HRC Ravenclaw Common Room discussion

I wanted to create a place where we could add books that we truly loved as we read them, so any member can come here when they're not sure what to read next (: I'll post first, so everyone can hopefully do it in the same format so we have continuity- and perhaps make it easier to browse.

His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass)

These books take place in a world similar to ours, yet significantly different. Every person has a daemon (pronounced demon) that takes the shape of an animal. Each daemon can change shape while the person is still a child, however, once that child goes through puberty and becomes an adult, the daemon chooses one shape for the rest of the life of it's human, and no longer has the ability to shape shift. There is an example of a sea captain whose daemon has chosen the shape of a dolphin- and since the daemon can only be so far from it's human without causing excruciating pain for the both of them, this particular pair is forever confined to living a life at sea. This book series is a look at the relationship between human and daemon, and the intricacies it creates. In addition to talking polar bears, traveling among different worlds, witches, gypsies, and something referred to as "dust". An excellent, thoroughly thought provoking read, based on John Milton's "Paradise Lost". Similar to Rowling's world of Harry Potter, Pullman elicits themes in a children's book series that are mature enough to be appreciated by adults as well.

I have many five star favorites, I don't want to throw in well known books that are my favorites (The Martian, The Stand, etc.) So here is one that may be less well known, especially to non-fantasy readers!

Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
(Mistborn, Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages)

This is a series that starts in a world set ~1,000 years into the future after the typical fantasy "hero of prophecy" fails to defeat the dark lord. Think Harry Potter dies, Voldemort wins type of deal. The story centers around Vin, an orphaned female living in a tough world at the heart of the dark lords empire. She gets recruited into an underground resistance after learning she is a "mistborn" or an allomancer who can burn every type of metal. The books magic system is called Allomancy, and is a physics based system in which the allomancer swallows certain types of metal and "burns" them internally to do different things. Pewter makes them stronger for example. The magic system revolves around physics and balanced forces. For example steel, when burned, allows you to "push" against metal, if the metal is heavier than you, you fly away from it. If you are heavier than the metal it becomes a projectile. On the other end, burning Iron allows you to "pull" against metal, with the same weight based characteristics as steel just opposite! Those who are not mistborn can only burn one metal in general and gain its desired effects. For example a "Tineye" can only burn tin, which enhances their senses making them good lookouts or scouts.

Any more detail about main characters and the world would be spoilers, so I will leave it at that. It is a GREAT trilogy to read, and there is a continuation of the world and allomancers of the future in Sanderson's new trilogy which starts with Alloy of the Law.

I have several I like to recommend (may add/edit later) but one is The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. It's a beautiful, beautiful historical book, the true story of a Polish couple who ran the Warsaw Zoo at the beginning of the second world war. They used the bombed-wrecked zoo to hide Jews and others wanted by the Nazis who occupied the city. The author relied heavily on the journals and letters of Antonina, the titular zookeeper's wife. It's an amazing story, and surprisingly whimsical. Highly recommended for anyone who loves history or is just looking for a lovely true story. (Also I guess there's a movie coming out in 2017, so I'm excited for that!)

Outlander is my favorite. I could read these books a million times and still love them.
It's a history/ time travel love story. If you like historical fiction this series is historically accurate and very well written.