Top Ten Tuesday: Gateway Books

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks prompt is the pick your Top Ten "Gateway" Books. Books and auuthors that got you into a particular genre, got you exciting about reading and blogging, etc. So without further ado here is my list...

1.) The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo - This is the book that got me into blogging. I read it, loved it, and wanted to gush about it and had no one to talk to about it. I started this blog nearly five years ago but have been very inconsistent until...


2.) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - This is the book that got me back into blogging. I read it and HATED it. I wanted to complain about it and ended up finding BookTube. I considered starting a channel but then I remembered my dismal record with the blog and decided to go back to that instead. I have actually never written a review for this book even though it drew me back into this world.

3.) Goosebumps by R.L. Stine - These books are what got me so excited about reading as a child. It made me discover the joys of the library and finding a new and exciting book. It also made me view reading as something that could be cool. When I was a kid everyone was reading Goosebumps and there was this insatiable need to be the first person to read a particular book, something that I still feel as a blogger sometimes. 

4.) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - This series is what got me into Fantasy. I read this when I was a kid because my brother was reading them and told me they were good. At the time the only thing he enjoyed reading was Calvin & Hobbes and I was a huge reader. I loved the idea of alternative worlds, magic, and adventure and I still do. This is one of the first books I really remember viewing as exploration.

5.) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - The book that got me into Historical Mystery/Thrillers which is now one of my favorite genres. For awhile there all I was reading are these types of books and it's because I was blown away at how wonderful The Historian is. I loved the combination of genres and the dark and ominous world of this book and lots of other books in the genre.


6.)Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - This book got me back into classics after along absence. It also made me realize how much an evil character doesn't have to be a villain. It was the start of my love of tortured love stories and characters that walk that fine line between doing the right thing for the wrong reason and the wrong thing for the right reason. (Honorable Mention to The Magicians by Lev Grossman for similar reasons but mostly making me realize that I like unsympathetic characters).

7.) Wicked by Gregory Maguire - This book made me realize that books can be more than meets the eye. I was very familiar with the musical and that story but this book is so much more. It's high fantasy but also explores ideas of political intrigue, acceptance, and is another story where an "evil" characters isn't the villain. It is also the book that made me love retellings.

8.) The Giver by Lois Lowry - The book that made me realize that categorizing books by age range isn't always accurate. I read this when I was all about classics and adult books but was blown away about how dark and incredibly well-written this book was. It made me realize that you can enjoy books geared towards any audience. Now I am all about Young Adult books.

9.) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - This book not only introduced me to the fabulousness that is Rainbow Rowell but it also made me realize that I like Contemporary coming-of-age stories. I used to think I found the contemp genre boring and predictable, that it was all about cheesy romance and sadness for the sake of sadness but then Fangirl made me realize that there are some brilliant novels that effortlessly blend the lighthearted and heavy moments of life.


10.) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - This was the book that got me into audiobooks. I had a lot of friends who loved the series so I decided to give it a try during a long train ride and was I totally hooked. Not only on the series, but space operas, and audiobooks. Also sidenote, the audiobook I listened to was narrated by the author, something that I still love in audiobooks.

And of course...

11.) Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by JK Rowling This is the book that introduced me to a fandom. I was so in love with this series that I wanted paraphernalia, and to read fanfiction, and to hang out on message boards to talk theories. This series was also my adolescence. I read the first one when I was thirteen and having a tough time fitting in at school. Every major life event I had after that seemed to come at a time where there was a new Harry Potter book including the end of the series which happened just before I moved to Rhode Island where I feel like I became an adult for the first time. What list of "gateway books" would be complete without Harry Potter?



What are your Top Ten Gateway Books? Leave me a comment and thanks for stopping by and checking out my list. HAPPY READING!