Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Single-Word Titles

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

I skipped two weeks because I disliked the themes, but I’m back at making lists again. Single-word title seemed like such an easy prompt, but it turned out to be more difficult than I expected – while I could find 10+ books easily enough, finding 10 I could call favourites was a bit of a challenge.

So for the hell of it, I decided to do this week’s prompt a little differently and split the list into two parts: first, five books with a single-word title I read, followed by another five (mostly lesser known) books from the depths of my TBR.

5 books with a single-word title I read

1. Sourdough by Robin Sloan

– goodreads –

One of my top reads of 2019, Sourdough is the story of a woman with a miserable job and how her life is transformed by magical sourdough bread. It feels like a warm hug and it will make you hungry. Very hungry.

2. Touch by Claire North

– goodreads –

Touch is the kind of story that sticks with you for a while. The concept explored is simple – what if there were ghosts that could possess bodies? – but it’s highly disturbing and very well writen.

3. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

– goodreads –

One of my all-time favourites. I’ve always been a sucker for books inspired by Slavic folktales.

4. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

– goodreads –

So much fun. It follows a widow, just about to be forced into an arranged marriage by her horrible family, who accidentally discovers an enchanted sword that summons a swordsman when drawn. Adventure, older protagonists, and some romance.

5. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

– goodreads –

Foundryside is another book that’s really, really fucking fun. It has something for everyone – fast pacing, a heist, likable characters, a Sanderson-like magic system, some social critique…it feels a little as if Bennett was trying to write Mistborn, but better. I can’t wait to see where book 2 will take the story.

5 books with a single-word title from my TBR

6. Torn by Rowenna Miller

– goodreads –

Torn is the only one on this half of the list I actually already own. Magical sewing and revolutions, I don’t think much more needs to be said.

7. Medair by Andrea K. Höst

– goodreads –

I remember Medair being on my TBR for a mortal age. Goodreads says I added it sometime in 2015. I want to read it because the concept sounds interesting as all hell – a woman awakens several hundred years later to find the war she tried to win has been lost and everything is different. I really like the theme of coping with change.

8. Scriber by Ben S. Dobson

– goodreads –

The cover honestly does Scriber no favours and I can’t even remember who recommended it (possibly someone on r/fantasy?) but wow, I like the idea of a wimpy scribe being dragged on an adventure very much.

9. Vermilion by Molly Tanzer

– goodreads –

This first came to my attention when I was looking for Weird Westerns and books along those lines. The blurb mentioning a “gunslinging, chain smoking, Stetson-wearing Taoist psychopomp,” the cover…it sounds great. Whenever I pick my project on making a masterlist of Weird Westerns back up, I’m sure this will be among the first books I read.

10. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

– goodreads –

Sapphic historical fiction about a thief, yes please!