The following are books that I have read and enjoyed. I read a lot of different genres for a lot of different reasons, so this list may come off as a bit eclectic in the future, although it primarily shows my fantasy interest now. Also, the books have a pretty wide range when it comes to age recommendations. Most of them are Young Adult fiction, since that's just what I tend to love, but some are for older audiences and some are for younger. You can take a peek at Amazon.com to see what sort of age group, if any, the book is recommended for. If a book doesn't make this page, it's not because it isn't good. There's only so much room to talk about books, only so much time for me to read books, and only so much time for me to update this list. The length of my ramble for any given book doesn't necessarily reflect my amount of love of it.
Hopefully, you'll find something new for you to enjoy!
Books are listed in alphabetical order by Author's Last Name, not Title. I'm not very sure why I chose to do it this way. I just did.
I update this list as I have time or finish books. Or both. It has last been updated on July 28, 2009.
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Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: My favorite by her, although I enjoy all the books she has written. The Avians and the Serpiente have been at war for as long as they can remember. Now, a moment of kindness brings the future leaders of the two clans together to try and find a road to peace. I feel this book stands on its own, but it's also the start of The Kiesha'ra Series.
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The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: A unicorn leaves her home to find out whether or not she is the last of her kind, and others join her in her quest. The story told here is powerful, humorous, and touching. It's one of my favorites.
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The Lionboy Trilogy by Zizou Corder. Zizou Corder is actually the pen name for a mother/daughter team who put together one excellent trilogy. Charlie's parents are abducted, and he has to use his wits and his ability to communicate with cats to come to their rescue. Couldn't put these ones down.
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The Vampire Files by P.N. Elrod: This is the series that got me into vampires. Between Elrod and Atwater-Rhodes, I was hooked to fangy main characters. Narrator Jack Fleming wakes up in the first book, Blood List, in 1936 Chicago with a hole in his memory and a car trying to run him down. He sets off to figure out how and why he died, and also to start coming to terms with his unlife. He ends up working with Charles Escott, a private investigator. Once they figure out the mystery of Jack's death, they go on to take down other baddies in the later books of the series. You've got Chicago mobsters, vampires, mystery, and romance. Good stuff, if you ask me.
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The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke: It's so hard for me to summarize this series neatly because I love it so much. If I had to name my favorite books of all time, it would be the Inkheart Trilogy, hands down. This is a great story for anyone who loves books, who ever wished they could just slip between the pages and experience the world their favorite characters live in for themselves. Mo, you see, can read things out of books. Whenever he reads something out, though, something else goes in. He lost his wife to a book titled Inkheart, and he would give anything to get her back. But when he accidentally read her into the story, he also read out the story's villain, Capricorn, and hero, Dustfinger. Dustfinger just wants to go home. Capricorn wants to rule the world. Meggie wants her mother back. And that's just the first book.
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The Princess Bride by William Goldman: It's got, and I quote, "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. brave men. Coward men. Strongetst men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." I think that covers the bases pretty well.
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The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Series by Brian Jacques: High seas adventure awaits in this series, which follows two innocent souls who barely managed to escape the curse of the Flying Dutchman and her captain. (No, I'm not talking Davy Jones.)
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The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques: These are stories of good creatures triumphing over villainous vermin, often in clever and adventurous ways. Some of my personal favorites of the series include, but are not limited to, Mariel of Redwall, Outcast of Redwall, The Taggerung, and Rakkety Tam.
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Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. I don't know if there's a series title for these three books combined, but they do play off of eachother. They don't play off of each other in the way that "typical" series books do, but I love the way they interact. And I love Howl, in spite of his numerous flaws. Or maybe because of them. I can never quite tell.
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Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones. This is a collection of wonderful short stories, some fantasy and some sci-fi, and all by Diana Wynne Jones. My favorites include, but are not limited to, "The Girl Who Loved the Sun" and "What the Cat Told Me." Oh, but all of them are wonderful. And Everard's Ride, the novella included at the end of the collection, filled my heart with glee.
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The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: I loved this series when I was a kid, and I still love it now. The children of the stories get to go to an amazing world and have amazing adventures. My favorite of the series is probably Voyage of the Dawn Treader for all the interesting islands the characters travel to.
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Prince Ombra by Roderick Macleish. The time has come for the great battle between good and evil to be waged again, but the hero for good is just a kid, and he doesn't have the time to grow up before the battle starts. The way the story draws on the idea of the good and evil inside every person, and the courage and fears of the main characters, and the epicness in general, all come together for a book that I love.
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Flight of the Fisherbird by Nora Martin. This one is historical fiction set in the San Juan Islands in 1889. The main character, Clem, deals with the idea of what's right and who the people around here really are inside. I loved Clem too much not to add this book to my list.
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Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. I've always loved Ancient Egypt. In this bit of historical fiction, Mara, a slave, gets to pretend at being of a higher station than she really is when she becomes a spy in Hatshepsut's court. She gets all tangled up in politics and a little bit of romance.
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The Old Kingdom series (or the Abhorsen series) by Garth Nix: Great evil lurks just on the other side of Death, constantly trying to push through and spread destruction. The Abhorsen is a necromancer called to keep the Dead dead and bind powerful Free Magic beings. Sabriel introduces its readers to the daughter of the Abhorsen, who sets out to save her father after receiving an ominous message. Lirael and Abhorsen continue the story into the next generation, and still greater dangers. I love the characters, I love the setting, and I am excited to hear that Garth Nix has more in store for readers.
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The Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik: Have you ever wondered what might have happened during the Napoleonic Wars if dragons were real? Whether you have or not, this series does a wonderful job of blending fantasy and history together with amazingly entertaining characters who often end up in dire circumstances. Good, good series.
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Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith: Meliara takes on a tyrant king, a mysterious marquis, and court etiquette in this fantastic fantasy. (Get the Firebird Books edition for the full story, originally published separately as Crown Duel and Court Duel, plus great short story at the end.)
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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: One little hobbit gets roped into helping a bunch of dwarves in their quest for revenge against the dragon Smaug. This is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings.
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The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede: Princess Cimorene takes off from home to avoid marrying some random prince and becomes a dragon's princess. The adventures continue to get more witty and exciting as the series progresses.
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The Cecelia and Kate books by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (starting with Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: The two authors wrote letters to one another from the perspective of cousins Kate and Cecelia, who deal with matters of magic, life, and romance in a Regency Era setting. Those letters make up some good stories.