Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Both of those are suberbly excellent, although I was a little let down by the end of House of Leaves. Y'know, there was that big build up to the monster...and then...

That would be excellent.

I should brush up on my French and read the original. Heh, like that'll ever happen. I also want to read Albert Camus's The Stranger in French. Alas, I've probably forgotten too much to read anything.

1. The Harry Potter series
2. The Amulet of Samarkand (of the Bartimaeus Trilogy; I've read the second but it's not as good.) Those of you who haven't read this book yet, I HIGHLY recommend it.
3. The Artemis Fowl series
4. His Dark Materials series
5. Spellfall

I forgot the Secret Life of Bees and all of the Silverwing series.

I can't put these in order It's difficult picking only five books.


La Morte D'Arthur
Harry Potter Series
Eragon
The Book of Night with Moon
Chronicles of Chrestomanci

House of Leaves just sort of sucked me in. I actually liked the ending. I definitely wasn't expecting it. {I think I was so involved with it that I was almost afraid of random rooms sprouting strange doors and growing in size over night.}

I can't put anything in order, but I will name some books.

Watership Down by Richard Adams
'A 700+ page book about rabbits?!' you ask, but you'd be surprised at how much this book speaks about human society. Why is it that it's always the books about animals that do that so well?

Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice
I first saw the movie when I was about 10 years old, and was always a fan of it. When I finally read the book, I was surprised at how well the movie portrayed it. But that's probably because Anne was so involved in the making of it.

The Stand by Stephen King
I've yet to see the movie, but this is a very daunting book. When placed on my bookshelf, it's the same size as my Oxford Edition Complete Works Of Shakespeare.

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland/Alice Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carol
Stunning. How can one not be a fan of Alice?

As far as the Harry Potter series is concerned, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is my favourite thus far, if only for the final scene in the graveyard.

As far as series/trilogies and the like our concerned, I'm a fan of all the standard ones (Ender, Dark Materials, Harry Potter, etc.) but I'd like to mention one that doesn't seem to be as well known. The Fearless series by Francine Pascal. Gaia (the girl, not the forum) is just like every other girl her age... except for the fact that she's unable to feel fear, and is trained in several forms of martial arts, and... well... the list goes on...

Wow, lots of fantasy lovers. A good number of my favorite books are fantasy as well, but since there are so many listed here I'll advocate for different books:

West of the Jordan by Laila Halaby- It's the story of 4 female Palestinian cousins living in different areas of the world. It's told from all of their perspectives, but flows together seamlessly. Beautifully written and a great glimpse inside a different world.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison- Ellison's semi-autobiographical book chronicles the struggles of an American black man in the early 20th century. It reads like pure poetry.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton- A tale of apartheid's cost to South Africa and an ode to the human ability to make things right, one small action at a time.

Waiting for April by Scott Morris- I had the opportunity to hear Morris read and as soon as I did I knew I needed to buy his books. Waiting for April follows the life of a fractured family in Florida, while his first novel The Total View of Taftly chronicles the life of a slightly insane, not totally redeemable, erstwhile Southern gentleman. I suggest them both, but be aware that they do contain mature themes and aren't for young readers.

Take the Cannoli by Sara Vowell- I really love short stories. They require a deftness of phrase and a clarity of language that authors of longer works are not forced to exercise. Every punch must count and Sara Vowell knows how to throw her punches. Vowell's scenes range across the spectrum of Americana, allowing us to laugh, cry and reflect on the American experience. Also, she writes for NPR's "This American Life," if you get a chance to listen, do. You won't regret it.

I could list many, many more. I am, after all, a senior English Education major, but these will do for now

*attempts*

-Anything, and everything ever written by Anne McCaffrey

-Xanth series, by Peirs Anthony

-Daughtors of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing

-So You Wanna Be A Wizard series by Diane Duane

-Harry Potter series, JK Rowling

....

I remember another one that should be on my Top Five, The Otherworld Trilogy! Its almost like the plotline of .Hack but with less magic.

If I wrote my five favourite books, it would be virtually dominated by James Herbet, so, instead, I'll all class them as one. HTey are very, very well written. The style is hard to classify, I'd call them "Casual Horror" as, though they are not designed to scare your pants of, they are quite easy reading, and have a horror based theme. They are a top book to read if you want to relax, however, the series can be quite hard to get into.

Another author I'm going to mention, because all her books are really great in my opinion, is Cate Tiernan, author of the "Wicca" series, called Sweep in the states if I remember correctly. Following a girls adventures through her realization of her gift of witchcraft, it's fast paced, and I fell very emphatic towards Morgan, the main charecter. The plots are very interesting, and are by no means predictible.

Again, a series of books I really enjoyed was the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Coiler. A brilliant series of books, they are a bit slow, and hard to get into, but offer a very good read if you commit yourself a bit. The plots are funny, yet entertaining, however, you end up hating the proganist a bit, believing him as a stuck-up twit. The author could have done more to allow us to empathize with Artemis.

Yet again, I present a series of books I love, this time being the Alex Rider novels by Anthony Horowitz. Fast-paced, exciting, unpredictible, and cool, these books offer you a chance to escape to who we all want to be, a teenage spy. Nobody can admit they didn't. This is completely unbelievable, yet, very easy to imagine yourself into, and you can just slip right into, and feel and live as Alex Rider, and though you'll know he will always win in the end, you just can't help but fret that he won't.

Finally, I write about one last series of books I like, the Darren Shan saga. Following the tale of a young boy as he grows up as a half-vampire, coming to a climax with the free world at peril, these books are fun and easy to read, being able to just sink right into the story line. Once a new book is released, I lie on my bed for 3 hours reading it through to the very end. The charecters are well described and established, and though cheap puns make their way in, I find these books mature, yet written with a child in mind, so simple is their nature.I can't wait for the climax to the novel in October!

Wow, I see a lot of books I'm about to mention already up there.
Some of the other ones are going onto my reading list...

Alright, I'm going by series when necessary, and in no particular order.

1. The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card - As a writer, this series is one of my inspirations. Well-developed characters, awesome plots, lots of cool politics... meh. Just overall fabulous. My favorites are probably Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead - I didn't like some of the others as much. I also like the few other books I've read by the same author.

2. The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett - Hilarious! I've been borrowing the books one at a time from my friends, so so far I've only read Jingo, Hogfather, Equal Rites, and part of Feet of Clay - so far all of them have been great. The satire can be quite insightful at times, and the rest of the time, well, it's just hilarious.

3. So You Want to be a Wizard series by Diane Duane - One of the best fantasy series I've read. Its strongest point in my mind is the way it manages to make wizardry into a plausible, exact, science. I love the variety of the atmospheres and the humor and intensity of the plots.

4. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman - Just a great, epic, well-imagined series in all. I love the storyline, the characters, and the great style of writing.

5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - Finally, a non-fantasy book that's not part of a series! And I absolutely love it. It's written perfectly, so vivid and emotional, and really manages to capture well the thought process of a girl growing up.

Darn my bibliophilia - I can't stop here.

Honorary Mentions
- LotR by J.R.R. Tolkien - A while ago this would have been top of my list, but I honestly don't think the writing is as captivating as it is in some of the other books. I'll always love and obsess over it, though.
- HP: OotP by J. K. Rowling - My definite favorite of the five, being more mature, and political. It's funny - I don't like the characters in HP very much (hence it not being on the above list) but I adore writing fanfics for the characters I make up in the setting shrug.
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams - 42. Bring a towel. Don't panic. Love the book. ^_^
-The Stranger by Albert Camus - See? I do too read works of some literary significance! Highly engaging and thought-provoking.
-Candide by Voltaire - Another pick from my English class last year. Very funny, and bitingly satiric.
-Exodus by Leon Uris - A very emotionally challenging and disturbing book, but well worth the read.
-The Odyssey by Homer - Who can argue with epic poetry?
-Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - Your descriptive powers pwn me. End of story.
-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Proof that, if well-written enough, soap operas can be very very entertaining.
-Twelth Night by Shakespeare - My favorite among his plays, but truthfully, I like all of them. Come on, it's Shakespeare.
-Kavalier and Clay by, uh... - My mom returned it to the library before I got very far, but I was wowed by what I read.
-Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell - Scary. Disturbing. Very awesome.
-Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - Depressed me quite a bit, but I did really enjoy it.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle- I LOVED this book! It was so passionate and descriptive that I can barely put it into words. Yes I am a boy, why?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling- There isn't as much as a plot than the other two but a little quieter, and somehow that's got my attention. Shhh, don't tell!
The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson- I never usually read WWII books but this one was wonderful! Or maybe because it was set in Canada, where I live, that got my attention... oh well!
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein- This book was like a fairy tale for older people, and very enjoyable! There isn't as much fighting in it the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King so I like it lots.
The Wind Singer by... I forgot, sorry!- This book was very descriptive and always caught my eye. Wonderful piece by... who was it again? [/b]

Any of the books with Chester and Herold. They are so good I forgot most of the titles.
Best book- Howliday Inn.