Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Unique Books

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Unique Books.  Now I can drive myself crazy thinking about what exactly is a unique book and all that so I've decided to concentrate on just a personal level and talk about the books that were unique reading experiences for me.

1.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I read this for a book club several years ago.  It had come out long enough ago that there was a lot of buzz but they weren't quite talking about turning it into a movie. I didn't know how I felt about this one until the very end and it was the twistiest turniest book I think I'd ever read up until that point!

2.  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - Well I can't have a list without an Agatha Christie book and when it comes to unique reads this one is pretty high up the list.  This was the book that made her famous and there was a lot of controversy surrounding it.  Lots of critics claimed she "cheated" which she rather forcefully denied and made a pretty good defense argument.  Regardless it's a fun read.

3.  The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins- This was a fascinating read and I was surprised with how clearly it discussed domestic violence which wasn't something really talked about when this was published in 1859.

4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Can any book by Neil Gaiman not be considered unique?  This was the first book I'd read by him and I really enjoyed it which kind of surprised me.  I had watched several of his episodes of Doctor Who and those always ended up being my least favorite but this book hooked me with all its wonderful weirdness and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5.  Moonraker by Ian Fleming - This is the 3rd James Bond bood and while the mystery itself isn't all that unique (though it is very good) the part where James Bond is sitting in his office thinking about his budget and vacation days is pretty amazing.

6. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell - I think I was in late high school maybe early college when I discovered the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell and I feel instantly in love with them.  Kay is so human and tough and the mysteries were amazing and so dark.  I couldn't get enough of them - that is until Kay went completely off the rails and it became a giant trainwreck with occasional murders but I do remember just how much I loved Postmortem.  I can remember just about everything about that book and it's probably been almost 20 years since I read it.  It's not one to think about too close to bedtime though.

7.  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - I was in elementary school when I read this and then reread it and reread it again until the book basically fell apart.  I was a serious mystery reader but this book was different than anything I had read before.  It was almost a treasure hunt with all kinds of clues and puzzles.  I'm hoping to reread it this year and am really excited about it.

8.  Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - I don't remember where I came across the series though I'm thinking it was a random library grab based off the really awesome cover.  The premise is so amazing and I love the change in child/adult dynamics.  One thing I really loved about this book was that the main characters are a boy and a girl and that they're so equal.  They both have their weaknesses and strengths and they both make mistakes.  So often one gender is portrayed as weaker or just a side character and it was fun to see a book that really embraced the characters for who they were.

9.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I think this was the first book I read that could qualify as science fiction and I loved it.  Adams' sense of humor and how he writes his dialogue never fails to absolutely crack me up and I loved the levels of bureaucracy in this book.

10. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - I see this book listed in horror lists from time to time and I really wish it wasn't because I think if you're looking for horror this is going to disappoint you.  However, if you're looking for incredibly eerie and seriously creepy this is the book for you.  Jackson is a master of atmosphere and this creepy twisted tale is one of her best. And it has a line that jumps into my head at times that I really don't want to think about it - "No one can hear you if you scream in the dark."

What books were unique reads for you?