The Most Popular Books of the Month: October 2013
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We love to geek out with stats, and what could be better than using them to see which books Book Riot readers were most interested in? Below are the five most-clicked-on titles from the previous month.
#1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
We all know that it is possible for a book to become more than a book. Once a book (or series) becomes a phenomenon, the rules change. We don’t treat these books exactly like books anymore. They’re more royalty than literature, more living, breathing beings than inanimate objects. We see this happen with classics like Catcher in the Rye and Pride and Prejudice, and with recent fan favorites like aforementioned HP and HG. The fans that made the book the success know they are responsible for this success. So many stop seeing themselves as mere fans and begin to see themselves almost like a board of directors, shareholders in a company, people whose demands must be met. The problem is, their demands do not have to be met. They feel like partial owners, but they are really just readers. This discrepancy between perceived power and real power is jarring.
-Kit Steinkellner, Hell Hath No Fury Like a Superfan Scorned
#2. Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex
A spooky parody of Goodnight Moon. Instead of bidding good night to brush and old ladies, you say “goodnight goon, goodnight martians taking over the moon, goodnight bones and the black lagoon.” Jaws and claws also feature.
-Amanda Nelson, 5 Halloween Books for Little Kids
#3. A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee
On the far side of town, in a big, dark, house, lives a brave little witch. She has heard lots and lots about those scary humans and a holiday they call Halloween, but she has never even seen Halloween for herself. Until one very special Halloween comes along… Perfect for trick-or-treaters of all ages, A Very Brave Witch makes for a playful read-aloud that takes the scariness out of the holiday.
-Publisher’s description, book recommended in Ten Best Read-Aloud Halloween Picture Books for Kids by Elizabeth Bastos
#4. Bumped by Megan McCafferty
When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food. Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job. Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.
-Publisher’s description, book recommended in Beyond the Bestsellers: So You’ve Read DIVERGENT by Kelly Jensen
#5. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle’s walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has “captured the castle”–and the heart of the reader–in one of literature’s most enchanting entertainments.
-Publisher’s description, voted by Book Riot readers as the most underrated book
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