Top 10 Tuesday: Under 2000 Goodreads Ratings

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 Top Ten Books with Under 2,000 GoodReads Ratings

Today’s topic stood out as a fun one for me – a chance to spotlight some under recognized books! Out of books I’ve rated three stars or higher, 20 have under 10 ratings and a further 38 have under 100 ratings. For this list, though, I chose not to really include non-fiction or picture books because I have so many obscure ones that I tend to rate highly because they’re great reads for a particular niche, not because I think they’re wonderful books in general. From most to least ratings:

1. In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss (615 ratings) – A magical, mysterious short story collection. I don’t remember much about it now, but I remember enjoying the prose and creativity of the stories.
2. Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson (607 rating) – This book, read in a high school history class, introduced me to Ferguson. A bit dated, but I think it’s still the book to read if you want to know about being Canadian.
3. The Swallow by Charis Cotter (449 ratings) – I especially enjoyed this middle grade ghost story because of the friendship, spookiness, and twist I didn’t see coming.
4. Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany (414 ratings) – The first Scott miscellany I read, and my favourite. A lovely little book full of interesting food tidbits.
5. Throwaway Daughter by Ye Ting-Xing (320 ratings) – My grade seven teacher read this book to us, and I ended up writing a paper on it my third year university class on gender in Chinese literature! A good story about the one-child policy in China and how people reacted differently to it.
6. The Lost Flower Children by Janet Taylor Lisle (122 ratings) – For years, I often borrowed this book from the library, until the thought struck me one day that I should really just purchase it because I adored it so much. It doesn’t seem like the sort of fairy story I would usually enjoy, but somehow this one has stuck with me (much better than Afternoon of the Elves). I love the illustrations as well.
7. Half a Creature from the Sea by David Almond (111 ratings) – A genre-defying collection of short stories for young adults, or perhaps middle graders. This book is hard to classify but if the description appeals to you, I highly recommend it.
8. The Evolution of Alice by David A. Robertson (55 ratings) – The first book I read this year. A great addition to the canon of Canadian Indigenous literature, set in my hometown.
9.  The Dodecahedron by Paul Glennon (41 ratings) – I remember having vaguely heard of this book, then reading it because I found it at a used bookstore where I had credit. I enjoyed the concept and many of the stories.
10. The 1918 Shikoku Pilgrimage of Takamure Itsue translated by Susan Tennant (8 ratings) – This might sound like a super niche-y book but I promise it’s an amazing journal of a fascinating young woman undertaking a pilgrimage in Japan. Takamure writes in a crisp and modern voice that is at turns hilarious and melodramatic, yet moving and poignant.

What are some books you think deserve more ratings on Goodreads?