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Five Friday Favourites: Favourite Books I Was Recommended


Five Friday Favourites is a weekly event hosted by Book Badger, where once a week, a five favourites subject is posted and everyone is welcome to join in. You can find out more about Five Friday Favourites and the future subjects here.

Favourite Books I Was Recommended

I was surprised by how hard I found this topic. I'd never really had many books recommended to me, at least not before I started blogging. I don't know many other people who a big readers like me, so I am usually always the one recommending books. I buy them as gifts for people, do displays for them at my work and generally go on and on about my favourite books to people. But now, thanks to the blog, I get to class all of your wonderful reviews and comments about books as recommendations. Thanks to you guys, I've discovered a lot of amazing books since I started blogging. 


The Hunger Games was one I was recommended by a guy I worked with. He was lucky enough to get an ARC copy of it and absolutely loved it. He recommended I read it as soon as it was released and it's probably the greatest recommendation I have ever been given. It created my absolute love of dystopian fiction and made me track down as many dystopians as I could get me hands on.

The Book Thief is another book I was recommended before I started blogging. My friend Tom had read it and said it was the greatest book he'd ever read, he practically demanded I read it. So, as soon as he left that day, I got a copy and started reading it. He wasn't wrong, it was a brilliant, beautiful and heart-breaking book.

Throne of Glass has become my new favourite series, I can't get enough of it!!! It's probably a book I would have gotten to eventually, but probably not till all the books were out. It was definitely all of Cait's fangirling for it, over on Notebook Sisters, that finally convinced me to pick this book up and give it a try. I am so happy that I did!

The Distance Between Us was a book I had considered reading for the longest time, but wasn't completely sold on. Amanda really raved about it on Book Badger, so it finally convinced me to give it a go. I am so happy I did, this book was the perfect contemporary romance. I will definitely be reading anything West writes. 

Forbidden wasn't really recommended to me by anyone in particular. Back before I blogged, I had no one to recommend books for me so I did a lot of googling top ten lists, books similar to ones I loved and everything else. Forbidden was on so many peoples lists, it was recommended over and over again. I finally caved and borrowed a copy from work, I loved it so much that I ordered my own copy straight after finishing and then reread it as soon as it arrived. 





My Weekly Book Haul: 30/08/2014
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson: 3/5 Review
Monthly Recap: August
Red Rising by Pierce Brown: 4.5/5 Review
If I Stay by Gayle Forman: 5/5 Review
Films for Thoughts on Thursday: If I Stay Movie Review

31 comments:

  1. Throne of Glass!!! I was recently recommended it, and I really liked it :-)
    I really enjoyed The Distance Between Us also!

    Em @ http://theyabookbutterfly.blogspot.com/

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    1. Throne of Glass has become my new favourite series, I can't get enough of it.

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  2. Forbidden . . . that book just kills me. The end with their mum and *sobs* WHY?

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  3. Such good choices Charnell! Am I guilty? Err, no ;) I think I've recommend loads of books to people, or I've shoved them in their faces for sure, but I think recommendations are a huge part of blogging, it's what we do right? Forbidden, yus! Think I want a reread of that soon, just to see what it's like again, The Distance, perfect Summer read for sure, oh the books! :D

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    1. I recommend books so much now that I blog. Even to complete strangers. I recommend rereading it, I enjoyed it so much the second time round.

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  4. Throne of Glass again! *starting to eye bookshop contemplatively*

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  5. I totally agree with all of these choices, The Book Thief is one of my favourites and I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't the top recommended book at the book store. I've heard great things about Forbidden and Throne of Glass is awesome too! Great picks Charnell!

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  6. The Book Thief is so wonderful! I don't think I would ever pick up Throne Of Glass if I wouldn't hear all of the amazing things about it. Also Forbidden *cries*

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  7. I have read three of the five you posted and I have loved them all! Great picks. I love getting recommendations!

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    1. Me too, especially when I end up loving the books. Not so much when I end up hating them, haha.

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  8. Oh that would be hard if real life people. Most of mine aren't readers or if they are read completely different genres so we don't really cross over.

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  9. Great list of books! I still haven't read The Book Thief, but I own a copy and it's high on my list. Forbidden I haven't read either. I'll have to check that one out. I can't wait to see If I Stay! That was such a good book. I'll go check out your review...

    Tressa @ Wishful Endings

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    1. I highly recommend Forbidden, even if it does end up breaking your heart!

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  10. YES AND SEE HOW ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS THRONE OF GLASS & CO. ARE?!! AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU LISTENED TO MY ULTIMATE WISDOM?!! YES. YES!

    *coughs*

    I also want to read The Distance Between Us. And, I totally love The Hunger Games and The Book Thief. They are magnanimously awesome and...I could seriously reread both. Right now. UGH. *glares at TBR which is taller than me atm*

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    1. YES!!! YES I AM!!! HAHA! I am obsessed though and the wait for the next book may kill me. So maybe I should be angry at you instead.

      My TBR is a mile higher than me I think. I need to seriously get that under control.

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  11. Throne of glass and Forbidden are truly amazing reads. The Distance between us is also great..

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    1. I know, so happy they were recommended to me and I didn't miss out on them.

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  12. The Hunger Games is pretty much what got me back into reading YA (and dystopian). A friend of mine from work was raving about it and I hadn't even heard of it. I was like, you're talking about a kid's book? But I read it and LOVED IT. So happy she told me about it. I'm sure I would have read it eventually given all the hype and the movie, etc. but at the time I read it, there was no hype, just her recommendation, and that's probably why I loved the book so much. ~Pam

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    1. I am so pleased it was recommended to me too, especially before there was a massive hype surrounding it. It made me fall in love with the dystopian genre, could not get enough of it after that.

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  13. Welcome to the Kasie West fandom! I now read everything she writes as well and I have yet to be disappointed! Also, Throne of Glass is my favorite of all favorites. I just finished Heir of Fire three days ago and I still have a massive book hangover.

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    1. Oh me too, I finished Heir of Fire weeks ago and am still struggling. I NEED THE NEXT BOOK!!! West is amazing, her books never disappoint.

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  14. Yes! The Hunger Games and The Book Thief are amazing. :) I also read The Distance Between Us after seeing how much Amanda loved it, and have since then read all of Kasie West's other books. :) Well, except for On the Fence. But that will be read by the 17th. I swear it.

    I wish I wasn't such a black sheep and loved Throne of Glass just like everyone else! D: Maybe I'll like it more once I read Crown of Midnight?

    Oh, and this reminds me to read Forbidden!

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    1. I hope you love On The Fence, I thought it was great. The Distance Between Us is definitely my favourite, but On the Fence was a brilliant read.

      READ FORBIDDEN AND CROWN OF MIDNIGHT! I think Crown of Midnight might finally sell you on the series, at least I hope so :)

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  15. Hunger Games was a recommendation for me too. By Stephanie Meyer. Haha. Back in the Twilight days, she raved about it's release on her site. So of course I picked it up. So thanks Stephanie Meyer. :)
    I agree about not really being recommended books before blogging and getting involved in the online book world. I also did the recommending to friends. But that's okay.
    Now there's just many damn good books blog friends go on about that my TBR is bigger than ever. #booknerdproblems
    Happy reading!
    Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

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    1. Yeah, her recommendation for it is on the book. She has good taste ;) I know, my TBR pile has got so long since I started blogging. It's really embarrassing!

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  16. read all of them, don't remember much of The Book Thief and I wasn't a big fan of Forbidden but I know why they are on your list :)
    Great list :)

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