I like to read
Novels I've read since getting back into reading for fun (top = older, bottom = most recent):
~ (I THOUGHT mostly I liked to read YA fiction, but actually I realize I probably like middle-grade fiction more. But also I am reading a whole bunch of stuff! Public libraries have got my back!) ~
- The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, 1968
- Such a charming book! Like a dream, my memories of the book's events are foggy and ephemeral, so I want to re-read it before I watch the movie. But it's such a pleasant thing to re-read, with the way the words meander so delicately and I'm guided through this wondrous and beautiful, bittersweet dream. A lovely, strange, and memorable work of fantasy fiction.
- The Golden Compass/Northern Lights (His Dark Materials #1) by Philip Pullman, 1995
- The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2) by Philip Pullman, 1997
- UNFINISHED: The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3) by Philip Pullman, 2000
- UNFINISHED: The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams, 1977
- (I started it & really digged it but the language & regional slang made it slow reading for me, having to look up so many words in an already lengthy book. but it's worth it! I just needed a break. film is really interesting too)
- Lionboy by Zizou Corder, 2003
- Got this as a gift as a child and read it later on. I need to read the next two books to better judge the series, but it plays with some interesting ideas and settings. But I'm not fulled hooked in yet, I need a little more to tell, I think.
- Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, 1997 (2004 USA) - Re-read
- I adore Funke's fantasy writing, but man, did every chapter title and illustration have to tell you what happens, right before it happens? So silly.
- Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 1997
- Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 1998
- Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 1999
- Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, 2000
- And with that, up next are the more depressing HP novels... I'm in it more for the fun times than the sadness, so, I don't think I'll be diving deeper for a while. ...Or, probably ever, actually! There are plenty of fantasy books out there that aren't written by terfs and weighed down by Rowling's ever-accumulating problematic baggage. >:(
- Dealing with Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by Patricia C. Wrede, 1990
- I love these books so much, some of my absolute favorites! I have not yet read all of them but from what I have read, they are incredibly charming, witty, and pleasant fantasy reads. I adore the characters, the world, and the naming schemes for both the characters and the chapter titles. A well-beloved series for a good reason!
- The Book of Lost Things by John Connoly, 2001
- Interesting journey and re-interpreting of classic fairytale figures with a chilling atmosphere, however most unfortunately there is prominent homophobia surrounding one of the main characters. Author has a very harmful and misguided view, honestly there are better forays into fantasy to be had.
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911
- Reading this book made me want to go outside and take more walks.
- UNFINISHED: Dune by Frank Herbert
- Timbuktu by Paul Auster (1998)
- Honest and heartfelt, and heartbreaking, look at life through the eyes of a dog owned by a homeless man. I want to say it's a unique and compelling read, but I have a hard time recommending it for a few reasons (mainly, there's some fearmongering about Chinese restaurants cooking dogs... not just an off-handed comment, either, this is something that drives the plot of one section of the book... not great :/).
- The Yellow Dog by George Simenon (1939)
- Read this one for an English class, has the usual ups and downs of noir detective fiction (evocative language, descriptive weather and setting, hardboiled lead detective with ulterior romantic motives, female characters tend to be objectified and weak/helpless, etc.).
- Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman - Re-read
- Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- Warriors: Fire and Ice by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- Warriors: Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- Warriors: Rising Storm by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- Warriors: A Dangerous Path by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- Warriors: The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter - Re-read
- UNFINISHED: Volcanoes, Palm Trees, and Privilege: Essays on Hawai'i by Liz Prato
- Varjak Paw by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean
- I absolutely LOVED this book. Very unique. I love the language, the "sound" of the writer's voice, and the sharp, expressive, evocative illustrations. I feel like this book is going to keep living in my head forever. Definitely going into my permanent collection. "Jalal the Paw. That am I." He winked. "Believe none of the tales." - SF Said (*quote from Varjak Paw from my memory)
- Warriors Super Edition: Firestar's Quest by Erin Hunter (2007)
- UNFINISHED: Warriors Super Edition: Skyclan's Destiny by Erin Hunter
- This is it. This was the last straw. The end of my Warriors reading run. I just couldn't finish this one. Trying to read Firestar's Quest and Skyclan's Destiny in between the 1st and 2nd series was a mistake. What a slog! I should've just gone straight to book 1 of the 2nd series, but I followed some advice on the net and... whew, big mistake. (I was re-reading the 1st and hopefully 2nd series, but it was my first time reading the super editions. They were written later in real time than the first two series and it shows. Ough.)
- The Fur Person by May Sarton
- UNFINISHED: Stardust by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Veiss
- Um... there is a Very spicy scene and wow, uh... At some point I may have the guts to just skip over it and keep reading, but for now, I'm just gonna... put this one on hold.
- Gosick: Vol. 1 by Kazuki Sakuraba, illustrated by Hinata Takeda
- Across the Dark Water (Riders of the Realm #1) by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
- UNFINISHED: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford - Re-read
- I must confess... I tried re-reading this novel I remembering loving dearly as a child, but now? Maybe now's just not the right time, I couldn't get through it. I want to say the language was lovely and evocative, but also, it really bored me. Especially with how the characters are referred to as "the old dog" or "the young dog" all the time instead of by their names, which are rarely mentioned. I think I'll try again in the future but unfortunately I just didn't find it very engaging.
- Through the Untamed Sky (Riders of the Realm #2) by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
- Child of the Wolves by Elizabeth Hall (1996)
- Lassie: Trouble at Panter's Lake by Steve Frazee
- Beneath the Weeping Clouds (Riders of the Realm #3) by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
- Toad Heaven by Morris Gleitzman - Re-read
- Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations #1) by B. B. Alston
- This is the best book I've read this year!! I really loved it, though the ending twist really got me. Poor Amari has to deal with some really tough stuff, but thankfully the book still manages to be a lot of fun despite Amari's struggles (and well-earned triumphs!). A delightful read, I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy a Men in Black kind of setting.
- The Thirteenth Cat by Mary Downing Hahn
- Searching for Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #2) by Patricia C. Wrede
- So, I read about 3/4 of this book a few years ago (probably in between Timbuktu and The Yellow Dog), but now in 2022 I finally read it properly from start-to-finish. It was pretty enjoyable, for the most part. A few awkward things, but really, it's just the next chapter in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I liked the first book, and this second volume is largely more of the same easygoing, lighthearted, and delightful fantasy.
- Wyrd Sisters (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
- The 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith
- Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations #2) by B. B. Alston
- The sequel to Amari's first adventure was really good, too! I was not prepared for Amari to have to deal with even MORE difficulties--like, DANG, this girl has it hard--but once again, it was still an incredibly fun and exciting read. I love middle grade fiction for this reason: it's rarely a huge downer and largely death-averse. That said, I still couldn't believe the amount of problems stacking up on Amari's plate, and how many awful people put her in no-win situations. But the people who support her are such great characters that help her get through it, and Amari herself is a wonderful protagonist to root for. Somehow, even though the book ends on a dire note, I think I felt even better after reading it than the first book's ending. Somehow, even though she has a LOT of problems to fix, it feels like Amari's gained more than she lost. I'm very excited for the next book!
- Bunnicula: A Tale of Rabbit Mystery by Deborah and James Howe
- This book was... kind of awful! Bunnicula as a character is delightful, I think it's a really fun and charming idea to have a mysterious dracula rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables. But poor Bunnicula has such terrible company! The amount of conflict between the other pets in the household, as well as the humans (so much family bickering...) makes for an unpleasant read. Not to mention this book encourages the reader to feed their dog chocolate (deadly! I guess the author didn't know?) and has some other distressing views... Ugh, I don't really wanna write more about it right now, just know that Bunnicula really wasn't what I was expecting. I hope the subsequent books aren't as bad, but I'm in no hurry to find out.
- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
- UNFINISHED: The Heart of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune
- Got this book from thrifting, was NOT expecting it to be as raw as something like Warriors (cat book series) or Ginga Densetsu Weed (dog anime & manga series). Read the first chapter (more like a short story, seems like it may not connected to the rest of the book??) and decided to take a break.
- Gosick: Vol. 2 by Kazuki Sakuraba, illustrated by Hinata Takeda
- The Familiars (#1) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
- The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson
- Secrets of the Crown (The Familiars #2) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
- Circle of Heroes (The Familiars #3) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
- Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster by Ursula Vernon
- Palace of Dreams (The Familiars #4) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
- Dragon Mountain by Katie and Kevin Tsang
- Equal Rites (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
- The Starlight Barking by Dodie Smith
- Ah, hmm... the dog Rapture? Quite a ride, this book was.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
- Eric (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
- All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells
- UNFINISHED: Time Cat
- Warriors: Midnight (The New Prophecy #1) by Erin Hunter - reread
- Warriors: Moonrise (The New Prophecy #2) by Erin Hunter - reread
- Warriors: Dawn (The New Prophecy #3) by Erin Hunter - reread(?)
- Warriors: Starlight (The New Prophecy #4) by Erin Hunter - reread(?)
- Warriors: Twilight (The New Prophecy #5) by Erin Hunter
- Warriors: Sunset (The New Prophecy #6) by Erin Hunter
- So happy I finally finished this series! I only read it half-way as a kid and then I stopped reading Warrior cats books for several years. Now, I'm finally onto new material, wowee!
- Warriors: The Sight (The Power of Three #1) by Erin Hunter
- Warriors: Dark River (The Power of Three #2) by Erin Hunter
- Warriors: Outcast (The Power of Three #3) by Erin Hunter
- Warriors: Eclipse (The Power of Three #4) by Erin Hunter
- Yellowfang's Secret (Warriors Super Edition) by Erin Hunter
This isn't a list of books I particularly liked or disliked, just stuff I've read (or read most of) fairly recently. Now you know! Books I've not finished, but read a good chunk of, are listed above; books I merely read a tiny portion of remain below. Discovering new books pre-pandemic, I liked to sit on the floor at the library and gaze up at the stacks, and hoping to run into something new that speaks to me in a way I might listen. Nowadays I spend a lot of time browsing the library web portal from home *sniffle*.
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Books I want to read next
(not just YA fiction)
- The Outlaw Varjak Paw by S.F. Said, illustrated by Dave McKean
- Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, 1934
- Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight, 1940
- Mapmaker by Lisa Moore Ramée
- Toad Away by Morris Gleitzman
- One Thousand and One Nights
- Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
- Don Quixote
- mistmantle chronicles
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- The Borrowers
- Watership Down
- Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
- The Little Prince
- Redwall
- night on the galactic railroad
- Dewey Library Cat
- A Streetcat Named Bob
- The Color of Magic of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
- Read just a little of it.
- Witches Abroad (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
- The Mistmantle Chronicles: Urchin of the Riding Stars by M.I. McAllister
- Carbonel: King of the Cats by Barbara Sleigh
books recommended to me:
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The Glass Sentence (The Mapmakers Trilogy #1) by S.E. Grove
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Middlegrade(?)
I recently found a hoard of children's fiction books in my attic and rediscovered some old treasures. I would like to re-read some of these!
- The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
- Toad Rage and Toad Heaven by Morris Gleitzman
- Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
- Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
- Flat Stanley - okay actually I never read this one, I just remember seeing it at school a lot
- Frindle - ^^same
- Goosebumps
- Inkheart (I never did finish the trilogy...)
also children's picture books! nice examples of illustration and/or writing for younger children
- Beatrix Potter - all works but especially The Pie and the Patty-Pan
- Sneakers the Seaside Cat - the 2005 printing has incredibly charming illustrations, however it is abridged from the 1955 text! I must check it out
- Don't Eat the Teacher! - love the watercolors and ink, the adorable characters really pop
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fun.
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pulp fiction, genre fiction, woo-hoo
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