Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. How it works is that each Tuesday the host assigns a topic and then posts their top ten list that fits the topic. Every blogger can create their own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well and link to the host’s. The topic for June 4th, 2019 is: Books From My Favorite Genre. For this prompt, I decided to go with SFF books that discuss climate change or dystopian futures as June 5th is World Enviornment Day. Being eco-friendly and combating climate change is something I feel deeply about, so I hope these books inspire some positive changes in your life as well.
1. Want by Cindy Pon
World: Extremely polluted
Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits that protect them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother, who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.
Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is or destroying his own heart?
2. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
World: Natural resources depleted, global warming
In America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota – and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it’s worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life…
3. The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
World: Post-apocalyptic, ruled by natural disasters like earthquakes
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze – the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years – collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
4. Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman
World: No access to fresh water
The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.
Until the taps run dry.
Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life — and the life of her brother — is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.
5. Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson
World: Present day with a threat of global warming
It’s an increasingly steamy summer in the nation’s capital as Senate environmental staffer Charlie Quibler cares for his young son and deals with the frustrating politics of global warming. Charlie must find a way to get a skeptical administration to act before it’s too late—and his progeny find themselves living in Swamp World. But the political climate poses almost as great a challenge as the environmental crisis when it comes to putting the public good ahead of private gain.
While Charlie struggles to play politics, his wife, Anna, takes a more rational approach to the looming crisis in her work at the National Science Foundation. There a proposal has come in for a revolutionary process that could solve the problem of global warming—if it can be recognized in time. But when a race to control the budding technology begins, the stakes only get higher. As these everyday heroes fight to align the awesome forces of nature with the extraordinary march of modern science, they are unaware that fate is about to put an unusual twist on their work—one that will place them at the heart of an unavoidable storm.
What are you doing on World Environment Day? Do you have any more cli-fi recommendations? Which is your favourite genre? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
If you’re wondering why my usual Saturday post didn’t go up on 1st, I wanted to let you all know that I will be on partial blogging hiatus this month, so I’ll be only posting on all Tuesdays and one special Saturday (22nd June). I will be back in July for sure, so I hope you’ll stick around!
I LOVE how you went about this week’s Top Ten Tuesday! I own WANT by Cindy Pon & I’ll definitely move that up on my TBR!
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Thank you so much! 😊 I’m glad you liked it and I really hope you enjoy Want. ♥️
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Want sounds amazing! I also have always wanted to read NK Jemisin, thanks for the little push 😉
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Thank you for this amazing list, Nandini 😊 There is a prompt for Popsugar challenge- read a cli-fi book- and I was struggling for that prompt. Now I have options 😃
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Thank you so much and I’m glad you found this post useful. ♥️
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You will not regret picking up N. K. Jemisin’s books. She is a master! I hope you enjoy them both. 💖
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Wow, didn’t know today is world environment day. I’ve been wanting to read the fifth season since forever, hopefully one day I will. My favorite genre is fantasy, second favorite is science fiction so im definitely bookmarking this post for later.
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My favourite genres are the same too! 😍 I’m glad you liked the recs. 😊
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Great list! I really need to pick up the fifth season! Dry was such a good book, but it also scarred me 😁 i think I appreciate my tap water more now
(Www.evelynreads.com)
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I love such thought-provoking books that can actually change our habits for the good, you know? I hope you enjoy The Fifth Season. ♥️
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Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay
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Thank you so much and wish you the same! 😊
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After how much I loved the Scythe series, I really want to check out Dry some day!
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I’ve seen mixed reviews for Dry from people who have read the Scythe series, but as long as you expect a YA cli-fi going in, I think you’ll be okay. I really hope you like it! ♥️
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This is such a nice idea; I love it that you decided to choose this niche/genre of books! Ship Breaker is on my Goodreads To-Be-Read-Shelf and I think it’s definitely time for me to pick that one up soonish. Thank you so much for sharing with us! PS: I did NOT know that this genre had a specific name (cli-fi) and now I’m kinda really amazed. like, its A THING.
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I’m glad you liked this post. ♥️ I came to know about cli-fi through a sci-fi and fantasy podcast called SFF Yeah! by Book Riot and since then I was planning to do a World Environment Day special post with books from this genre. Thank you so much for your kind comment! 💕
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Ooh, I love your twist to this prompt. These books all sound great.
My TTT.
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Thank you so much! ♥️ I will check out your post soon. 😊
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THIS LIST! Esp the N.K. Jemisin book. So my speed. My TBR thanks you.
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I’m so glad I could make your TBR happy, lol! ♥️
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Ooh I love Dystopian fiction and Dry is already on my TBR (I love Neal Shusterman!). Adding the other ones here too!
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I can’t believe I haven’t replied to this comment! Yes, add all of them and watch your TBR judge you. 😂 Honestly, they all sound super good! I hope you enjoy. 💕
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