I grew up reading a lot so I have always been a reader. I love the fantasy genre and the rare sci-fi. They are always packaged together though but I am definitely more on the swords and magic end of the spectrum. A surprising amount of books that I like have all been adapted to either television or movies.
Stand Alone:
- Stardust – One of my favorite Neil Gaiman books. This got adapted to a movie with Robert DeNiro, Claire Dane and that guy who winds up playing Dare Devil on Netflix
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell – it’s a huge book and really a book one of a series since it ends on a cliffhanger but it’s been 10 years and the author hasn’t started on the second book yet.
- A lot of Jane Austen but specifically Pride & Prejudice
Series:
- Chronicles of Narnia – My favorite childhood books, the best of the lot is Horse and his Boy, I feel. I actually prefer this series over LOTR though I know C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were friends and contemporaries.
- Belgariad – One of the first adult fantasy series I read as a young teen. I loved it so much, my sister and I tracked down the next book the series that was available for borrowing at the closest public library (which required our dad to give us a lift). Only later on did I realize that there was a deep anti-Asian sentiment baked into the plot, which was very unsettling. Looking back, this series basically said it is okay and easy and accepted to stereotype and act in racist ways as it’s repeated through out the series that certain races are expected to conform in this way, etc. Hardly anyone plays against type (Arends are hot heads, Murgos are evil, etc). I still have fond memories of this book despite that but I’m not sure if younger, more susceptible minds should be exposed to this.
- Harry Potter – Another favorite from youth. Definitely prefer the book series over the movies…
- His Dark Materials – Very good series, a currently running series by HBO. The movie version was incomplete and panned but the storyline is really not geared towards movies.
- Chrestomanci Series from Diana Wynne Jones – really love her books in general
Honorable Mentions:
- LOTR – One of the most well loved fantasy series. Loved the movies too, I feel the movies were slightly better in this case
- Anything by Terry Pratchet like the Discworld series or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
- The Magicians – Also adapted into TV series. Kind of like a very adult, dark Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia though I like the series better by a far margin.
These are the opinions as written by the author of this blog, not facts and subject to debate! You have every right to your own opinion. 🙂
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