozen (Frank Gilbreth, Jr., Ernestine Carey) – Before Erma Bombeck, before Prudence Mackintosh and Jean Kerr, there was the Gilbreth family. 12 kids, parents who specialized in motion study, and a host of hijinks. Funny, sad, and ultimately heartwarming.
4. The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle) – The first really dark fantasy novel that I ever read. It makes me sad and scared, but it’s a beautiful book, and one that every fantasy fan should know backwards and forwards.
5. The Cookbook Collector (Allegra Goodman) – It took me awhile to warm up to this book, but once I got into it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All the characters are lost in one way or another, and are brought together by food, books, religion, loss, and love.
6. The poetry of Hafiz – A 14th-century Persian poet who wrote about God as a companion, friend, advisor, and even a lover. I have copies of The Gift and Odes from the Divan of Hafiz, and it’s some of the best poetry I’ve ever read — and so few people I know have heard of it.
7. Tartuffe (Moliere) – Everyone always has to read Shakespeare in high school. I say replace that catastrophe that is Julius Caesar with this, Moliere’s hysterical romp through hypocrisy, lewdness, innuendo, swordfighting, and general insanity. It’s amazing, and I’m sad that I didn’t first read it until college.
8. Helter Skelter (Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry) – I don’t know many people (especially my age) who have read this book, even though the murders behind it were some of the most violent in American history. It’s something everyone should read.
So what are some underrated books that you love? Tell me about ‘em!
