Your Top Ten Books

[Jetthebinturong]

To be honest, I'm quite surprised that none of us have thought of doing this before, but the title is self explanatory. Feel free to do a longer list if you want (I know I will at some point in the future). For the sake of variety (as it's only top ten) I've decided to limit myself to one entry per series.

10. The Sorceress by Michael Scott.
What can I say about The Sorceress? For all not in the know, The Sorceress is the third book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. The Sorceress is probably my favourite installment in the series because of what it does. It introduces my favourite character in the series, Areop-Enap and pairs it up with Perenelle Flamel, the uber powerful seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, a great sorceress and an incredibly intelligent woman. It also takes the main characters to my good old home country, England. It increases the awesomeness of Sophie and Josh, and Nicholas and it puts the Alchemyst out of his comfort zone and places him among his enemies, Palamedes and Shakespeare. You really get to see Nicholas through Palamedes' eyes and it furthers the question: is Nicholas Flamel trustworthy? As well as this it introduces Cernunnos and Gilgamesh, who are both incredibly awesome characters for incredibly different reasons. And I've got to say, the battle at Palamedes' castle is one of the most awesome things I've read. 

9. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.
This book would be higher on my list were it not for one simple thing: when I thought about this list, I didn't even consider this series, which is something that brings into question how much I actually love this series. Inheritance is the fourth and final book in the Inheritance Cycle and boy is it one epic conclusion. And, despite what many people say, it is an incredibly fitting conclusion. From the way they defeat Galbatorix to the sadness of Murtagh's, Eragon's and Arya's conclusions. If I were being purely emotional, I'd call it perfect, however there are some problems I have with it. The hooded figures on Vroengard for example, the fact that we still know absolutely nothing about Angela, the deus ex machina by random character who got about five lines in the entire series. And of course, my most minor gripe: WHY WASN'T SHRUIKAN ON THE COVER?

8. The Indigo King by James A. Owen.
Ah, The Indigo King, what sweet, sweet nostalgia. The Indigo King is the third book in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica which follows the adventures of J. R. R. Tolkien (John), C. S. Lewis (Jack), and their friend and lesser-known author, Charles Williams. The Indigo King is my favourite book in the series because of the new ground it covers for the series what with the parallel universes and the time travel. I also love the character study of Myrddyn and Madoc and how their choices and the actions of Tolkien and Lewis influenced their lives. How one became so evil (but was known as the good one) and then regained his humanity but still paid for his crimes, and how one was unjustly attacked and became so embittered that he's now known as one of the greatest evil characters ever despite him starting out as such a sweet kid. The idea that being the Arthur is a title is fascinating, and Thorn was a very relatable Arthur. And of course you have to love Uncas and Fred. Rose wasn't so likable in this, due to her lack of presence, but the set up for her character in later books is done very well.

7. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.
The Copper Gauntlet is such a brilliant continuation to The Iron Trial. I spent a lot of time wondering if Black and Clare would ever best themselves in later books. I thought maybe The Enemy of Death could beat it, as Clare is the master when it comes to concluding series, but The Copper Gauntlet just did it immediately. The Iron Trial has perhaps the most awesome plot twist in all of fiction and you have to wonder what the second book can do to come close to its greatness, but The Copper Gauntlet definitely delivers. From the Alkahest, to the road trip across America being chased by the Magisterium, to Call's sass, to the epic conclusion. It's just perfect, and now I have to wonder how The Bronze Key, The Golden Boy and The Enemy of Death will compare. However they turn out, I've no doubt they'll be awesome. I can't say anything else without spoilers I'm afraid, but if you have no problems with magic, pick up The Iron Trial and once you've read it and loved it, read The Copper Gauntlet too.

6. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.
A very recent one for me, The Dream Thieves is the second book in The Raven Cycle series which started with The Raven Boys. The Raven Cycle is true urban fantasy, what with its ley lines, and psychics and such. The Dream Thieves is focused on Ronan, my favourite character in the series, and thus already has points from me. I loved how it developed the relationship between the Lynch brothers, but also the Raven Boys. We also got to see more of Noah, who was sort of sidelined in the first book. The character development of Adam and Ronan is superb, as is the Gray Man. I loved that we got to see more of the time shenanigans and Kavinsky was a fantastic villain. And Stiefvater is amazing at telling you things without using the exact words. I also loved that Ronan is able to swallow his pride and go to Calla for help, despite his dislike of psychics. Blue's whole "they didn't sacrifice a goat to get these abilities, they were born with them" thing was hilarious, and also very cool and true (though, allow me to be clear, I don't actually believe in psychics, I merely mean in the context of the book).

5. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare.
When you get down to it, all of the books following this are absolutely perfect, and their ranking is effected by relatively minor details. City of Heavenly Fire is the perfect conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series. There's really not much I can say without spoilers, but the insight into how Sebastian's mind works is fantastic, as are the developments of the relationships between the characters (especially Simon/Izzy and Magnus/Alec). The Battle scenes are all great, as are the scenes involving the faeries and I absolutely cannot wait for the next Shadowhunters book, The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight as that delves much more into the faerie world and how they work which I am very, very interested in.

4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.
This may come as a surprise to any PJO fans out there, but though I prefer Heroes of Olympus as a series, I don't think there's a single book in it that rivals The Last Olympian in terms of its greatness. The battle of Manhattan is absolutely fantastic, the character development for Percy, Annabeth, Nico and some of the gods is great and it has an incredibly fitting ending. That's really all I can say without spoilers I'm afraid, so I'm going to have to move on.

3. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare.
When it comes to Shadowhunters I never really know whether or not I prefer The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, but I have recently come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. With that in mind, Clockwork Princess is an absolutely epic conclusion to Tessa's story. I love that she has to fend for herself rather than depend on the Shadowhunters to protect her and I love that she turns the villain's own device into the object of his destruction. I love the development of Will and Jem's relationship, what with Will plunging his hands into the fire to save Jem's Yin fen and the heartbreaking scene that results in Will getting into a fight with a werewolf pack. And of course we can't forget Bridget, with her flaming red hair, singing her haunting dirges as she, a mortal woman, battles against demonic robots wielding a blade as well as any Shadowhunter could. WHO IS BRIDGET CASSIE? HOW IS SHE SO POWERFUL?

2. Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy on a whole is fantastic, and Ptolemy's Gate is the pinnacle of that. I absolutely adore the fact that this is a YA series that doesn't care one bit about romance, with purely platonic relationships across the board. Bartimaeus brings the sass he always does despite how dark this series really is. I really cannot say anything else without spoilers.

1. Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy.
Are you really surprised? I have praised this book to high Heaven and I will continue to do so. Skulduggery Pleasant is, without a doubt, my favourite series of all time, and nothing, and I mean nothing even comes close to it. I love this book the most out of all of them though. Melancholia makes a fantastic villain despite her annoying character in Mortal Coil, I love the necromancers, I love how Craven is so corrupt, I love the massive plot twists, I love the development of Fletch, Val and Caelan's relationship, I love how Fletcher really lays in to Val about how horrible she's become, I love the confrontation between Fletch and Caelan at the very end, I love Kenny Dunne, I love Val's parents, and of course I absolutely adore the fight between Darquesse and Vile. There is not a single scene in any fictional medium that I think even comes close to being as awesome as that. Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer is without a doubt the greatest book I have ever read.

[Aimless Gallivanter]

I'm always down to talk about books!. Although to be honest I probably will have a lot less to say about them than Jetthebinturong did but oh well. In no particular order here are some of my favorites:

1) "The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate DeCamillo
I've read this book close to twenty times. I love the characters, and Kate DiCamillo is an excellent story teller. The book has wonderful art as well. Little Despereaux is a true hero. I absolutely hate the movie.  I mean what movie there's no movie by that name hahaha...

2) "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
I love the world of Inkheart so much. The characters and everything about it I just. It's so good. (Except the third book was kind of just meh but I'm not talking about that I'm talking about the first one.) Inkheart is another one with an unfortunate movie adaption, although not nearly disastrous as Despereaux's.

3) "The Hero of Ages" by Brandon Sanderson
This is the final book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. To be honest most of my favorite books are by Brand Sand, but I'm trying to limit my list to one book per author. The Sand-man is a brilliant author, he's written books in many genres, mostly epic fanatasy, a few children's books, and from what I've read they're all fantastic. "The Hero of Ages" brings the Mistborn trilogy to a sudden and completely unexpected conclusion. Like dang. No one was expecting that, and yet it fit so ridiculously well. That's one of the reason's Brandon Sanderson is so good. Another: He has mastered the "When everything seems to be going perfectly, throw in the worst possible thing that could happen" thing. Oh man I love Brand Sand's books. I highly recommend any one of them. *ahem* moving on...

4) "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfield
The whole trilogy is great to be honest. This series introduced me to the steampunk world. "Leviathan" is set in an alternate World War 1, where Europe is seperated by machine and chimaera. It follows an undercover Austrian prince and a young girl who enlists as a boy on a fighting derigible.

5) "The Graveyard Book", by Neil Gaiman
Good read. Neil Gaiman is popular for a good reason. "The Graveyard Book" is about a boy whos family is murdered by a mysterious man. He is saved by ghosts, and raised by them in a graveyard.

6) "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Honestly I loved this entire series. I don't remember exactly why "Sea of Monsters" was my favorite. I just sat down one day and decided, 'ya know what, this one is good" and it just stuck with me.

7)"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
This little beauty of a book is very unique. And by "little beauty" I mean it is 526 pages of words and pictures. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is, after all, a 'Novel in Words and Pictures'. It is made up of 284 pages of pictures, each hand drawn by Selznick. The book has a rather successful movie adaption by the name of Hugo. I love this book; it's so beautiful.

8 ) "The Bad Place" by Dean Koontz
I cant pick one of his books. I just can't. Theres too many. "The Bad Place" was the last one of his that I finished, so I just threw that up there. Koonts wrote the Odd Thomas series, as well as many dark thriller books, many of which are very disturbing. His villains are just such horrible, vile creatures.

9) "The Night Circus" by Eren Morganstern
I just finished it this week. "The Night Circus" is a difficult to explain book. It's story is told through many back-and-forth timeskips, and if you arent paying attention to the dates at the beginning of each chapter, it can be very confusing. It's a tale of magic in the modern world, and Morganstern is an excellent story teller. Its main feature is the Night Circus, a magical place that shows up in cities suddenly and without warning, and it is open only at night. The players: two students, trained by masters, who are pitted against each other in a challenge that no one seems to know the rules nor bounds of. It's a really good read go read it just go.

10) "The Raven Boys" by Maggie Stiefvater
This is the first in the Raven Boy series; Jetthebinturong has already spoken at length about the second book. I haven't finished the second book but I really like the series and Stiefvater's style so I'm putting it down in my list.

(i dont know how to italicize things yet I'm sorry!)

[Jetthebinturong]

I'm always down to talk about books!. Although to be honest I probably will have a lot less to say about them than Jetthebinturong did but oh well. In no particular order here are some of my favorites:

2) "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
I love the world of Inkheart so much. The characters and everything about it I just. It's so good. (Except the third book was kind of just meh but I'm not talking about that I'm talking about the first one.) Inkheart is another one with an unfortunate movie adaption, although not nearly disastrous as Despereaux's.

I really need to reread Inkheart, but great choice.

3) "The Hero of Ages" by Brandon Sanderson
This is the final book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. To be honest most of my favorite books are by Brand Sand, but I'm trying to limit my list to one book per author. The Sand-man is a brilliant author, he's written books in many genres, mostly epic fanatasy, a few children's books, and from what I've read they're all fantastic. "The Hero of Ages" brings the Mistborn trilogy to a sudden and completely unexpected conclusion. Like dang. No one was expecting that, and yet it fit so ridiculously well. That's one of the reason's Brandon Sanderson is so good. Another: He has mastered the "When everything seems to be going perfectly, throw in the worst possible thing that could happen" thing. Oh man I love Brand Sand's books. I highly recommend any one of them. *ahem* moving on...

All of my favourite booktubers love Brandon Sanderson. I need to hop on this bandwagon.

5) "The Graveyard Book", by Neil Gaiman
Good read. Neil Gaiman is popular for a good reason. "The Graveyard Book" is about a boy whos family is murdered by a mysterious man. He is saved by ghosts, and raised by them in a graveyard.

I still need to read a Neil Gaiman book.

9) "The Night Circus" by Eren Morganstern
I just finished it this week. "The Night Circus" is a difficult to explain book. It's story is told through many back-and-forth timeskips, and if you arent paying attention to the dates at the beginning of each chapter, it can be very confusing. It's a tale of magic in the modern world, and Morganstern is an excellent story teller. Its main feature is the Night Circus, a magical place that shows up in cities suddenly and without warning, and it is open only at night. The players: two students, trained by masters, who are pitted against each other in a challenge that no one seems to know the rules nor bounds of. It's a really good read go read it just go.

Oh I loved The Night Circus, another excellent choice.

(i dont know how to italicize things yet I'm sorry!)

To italicize:

Code Select Expand

Use [i]put your italicized text here[/i].

I'll be sure to check out the rest of your choices.

[Hickory]

@Jet: I had no idea you'd read Night Circus. That's an awesome book.

[Aimless Gallivanter]

@jet thanks for showing me how to italicize! im still learning the ropes.
im glad you liked my choices, and i agree everyone needs to hop on the "Brand-wagon" *badum tsssh*