Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and today’s topic is “Ten Things On Our Reading Wishlist — things you want to see more of in books — tropes, a time period, a specific type of character, an issue tackled, a certain plot, etc. ” . This is such a lovely topic, but I had a hard time coming up with this list. More and more diverse books are coming up lately, and so many things are covered under these books, that I had a hard time thinking of all the things which books don’t portray enough. Anyway, here is a short list of some things I want to see more of in books!
- Accurate Asian characters
I think it’s a fact well-known that Asian characters are not represented accurately in popular, mainstream adult and YA books (ones not written by Asian authors themselves). Of course, most books with Asian characters written by Asian authors portray Asian characters very well, and I appreciate that sincerely. But I just wish that the general stereotypes Asian characters fall into are removed, and they become more than just geeky, nerdy side characters.
- Humor
I’ve read very, very few books which can be called humorous. I’ve hardly ever laughed out loud reading a book, and I wish authors would strive to write more books which are funny and can make you laugh your ass off. Way too many books are written with a sad backstory or a sad atmosphere, which makes readers cry and feel depressed. But funny books? I can hardly think of any!
- Non-romance YA
I find it very unrealistic to portray young adults falling in love and meeting their soulmates, and this seems to happen in every single book. I’m tired of reading romantic YA novels, I really, really need me some young adult books which do not have earth-shattering, crazy, movie love in them. Considering the fact that this seems to be the trend in both contemporary as well as fantasy books, I wonder why authors rely on a heave romance so much to make the book work! Like hello?? You could focus on other things! Like an original plot?
- Disabled characters
Though I definitely have read a few books which portray disabled characters, I just want more. The books which immediately come to my mind are Annie’s Song, Me Before You, Six of Crows (duology), Archer’s Voice and A Quiet Kind of Thunder. I want to see more representation of disabilities because I think it’s extremely important. We have so many books coming out portraying different sexualities, races, cultures and mental illness, and I think physical deformities should be portrayed in more and more books.
- Unusual settings
We’ve all read books set in USA and UK. So many books nowadays are coming out, which are set in Africa, Asia and other such places which were not portrayed much in mainstream books. However, I’d love to see books set in places like Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Greece, Turkey etc. The idea of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy set in Prague excites me so much, because I have never even heard about a single book set in Prague! Unusual, different settings are absolutely amazing to read about.
- Mythology
Yes yes, you’re probably thinking about the Rick Riordian books now. And if you’re new here, I didn’t like the Percy Jackson books. I didn’t even finish the series. I’ve read very few books which have mythological references or are based on mythological tales. I really want to read more mythological tales, or books based on them. I think mythology is so interesting, and I’d love to read more books with it!
- Heists
Yes, Six of Crows was fucking amazing, but can we have more cool books about heists? I know The Lies of Locke Lamora books are about heists too (right?) but you’ll be surprised to find out how difficult it is to find heist books. There are hardly any!
- Cool villains
Yes yes yes. More of this please! Even though an amazing male/female protagonist is a necessity of the book, I think the villain has the power to make or break a book. We need more cooler, darker villains who are a good match to the protagonist. I’ve read so few books where the villain makes the book enticing, and I want more.
So that was my list! I want to read books which have more and more of all the things I’ve listed above. Of course, there are certain books which have these elements, but I think there should be more and more books with them.
What are some things you want to see more of in books? Have you any recommendations for books which have any of the above-listed things?
Going Through Books 
More Cool villains and Mythology! Yes!! 😊❤
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Oh yes!! :)
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This is a great list! I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology and mythological retellings (and have no desire to read Percy Jackson), so a couple I’d recommend in that category: Bright Air Black by David Vann, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson (it’s sort of weird experimental poetry/prose if you’re into that kind of thing), Alcestis by Katharine Beutner, Lavinia by Ursula K. Leguin, Ransom by David Malouf. A few I haven’t read yet but want to check out are: Medea by Christa Wolf, The Closed Door by Paulina Albanese, Hold Your Own by Kate Tempest.
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Woahhh thank you SO MUCH!! I’ve only heard of The Song of Achilles (and will be reading it soon) but everything else you mentioned is new to me and I cannot wait to check them out! I’m interested in Greek mythology too, but I don’t think the Percy Jackson books does it justice…I definitely want to read some other stuff :)Thank you!
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You are so welcome! I hope you find something you enjoy!
I just don’t read a lot of YA/middle grade fiction, maybe I would have enjoyed Percy Jackson if it were out when I was 10, but no such luck. I get so annoyed when I’m looking up lists of mythological retellings and Percy Jackson is always at the top. Like okay, we get it!!!! Can we move on please!!!!
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EXACTLY. I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more had I read it when I was younger and I get so frustrated when people don’t see anything other than Percy Jackson as a mythological retelling. Like, come on – there are other books too!
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For humor you should try Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett! It’s really funny but in a smart witty way. And I totally agree with you about non-romance YA and disabled characters!
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Thank you for the recommendations! I’m really looking forward to reading Terry Pratchett – I’ve heard a lot about this author :)
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Humor is a tough one for me because sometimes I think books are supposed to be funny, and I don’t find them so. Or I just miss it. The hard part is finding a book that matches your sense of humor as the reading, I think.
I’m currently reading Evil Speaks by S. Woffington which is heavily influenced by Greek mythology. I do think there are too many characters in the book and it’s bogging everything down, but it does take its mythology seriously!
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Yes, I too think humor is difficult to portray in a book, because everyone has a different sense of humor. I too read books which are meant to be funny – but I don’t even chuckle at them. The book you’re reading actually sounds pretty interesting – thanks :)
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I seldom “laugh out loud” in any book as well. A chuckle here and there, maybe, but full on on-the-floor-dying-re-laughter doesn’t comes as natural to me as if the dialogue etc. were to translate on screen in an adaptation.
For Asian-rep specifically, I personally don’t have the expectation of one standout experience that I’d ride-or-die with, but rather various characters that I can see glimpses of my experience in. Like there’s this one scene in a recent book I read where the MC’s father encourages the use of a hard-boiled egg as a remedy for bruises and I was like YESSSSSS. Small things like that make me smile!
Cheers,
Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts
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Yes exactly – a chuckle here and there is all I do! For example, I recently read My Lady Jane (by a bunch of authors) and everyone talks about how extremely funny it is but I never ‘laughed’ at anything in it – probably a smile and a chuckle here and there.
And yes – small things can make a difference too! For reading a book where I can see myself in the MC, I usually tend to pick up Indian books (books by Indian authors) but I wish non-Indian authors would portray them correctly in books. Same goes for all Asians – I want to read more accurate reps of them :)
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Great choices, I put a few of these on my top 10 too😊 I definitely think there needs to be more diversity in books
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Yes definitely!
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I’m always a fan of humor in a story. I would like to see more disabled protagonists. I love it when a book shines a true light on what living with their disabilities is really like. Nice list.
My TTT.
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Thank you! And yes, I would love to read more books which portray accurately how living with a disability is like.
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Yes to all of the things. I feel like sometimes Asian character tropes paint Asian people as country-less too. Or as sharing a single culture. This is why I’m all about the Own Voices…
-eli @ the (book) supplier
My TTT
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Oh yes!! Often Asian characters are portrayed as belonging to the same country or fall under a single group – whereas in reality Asia constitues so many nations and cultures. I wish authors would take the pain to portray characters belonging to the different nations and flesh them out accurately :)
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Hello! Regarding your point about disabled characters, I can recommend a book I enjoyed a lot: “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. It’s a historical fiction novel with a blind girl as one of the main characters. If you’re interested you can read my review to find out more about it: goo.gl/FiJVsD
Georgiana
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I’ve read that book! It was actually one of my favorite books last year – i just forgot to mention it while writing this post :P It was such a beautifully written book :)
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I am so on-board with the non-romance YA. I’ve always been driven crazy by the love triangle. I’ve never met anyone who found herself (because it’s always a her) adored by 2 boys at once. Life just doesn’t happen like that. More realistically, she spent her teens worrying that she wasn’t getting attention from boys/didn’t have a boyfriend.
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Exactly it’s always a her! I’d love to see a love triangle with one guy and two girls – a sensible, well-written love triangle.
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Oh my goodness, I agree with everything on your list! Especially the comment you made about humor. I’m so tired of the depressing back-story. Why can’t books be fun?! There is more to life than crying your eyes out! Have you ever read the Percy Jackson books? I know they’re for a little bit of a younger audience, but they are HILARIOUS! I am a very avid reader, and those are the first books that literally made me laugh out loud. He’s just so snarky and sarcastic and I love it! :) Also, they hit your mythology point! They’re about Greek mythology, but with modern demigods. I highly recommend that series, as well as any other series by Rick Riordan (Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase, Trials of Apollo), but definitely start with Percy :)
(Also, you might be interested in Aurella the Witch. I’ve been told it’s got some goofy comedy in it as well as a lack of the overdone romance.)
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I actually mentioned in my post, under the mythology point, that I don’t like Percy Jackson at all :) I didn’t even complete the series :P Thank you anyway :)
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My bad!
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What I’d like to see is more of is a normal black protagonists in YA novles. The only books I’ve read that have black main characters they are, for lack of better word, thugs. They live in poor neighborhoods and all of them get caught up in selling drugs in some way. They are hypersexualized and more angry than the white protagonists, who all seem to have the privilege of having normal teenage problems. I’m a young black woman and I cannot relate to a single one of the black characters I read about because I’m not a thug, nor are any of my friends. Just once I would like to read novel where I can relate to the character in both skin color and life problems.
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I completely understand your point and feel the way. We need more accurate representation, ESPECIALLY in YA. You can give The Hate U Give a try, it was absolutely amazing.
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