Favorite Books

Lenora Rose

Lenora Rose

Farmer
So Gaiman, Pratchett, and de Lint have all been mentioned. Who else...

Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher is my current go to to shove in people's hands and say they have to read. And she does everything from kids' books to adult horror. My faves are "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking", the Paladin books, Swordheart, and The Twisted Ones (the first is straightforward fantasy, with a child protagonist but not *for* kids, the last is horror, the others fantasy/romances).

Martha Wells deserves more attention, and is finally getting it with her Murderbot Diaries. Start with All Systems Red, but be aware the first four novella-length books make one story arc, even if the first two make complete stories.

My actual favourite of hers is the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, starting with the Wizard Hunters. They're set partly in a fantasy realm with early 20th century tech (a ship very like the Titanic and other luxury liners of the era makes a major role in books 2& 3). It's also a textbook example of how to show a clash of cultures with different tech levels without either one stereotyping the other and without many colonialist fails.

Diana Wynne Jones is on the shelf beside Pratchett for me, literally and figuratively. Yes. most of what she wrote was for kids but I discovered her as an adult and feel no shame. A couple of specific things haven't aged well (Fire and Hemlock's entire plot is about a child who befriends an adult then grows up to fall for him) But Archer's Goon is brilliant plotting and Hexwood is similar.
 
Hawkgirl6511

Hawkgirl6511

Cowpoke
Wow. I LITERALLY have 3 bookcases full of books that I have read and re-read so many times from so many authors it's hard to keep track of them! And that's not including the ones that I had to pare down and get rid of when we bought our house last year because I didn't have enough room to bring them! 😭 I was devastated!
Forensic Science authors Kathy Reich and Patricia Cornwell
Romance authors Robyn Carr and Cathy Edwards
Vampire Academy series
Harry Potter series
Hunger Games series
Chicken Soup for the Soul series
Any historical romance novels
Dean Koontz
Mary Higgins Clark
I'm pretty eclectic 😁😎
 
SiameezyRPGer

SiameezyRPGer

Planter
I don't read as much as I used to but when I do, it's typically something Dean Koontz. Been mainly obsessed with and reading his books for the last 18 years. I see Patricia Cornwell was mentioned earlier, I used to read and really enjoy the Kay Scarpetta series too, but the later books started to get boring.
 
ThePerfectGarden

ThePerfectGarden

Farmer
That's a great thread! It's full of inspiration what to look for on my next visit to the local library. 😍
So here are my favourites:

As a kid:
The Search of the Castaways / A Voyage Round the World / Captain Grant's Children by Jules Verne (Wiki says: "As often with Verne, English translations have appeared under different names" - I read the German one "Die Kinder des Kapitän Grant")

When I was 14:
Martin Eden and The Sea-Wolf by Jack London were a game changer to me, they changed my perspective on life.

As a teenager:
all of Hermann Hesse's books, esp. Siddhartha

As a young woman:
Look Homeward, Angel; Of Time and the River; The Web and the Rock; You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Makra by Ákos Kertész (a Hungarian writer)

Later, for many years:
all of Julio Cortázar's books, especially Rayuela (engl. Hopscotch) and Todos los fuegos el fuego

Since a couple of years, my preferences have switched to mystery and fantasy:
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (will He ever finish the last two volumes?!!!)
all of J. R. R. Tolkien's books (of course), esp. Roverandom, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion
The Ocean at the End of the Lane; The Graveyard Book; American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Otherland by Tad Williams
all of Tana French's books
Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris
...

This is only an excerpt, the ones I remember off the top of my head - I'm sure there are many more missing.
 
ThePerfectGarden

ThePerfectGarden

Farmer
Oh, and not forgetting Martha Grimes! She's American, but her Richard Jury series is the best of British humour I ever read.
Same goes for Ben Aaronovich (Peter Grant / Rivers of London / PC Grant series) and Colin Cotterill (Dr Siri Paiboun series, Jimm Juree series). They're both Brits, but the novels of the latter are set in Laos and Thailand (I never thought I would become so interested in Laos).
 
Colleen&Potato

Colleen&Potato

Farmer
I responded to this about a year ago, but I have to add Unwind by Neal Shusterman. All of his books are amazing, but this specific one in this specific series stands out to me.
 

Confused

Rancher
I used to think I didn't like reading, I was only ever interested in graphic novels, so I assumed I just didn't enjoy typical books. However, I've recently found I like memoirs a lot. So I've been trying to get into those.

I'm currently reading The Pale-faced Lie by David Crow. So far it's really good, and It's weird being able to connect to it sometimes.

However, if I had to recommend any recent memoirs I've read fully lately, it would be Stitches by David Small, the graphic novel. It's an amazing read.

Also, if there is anyone out there who doesn't like reading, cause they don't like long descriptions of flowery fantasy text, you should also try to look into memoirs, they might make you like reading a little more.
 
cosmic dustbunnies

cosmic dustbunnies

Farmhand
Lenora Rose said:
Diana Wynne Jones is on the shelf beside Pratchett for me, literally and figuratively. Yes. most of what she wrote was for kids but I discovered her as an adult and feel no shame. A couple of specific things haven't aged well (Fire and Hemlock's entire plot is about a child who befriends an adult then grows up to fall for him) But Archer's Goon is brilliant plotting and Hexwood is similar.
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I just bought Howl's moving castle by Diana Wynne Jones, this is the first book from her I will be reading and I am excited to see how it is different from the movie!
I also feel no shame about reading books advertised for children hehe

Also as Neil Gaiman has been mentioned a lot, I really want to read Coraline again! I mean this is also advertised as a children's book, but WOW would I have been scared if I'd read this as a child!
 
OddlyBea

OddlyBea

Greenhorn
I really liked Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, it's a great story and the translated version I read (By Robin Buss, I sadly don't speak French) was very beautifully written and faithful to the style of writing used in the time the book was penned.
 
DragonGwen

DragonGwen

Farmer
Let's see...... I read a lot so I've done books that people are surprised I've read but here goes. History: The Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth. Great book, took a while to go through but very informative. Fantasy: Probably The School For Good And Evil. Haven't finished the series or read my collection of Oz books in a while though..... I like the Percy Jacksons, a lot of different comic series, and I just got Keeper of the lost cities (my sister wanted me to read it, I read the graphic novel and it was good but only the first half of the book) As you can tell, I am weird
 
Gardening Spirit

Gardening Spirit

Rancher
Cuusardo said:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Hunger Games/Catching Fire/Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
City of Splendors (A Waterdeep Novel) by Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham
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@Cuusardo I've been wanting to read American Gods - what's it like?

I've heard a lot about Neil Gaiman but just haven't found the time yet to read their books.
 
farmer-ys

farmer-ys

Cowpoke
I have just gotten back into Robin Hobbs' Realm of the Elderlings series with the Tawny Man Trilogy - a fantasy series with great characters. The first book is the Golden Fool and while it starts off with a slower pace, the action ramps up quickly.
 
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