The Bookshelf

“Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.
If you want your children to be more intelligent,
read them more fairy tales."
– Albert Einstein

"Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood
than in the truth that is taught by life."
– Friedrich Schiller

"Everything you can imagine is real." – Pablo Picasso

(This list includes only those books that I have read and liked; the few rejects were/are removed)
(This - randomly ordered - list is continually updated, the pace of these updates depending on what book I am currently reading and, of course, how long it is)


 The bolded books are those I recommend for beginning readers of Fantasy. (A recommendation based heavily on the fact that, for the most part, they were how I got started.)


  • The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Book of Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
  • The Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix
  • The Noble Warriors by William Nicholson
  • The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
  • The Sea of Trolls trilogy by Nancy Farmer
  • The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott
  • The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Deep Secret and its sequel-companion[1] The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud
  • Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
  • The Starcatcher Trilogy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
  • The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan
  • The His Dark Materials trilogy by Sir Philip Pullman
  • The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
  • The Belgariad series by David Eddings
  • The Children of the Lamp series by P.B. Kerr
  • The Twelve Houses series and its sequel-companion Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn
  • The Chrestomanci Novels by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon
  • The Chanters of Tremaris trilogy and its sequel-companion The Taste of Lightning by Kate Constable
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine Lengle
  • A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Dark Lord of Derkholm and its sequel The Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Annals of Drakis by Tracy Hickman
  • The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
  • The Elenium series by David Eddings
  • Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain
  • The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Graceling Realm Series by Kristin Cashore
  • The Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Echorium Sequence by Katherine Roberts
  • Stardust by Neil Gaiman
  • The Annals of the Western Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
  • Black Maria by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
  • The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Original Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
  • The Whispering Knights by Penelope Lively
  • The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy by Penelope Lively
  • Vows and Honor Trilogy and its companion By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey
  • The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Spiderwick Chronicles and its companion series Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black
  • The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The De Danann Tales by Michael Scott
  • The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Seraphina series and its companion Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
  • The Golden Key by George Macdonald
  • Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
  • Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Heralds of Valdemar trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
  • East and its sequel West by Edith Pattou
  • The Riddle-Master trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Healer and Seer series by Victoria Hanley
  • The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
  • The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Hero and the Crown and its companion The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
  • The Game by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Mage Winds Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
  • Tales of the Bard series (also called The Culai Heritage) by Michael Scott
  • The Thessaly Trilogy by Jo Walton
  • The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively
  • In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Dragonworld by Byron Preiss and Michael Reaves
  • The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
  • The Crown and Court Duet by Sherwood Smith
  • The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
  • The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell
  • The Colors of Madeleine trilogy by Jaclyn Moriarty
  • Kingfisher by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen
  • The Howl Series by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • The Cygnet Duology by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill
  • The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
  • The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell
  • Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Winter Rose and its companion Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Something Rich and Strange by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman
  • The Revenge of Samuel Stokes by Penelope Lively
  • Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell
  • Taash and the Jesters by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
  • Moon-Flash and its sequel The Moon and the Face by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
  • King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
  • The Sacred Hunt Duology by Michelle West
  • Juniper Wiles by Charles de Lint
  • House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
  • The Dreaming Place by Charles de Lint
  • These Witches Don't Burn series by Isabel Sterling
  • Prince of the Blood by Raymond E. Feist
  • The Warminster Series by J.V. Hilliard
  • The Novels of Tiger and Del by Jennifer Roberson
  • The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta
  • The Nine Realms series by Sarah Kozloff
  • The Kingdoms and Empires Series by Jaclyn Moriarty
  • The Winterhouse trilogy by Ben Guterson
  • The Swans' War trilogy by Sean Russell
  • The Chronicles of the Raven by David Doersch
  • The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh
  • The Novels of the Nine Kingdoms by Lynn Kurland
  • The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
  • Sorcery of Thorns and its sequel-novella Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson
  • Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon
  • All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue





[1] A sequel begins right where another book leaves off. A companion book takes place in the same world but may be about new characters or a different time in that world. A sequel-companion combines the two, taking place after another but with a mostly (or all) new cast characters yet in a story that requires reading the previous book to understand.

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