Top Ten Tuesday is the weekly meme hosted by the excellent blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is top ten favorite books in the fantasy genre. This week I'm taking the Top Ten Tuesday post since my genre of choice is fantasy! Choosing a single book from a series is too hard, so I'm listing series I love in this list as well.- Rebecca
This list is in no particular order and contains both YA & Adult titles:
Written in Red by Anne Bishop: I've enjoyed most of Bishop's novels but Written in Red just blew me away. The world building is unique and detailed and the characters are fascinating. The sequel Murder of Crows just released and completely held up to the standard of Bishop's first Others book. <insert gushing praise here> See what I did there? I put two books in one slot!
Kate Daniels novels by Ilona Andrews: Snark, action, magic and the perfect dash of romance have made this series one of my I've-had-a-bad-day-and-need-a-good-book reads. What really makes these novels stand out are the characters and their relationships. I love these guys and care when they are hurt, or sad, or pissed as all get out and charging a demon horde.
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher: This is one that my grad school roommate's boyfriend loaned me one day when I was looking for a good book to read before bed time. And thus the love for Harry, Bob and the rest of the gang was born. Harry's been through a lot and Butcher's writing just keeps getting better and better. Can't wait for the next book!
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey: (Also, pretty much ALL of her Valdemar novels.) A girl, a horse that is more than a horse and magic. What more could a girl ask for? Again, a very complex world liberally sprinkled with unique characters.
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce: (And all the Tortall novels.) This one was smuggled home to my 5th grade self by one of my best friends who was a year ahead of me and had access to the middle school's library. In many ways, Pierce's novel jump-started my love of reading; it was the first time I'd read a book that I LOVED. Couldn't get enough and still can't - I re-read many of her novels several times a year.
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: My father read these to me several times growing up, Bilbo's adventures and Frodo's quest are some of my earliest book-associated memories. I still have trouble with the way the movie version of Gollum sounds since he doesn't sound anything like my dad's version!
Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean Koontz: This book is out of print, but does seem to be available via Kindle. The illustrations in this book are fantastic and the plot, good vs. evil told via toys, is universal.
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs: Not a lot of people know about these books that chronicle the adventures of two Bush fairies. My dad is Australian, so he was aware of May Gibbs's books and made sure to read them to me as a child. Perhaps this is where my surety that flora fairies exist began?
ElfQuest by Wendy & Richard Pini: Sometime in middle school I stumbled across the first full-color graphic novel of the ElfQuest adventure while browsing in Half Price Books. This was my first experience with graphic novels and I became entranced. The characters were so complex and the story so riveting that even now I go back and read through the entire series. (And yes, I am lucky enough to own all the graphic novels!)
Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling: My senior high English teacher assigned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone telling the class that this book was going to be "big". Little did I know!
This list is in no particular order and contains both YA & Adult titles:
Written in Red by Anne Bishop: I've enjoyed most of Bishop's novels but Written in Red just blew me away. The world building is unique and detailed and the characters are fascinating. The sequel Murder of Crows just released and completely held up to the standard of Bishop's first Others book. <insert gushing praise here> See what I did there? I put two books in one slot!
Kate Daniels novels by Ilona Andrews: Snark, action, magic and the perfect dash of romance have made this series one of my I've-had-a-bad-day-and-need-a-good-book reads. What really makes these novels stand out are the characters and their relationships. I love these guys and care when they are hurt, or sad, or pissed as all get out and charging a demon horde.
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher: This is one that my grad school roommate's boyfriend loaned me one day when I was looking for a good book to read before bed time. And thus the love for Harry, Bob and the rest of the gang was born. Harry's been through a lot and Butcher's writing just keeps getting better and better. Can't wait for the next book!
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey: (Also, pretty much ALL of her Valdemar novels.) A girl, a horse that is more than a horse and magic. What more could a girl ask for? Again, a very complex world liberally sprinkled with unique characters.
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce: (And all the Tortall novels.) This one was smuggled home to my 5th grade self by one of my best friends who was a year ahead of me and had access to the middle school's library. In many ways, Pierce's novel jump-started my love of reading; it was the first time I'd read a book that I LOVED. Couldn't get enough and still can't - I re-read many of her novels several times a year.
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: My father read these to me several times growing up, Bilbo's adventures and Frodo's quest are some of my earliest book-associated memories. I still have trouble with the way the movie version of Gollum sounds since he doesn't sound anything like my dad's version!
Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean Koontz: This book is out of print, but does seem to be available via Kindle. The illustrations in this book are fantastic and the plot, good vs. evil told via toys, is universal.
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs: Not a lot of people know about these books that chronicle the adventures of two Bush fairies. My dad is Australian, so he was aware of May Gibbs's books and made sure to read them to me as a child. Perhaps this is where my surety that flora fairies exist began?
ElfQuest by Wendy & Richard Pini: Sometime in middle school I stumbled across the first full-color graphic novel of the ElfQuest adventure while browsing in Half Price Books. This was my first experience with graphic novels and I became entranced. The characters were so complex and the story so riveting that even now I go back and read through the entire series. (And yes, I am lucky enough to own all the graphic novels!)
Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling: My senior high English teacher assigned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone telling the class that this book was going to be "big". Little did I know!
