EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

If you could only recommend one fantasy book for me, which would you choose? (Part of a series is okay, just make sure to tell me the title of the first book in the series so I can start at the beginning.)

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Read this in January and rated 5 stars. Heartwarming fantasy that is full of wonderful magical characters and the caseworker who learns to love them and in the process love himself. Delightful narration by Daniel Henning. I think the sequel is being published later this year. Highly recommend!

I'm not a fantasy fan but I enjoyed Fourth Wing. I liked characters and the suspence in some parts of the story, and i realised I'm a dragon fan;-). I'm currently on a waiting list in my library for a sequel.

The Hobbit. It's a classic for a reason. I read it several times as a teen, and a couple of times as an adult, getting more out of it each time. (But I still can't get into Lord of the Rings.)

I don't read much fantasy and I read it a long time ago, but my favorite definitely has to be The Neverending Story,it's a great classic fantasy book that many hold close to their heart for good reasons.

Posted by JoJo_theDoDo in a duplicate thread:

I really liked Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Read this in January and rated 5 stars. Heartwarming fantasy that is full of wonderful magical characters and the casew..."

Oh man, I've been planning to read that for months now! You've reminded me that I really should get to it. I'm glad to hear you liked it so much - that makes me even more excited to try it! I very much enjoyed T. J. Klune's In the Lives of Puppets, so I'm looking forward to trying another of his books. Thank you!

Zeljka wrote: "I'm not a fantasy fan but I enjoyed Fourth Wing. I liked characters and the suspence in some parts of the story, and i realised I'm a dragon fan;-). I'm currently on a waiting list ..."

Ooh, I just added that to my Want to Read list recently! I'm happy to hear a good report about it 😄

Cheryl wrote: "The Hobbit. It's a classic for a reason. I read it several times as a teen, and a couple of times as an adult, getting more out of it each time. (But I still can't get into Lord of the..."

You actually chose that for me in the Pick-It-For-Me last year! That was the first time I read it. I was glad you recommended it. You were right, it is very good!

Pony wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Read this in January and rated 5 stars. Heartwarming fantasy that is full of wonderful magica..."

Pony; Happy Reading!

Abe wrote: "I don't read much fantasy and I read it a long time ago, but my favorite definitely has to be The Neverending Story,it's a great classic fantasy book that many hold close to their hear..."

My family used to watch the movie adaption a lot when I was little! For some reason, I never thought about trying the book 🤔 Thanks for the suggestion!

Meishuu wrote: "Howl’s moving castle it can be read as a stand alone (do not bother with the movie!)"

You're actually the second person recently to suggest that to me! I guess I'd better try it 😆

spoko wrote: "Posted by JoJo_theDoDo in a duplicate thread:

I really liked Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
"

Ooh, that sounds unique 😲 Thanks, JoJo!

spoko wrote: "Posted by JoJo_theDoDo in a duplicate thread

Oh, by the way, when I posted this thread I only hit post once, but my Goodreads app crashed immediately afterward, so I guess for some reason it posted the thread twice. It looks like it's been taken care of and deleted now, though? Thank you for telling me what JoJo said.

Pony wrote: “spoko wrote: “Posted by JoJo_theDoDo in a duplicate thread

Oh, by the way, when I posted this thread I only hit post once, but my Goodreads app crashed immediately afterward, so I guess for some r...”

That kind of thing happens sometimes. I just cleaned it up to avoid confusion generally.

Spoko - Thank you, I appreciate it. I didn't need that many notifications at once, lol.

I'll give you two that weren't mentioned above (although I also love The Hobbit)

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (warning: this series is not currently finished and, at the author's current pace, might NEVER be finished - but the first three books are amazing anyway)

RJ - Thanks! I know A Game of Thrones is really popular. I didn't realize it wasn't complete yet.

Pony - how about trying The Way of Kings? I love it! (and the series in general)

Lina wrote: "Pony - how about trying The Way of Kings? I love it! (and the series in general)"

I actually just became aware of Brandon Sanderson as an author a few months back, I think because of this group. I haven't tried reading any of his books yet though, partially because I realized his works were all connected in some way and I wasn't quite sure where to start 😅 Is The Way of Kings a good starting place then for his works as a whole?

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks turned me into an avid reader at the age of 11. But my favorite single fantasy book is The Worm Ouroboros. It was one of the books that inspired Tolkien to write down his fantasies.

My favorite series is the 10-book cycle of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.

Squire - Thanks for the recommendations! I love hearing about authors that inspired authors I like :)

If you enjoy vampire novels, I highly recommend Dead Until Dark - book 1 of the True Blood series.
The HBO show is based on the books, but the books are so much better... lots of humor along with the typical vampire/human hijinks!

Kristen - I haven't read many vampire novels, but the ones I have read I've enjoyed. Thank you for the recommendation!

The Cradle Series by Will Wight. For me it captures the best part of fantasy- the hero’s journey! If you love seeing your characters grow from nothing into badasses, found families, epic world building, awesome fights, then you will find something to love here.

Don’t be thrown off by how many books there in the series, they are pretty quick reads. You could finish the first 3-4 books in the time it would take you to read “ The Way of Kings” for example.

The caveats are that Book 1 is genuinely not that good, book 2 is decent, while book 3 really finds its stride.

Warning though, these books are like crack. You can go back and see my goodreads history from 2023, I was obsessed with these books. I went to Disney World on my birthday and even brought my kindle with me to read while I was in line.
These books slap, and the audiobooks are top tier. Give Cradle a shot!

Daniel - I love a long series when it's really engaging, especially if they're quick reads too. They sound exciting and I like your enthusiasm about them :D Thank you for the recommendation!

I’m glad someone recommended Howl’s Moving Castle, it’s one of my favorites. I’d also recommend Half A Soul by Olivia Atwood.

Megan - Ooh, interesting premise. Thanks for the recommendation.

It really does depend what you want from a fantasy novel but my favourites of right now are by Melissa Caruso, starting with The Tethered Mage.

Irene - Ooh, that's a cool title. Thank you!

I've read a lot of fantasy over the years and I always find myself comparing anything I read to the Kushiel's Legacy series from Jacqueline Carey.
Carey created such a vivid world with amazing characters, I've found it hard to find another series with the same level of originality and depth.

Thank you, Kristen! I've not heard of that one before.

That's such a useful discussion I've found here! I am exploring fantasy books now and have added many to my reading list from these suggestions. Thank you so much to everyone!

I really enjoyed several of Leigh Bardugo books so far :)

My favourite stand alone is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and when it comes to a series it's the quintology the Otori Saga by Lian Hearn that starts with Across the Nightingale Floor.

Can I use this thread to ask you some help with choosing fantasy books for my 12yo son? He's a big Harry Potter
and Rick Riordan fan and has read all Riordan's books available in our library. I wouldn't want him to read something that would be too scary or violent, like some really scary dark magic... Your help is appreaciated🤗

Zeljka wrote: "Can I use this thread to ask you some help with choosing fantasy books for my 12yo son? He's a big Harry Potter
and Rick Riordan fan and has read all Riordan's books available in our library. I wo..."

Zeljika; Our 2 sons are grown now but they loved these series:
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Also "A Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket.

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Also "A Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket."

Thank you🤗 he read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and liked it a lot, We will try the rest of your recommendations!

Zeljka wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Also "A Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket."

Thank you🤗 he read [book:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|13208..."

You're Welcome!