Top Ten Tuesday: The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover. As I was thinking about this list I realized that in all honesty, I have experienced very few true book hangovers in the last year. Not because I haven’t been reading great books – I have – but for some reason they just haven’t given me that feeling. A few have, but not many. So I modified this topic slightly, and instead I’m giving you the top 10 books I’ve read in the past year or so, some of which did give me a book hangover.

1. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern – This book was just fantastic. It was definitely a hangover book – I had to reread Morgenstern’s first novel, The Night Circus, after I was finished because I wasn’t yet ready to move on from her beautiful writing style. For more of my thoughts on this see my review.
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin – This book was incredible. I’m not sure I know any other way to describe it. It is a fascinating premise with terrific writing and fantastic world-building. Jemisin is an amazing storyteller.
3. Where the Crawdads Sing by  Delia Owens – This was a great book – not quite as amazing as the hype may lead you to believe, but still very good. I really liked her writing style and the book draws you in.
4. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner – When I started this for a book club I didn’t think I was going to like it, as it’s not the kind of book I would normally choose to read. But it was incredible. Wariner’s writing is just so honest and raw, it sucks the reader in and they’re feeling everything she’s describing. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking, and it may be one of the first non-fiction books I’ve read that gave me a book hangover.
5. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne – This was recommended to me last year when I was looking for Irish books to read in March. I didn’t get to it then, but I’m glad I was able to fit it in later because it was an amazing read. It’s hard to read at times (and heartbreaking), but such a beautiful story of humanity. It’s definitely one of the best books I read last year.
6. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles – When I first started this novel I didn’t think it would live up to the hype, but I eventually became enamored with it. The story is rich and full of life, and by the end I was not ready to put it down. I ended up following it up with Anna Karenina, which was a very good choice.
7. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – This is a book for book lovers. The writing is gorgeous, and so vibrant. I loved the story so much, I read it twice within a relatively short period of time and enjoyed it even more the second time around. This has been placed onto my list of favorite books of all time.
8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – Dystopian fiction is a fad that’s a overdone in a lot of ways, but this novel puts such a different spin on the usual story that it really stands out in the crowd. It was a beautifully written story that I could not put down. I ended up loving this far more than I had expected.
9. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo – I don’t read novels about other cultures nearly enough, but I am so glad I came across this one. Set in colonial Malaysia, it was rich and beautiful, and full of magical realism. I loved the author’s writing style, and the characters she created.
10. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas – This was a definite hangover book. The end of an era, and the end of a series that I had fallen in love with. I don’t read nearly as much YA as I used to, but Maas’ books are still must-reads for me. This was a nearly perfect ending to the Throne of Glass series and I very nearly started the entire series over again the minute I put this book down (I still haven’t done it, but I plan too some time).