A Bibliophile's Favorite Books

Hi everyone! I have a confession to make, I cannot decide what my favorite books are. I am a book collector in training as it were. One of my goals in life is to have a personal library. :)

I've been trying to come up with a good list, but I have loved so many books I've read that it is really hard, so I'm going to try my best. As with my taste in music, my favorite books often shift to match what I have recently read, or just what I remember of what I've read in the past. I'm a huge fan of Fantasy/Sci-fi, having read mostly fantasy books, but I do like fiction in general. I will list a few books/series that I like a lot, but there are others I either forgot or did not want to make a list that is way too long.

Disclaimer, I have a fairly high tolerance for annoying writing and characters if I like the story. I do have my limits though.

These are in no particular order.

1. The Fault in Our Stars: This one almost doesn't need mentioning, but The Fault in Our Stars is an amazing book. I love it. Right now, this is easily one of my favorite books, if not my favorite book of the current moment. I have already said plenty about this book in my review of the book (link here: http://dmmaster42.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/the-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green-spoiler-free-review/), so I'm going to move on, but if you haven't read The Fault in Our Stars then you should. You won't regret it.






2. Harry Potter: I'm most definitely a Potterhead. Ever since third grade when I started reading them I have loved them. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch the last movie without crying, but that's another story.

3. Hamlet: Perhaps the greatest piece of literature ever written, at least in my opinion. I might be biased. I love Shakespeare's plays, well most of them. A Midsummer Night's Dream is another of my favorites.









4. The Chronicles of Narnia: I don't remember them two well, but I remember I loved several of them and they were a major influence early in my life to continue reading fantasy books, so I can't leave them off this list. It was not until much later that I realized that the series is the story of the Bible only with a lot more talking animals.

5. Dragonlance: Chronicles Trilogy, Second Generation and Dragonlance: Chronicles Volume 4: Dragons of the Summer Flame/ Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: The Dragonlance books, especially the ones written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman I have always thought were really good. The Dragonlance: Chronicles was one of the first fantasy series that I read, after the first couple of Harry Potter books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (which I read when I was way too young for it and did not like the writing style *ducks the flying produce*; I should reread them, I just have not had the chance yet), and The Chronicles of Narnia. I had just gotten into Dungeons and Dragons about a year previously in sixth grade, and the series read like a D&D campaign story. I loved the story, the world and the most of all the characters. One of the characters, Raistlin the mage, is still easily one of my favorite characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. If you haven't read the series, I highly recommend it. The series is more than worth the read just for the character Raistlin, and he's just one character of many.


5.5. Dragonlance: Legends: Speaking of Raistlin, he and his twin brother Caramon have their own trilogy, Dragonlance: Legends. Written by the same two authors as Chronicles, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, it is a wonderful story that adds to both the brothers' character and relationships with each other and others around them. This series is just as good as, if not better than, the original Chronicles, but you really have to read Chronicles first to make sense of Legends, so read them both Chronicles first and Legends, and then you can go from there. You won't regret it. If you like antiheroes who have a sarcastic and witty sense of humor, then you will love Raistlin.




6. R.A. Salvatore's books about Drizzt Do'Urden and Artemis Entreri: These books were the high school version of the Dragonlance books in middle school. I read them fervently and I still am reading Salvatore's books about Drizzt. Yes I know there is a stigma about that character, but I don't care. I love the character and the stories. They are epic, not in the sense that Lord of the Rings are epic, but they feel epic especially the description of battle sequences. Salvatore does a really good job working with the world as well.




7. I have mixed feelings about the Sword of Truth series. I loved the first book, Wizard's First Rule. I loved the second and third books too, though Terry Goodkind's writing style is annoyingly repetitive at times and he obviously has a major crush on the main female character Kahlan, but I have heard the series is good until about book nine to twelve. That many books is a lot so it's not that surprising, but I intend to at least try to finish the series at some point now that I have started it. Zedd the old wizard totally makes up for everything.






8. Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook: One of the funniest books tearing apart classic books, plays and poems I have ever read. It takes apart tons of classics from The Odyssey to Hamlet to Wuthering Heights. Definitely worth it for any classic lit fans. You'll get all the jokes.

9. Eragon: Yes I know the story is basically Star Wars with dragons, but I still love it, and the first book rekindled my love of writing so I owe a debt of gratitude to it and Christopher Paolini.

10. The Great Gatsby: When I originally read it, I hated it. I thought it was a pointless book and I couldn't wait to stop having to go through the torture of having to be taught about it in school. I was young and was convinced I had better things to do, so sue me. I recognize I was wrong about the book, it's a beautifully written book, really the prose is like poetry, and it is a truly American classic. I mean that it is a tale that describes the quintessential American life, at least in the 1920s but it still has value in today's society.





11. Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy: The story is a bit sub-par, but the really great thing about this book is the philosophy within it. It really is a history of philosophy summarizing many different philosophers' points of view and thoughts. The book covers everything from the Pre-Socratics to 19th and 20th century philosophers. For those who are interested in philosophy and want a general overview of the major philosophers, this is the book to look up.






12. Anything written by this man: Carl Sagan. Seriously. Anything. The guy is brilliant and will blow your mind into the next century. In fact, don't stop at the books he wrote. He's got a TV series called Cosmos too and other works as well. Watch, listen to, and read everything he did. You won't regret it. He's one of the best and most poetic scientists of the 20th century. His works are utterly brilliant.




13. Same with this guy: Joseph Campbell. He was a scholar in comparative religion. He writes a lot about the relations of myths, religions, and the power of spirituality as it all affects our daily life. Amazing stuff. I highly recommend all of his works. He also has several video documentary works as well. All great stuff. Check it out.







Oh goodie, as I'm writing this post, the St. Patrick's Day celebratory obnoxiously loud fireworks have begun a few hours early, and likely will continue for the rest of tonight and tomorrow. Huzzah for drunk people! :)

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!