THE LIST
(of books I've read), by amy
The next question you ask is... "Why?"
My answer is... Um... er... why... not?
I
Ibbotson, Eva --Eva Ibbotson's books are the only books I have ever been able to truly say "If you like
Harry Potter, you'll also like..." about. I mean bookstores and libraries were always trying to come up with lists of Harry
Potter readalikes, but most of the similarities were really vague, I thought-- there would be no guarantee a fan of one would
like the other. But Ibbotson matches up on the most fronts: it has the whimsical fantasy, it has the humor, it has the interesting
characters, it has that nice Britishness (I like Britishness). It's as close as you're going to get.
- Island of the Aunts
- The Secret of Platform 13 --and if those similarities weren't enough, this book ALSO revolves around a magic land that can
be reached through Kings Cross Station in London. Which makes you wonder.... No, it doesn't make me wonder "plagiarism," it
makes me wonder, "Hey, maybe there IS a magic land that can be reached through Kings Cross Station!" Because that's just the sort
of person I am.
- Which witch?
- The Star of Kazan --okay, actually this one is nothing like a Harry-Potter-esque fantasy. But it IS about Vienna, my favorite city in the world, so all is good.
J
Johnson, Angela
Johnston, Norma
- The time of the cranes
- The dragon's eye
- Carlisle's Hope
- Carlisles all
- To Jess with love and memories
Johnston, Tony
- The spoon in the bathroom wall
Jones, Diana Wynne --this is a name that is so entrenched on the lists of great fantasy writers that for years I just ASSUMED that I'd read something by her at some point.
But I WAS SO WRONG. Because if I HAD, there's NO WAY I would have forgotten it. Funny, fresh, and unique fairy-tale-esque fantasies with great characters and language that is absolutely ALIVE? I am so in love. This is exactly the sort of thing I wish I could write properly.
- Castle in the Air
- House of Many Ways
- Howl's Moving Castle-- in all honesty, after I read this book, I am SURE the next five books I read (not by Jones, just in general) suffered in comparison. I'm sorry, other less-wonderful books, it's the luck of the draw.
Juster, Norton
K
Kassem, Lou
- A haunting in Williamsburg
- Middle school blues
Kaufman, Charles
- The frog and the beanpole
Keene, Carolyn --Okay, this list isn't REMOTELY complete of all the Nancy Drews I have read in my life. In fact
I'm fairly positive I have more than this just sitting on my own bookshelf downstairs. This is just the list of the Nancy Drews
the Peters Township library has in their catalogue. I am far too lazy to actually go through NoveList and put ALL the titles I
have read (or even to try to figure OUT which of the titles I have read) on this list. Just accept that I have most likely read:
all or nearly all of the original yellow hardcovers; most of the later more multicolored titles; AND a great deal of the Nancy
Drew Files (the paperbacks) as well. Nancy, and in turn, the mystery genre in general, was my first true literary love. And
she's managed to solve all these crimes and STAY EIGHTEEN for over 50, 60 years! Wow!
- The bungalow mystery,
The clue of the leaning chimney,
The clue in the crumbling wall,
The clue of the whistling bagpipes,
The clue of the dancing puppet,
The clue in the crossword cipher,
The crooked banister,
The double jinx mystery,
The ghost of Blackwood Hall,
The haunted showboat,
The haunted bridge,
The hidden staircase,
The message in the hollow oak,
The hidden window mystery,
Mystery of the moss-covered mansion,
Mystery of the glowing eye,
The mystery of the ivory charm,
Mystery of the tolling bell,
The mystery at Lilac Inn,
The mystery of the fire dragon,
Nancy's mysterious letter,
The phantom of Pine Hill,
The secret of the Forgotten City,
The secret of Shadow Ranch,
The secret in the old attic,
The secret of the old clock,
The secret of Red Gate Farm,
The sign of the twisted candles,
The sky phantom,
The strange message in the parchment,
The thirteenth pearl,
The witch tree symbol,
Keillor, Garrison
Kerr, M.E.
Kerr, Judith
- when Hitler stole Pink Rabbit
Kindl, Patrice
Kinney, Jeff
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid --read this in one evening at the library when nobody came in.
Kipling, Rudyard
Klause, Annette Curtis
Klaveness, Jan O'Donnell
Knowles, John
- A Separate Peace -- I found a Bookcrossing book of this book last year. It disappeared from where I left it, but nobody's registered
finding it after me on the Bookcrossing site, so now I just have to wonder what ever happened to it and put up with e-newsletters
from Bookcrossing every week. Anyway, this is one of my mom's favorite books. I didn't get nearly as into it as she must have though.
Konigsburg, E. L. --She is one of my favorite writers, which makes this list look pathetically short.
I can't believe I haven't read more. Ah well. She also went to undergrad at the school I went to grad school and donated all
her manuscripts there. I've seen them. They're right there hidden in the archives of the Elizabeth Nesbit (who is not the
same person as E. Nesbit) Room of the SIS library. How cool and junk.
- From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,
- Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth
- Proud taste for Scarlet and Miniver, A
- The view from Saturday,
- The mysterious edge of the heroic world --what I said about her being a favorite writer still stands, but I thought this one was a little boring
L
Lamb, Wally
- She's come undone --can I begin to describe how much I hated this book? Actually, I've noticed that I've hated every Oprah's
Book club Book I've ever read. There aren't a lot of those on this list, a) because I often refused to finish reading them, so
never counted having read them; or b) because I figured out fairly early that I DO hate every Oprah's Book Club book. But this
one I HAD to finish, because I'd drawn the title to do a presentation on for a small group in one of my YA lit classes (technically
this is adult lit, but because the main portion of the novel is about the woman as a young adult, and because teens might like
to read it, it counted). I got to share with them how utterly I hated this book. It's just that it was so dang DEPRESSING. It's like
three inches thick (the paperback), and ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE GOOD THING happens to the main character until like the last ten pages. I mean
seriously! There HAS to be SOMETHING to lighten her life during all this! Look, there's nothing wrong with having bad things
happen to your character, you wouldn't have much of a plot otherwise, but give them a BREAK every once in awhile! Also, by the
way, if you're thinking this title is the name of a song, the song you're thinking of is actually just called "Undun," and it's
a really awesome song. This book totally does not deserve to take its lyrics for its title.
Landon, Lucinda
- Meg Mackintosh and the mystery at the soccer match --actually, I read MOST of this book aloud to a bunch of fourth graders for
my first job as a librarian-- a long-term sub. They'd already read the first couple chapters when I got there.
Lawson, Robert
- Ben and me : a new and astonishing life of Benjamin Franklin,
- Rabbit Hill
Lee, Beverly Haskell
- The Secret of Van Rink's Cellar
Lee, Harper
Le Guin, Ursula K.
- The Farthest shore --now, I recall that this series was good, and it's always listed as being a Classic Great Fantasy series,
but why can't I ACTUALLY REMEMBER anything that happened in them?
- The tombs of Atuan
- A Wizard of Earthsea
- Tehanu
L'Engle, Madeleine --Ah, here she is. My FAVORITE AUTHOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. And the weird thing is, I don't
even like all her books ("A Severed Wasp" doesn't even make this list because I couldn't get past the first couple chapters). But
what IS true of ALL her books is that she never fails to MAKE YOU THINK. It's like, somehow, she gets the WHOLE UNIVERSE into
each sentence. I also really enjoy (and get a lot out of, and learn a lot from) her nonfiction-- which is not on this list, being
nonfiction. But look it up sometime, anyway.
- An acceptable time
- And both were young
- The arm of the starfish
- Camilla --so this book is totally another case of false advertising. I found it shelved with the paperback romances. What
the hey? Sure, there's a bit of romance between Camilla and her best friend's brother, but the primary plot is about her facing
her parents' failing marriage and the fact that her parents are human and whatnot. And somehow Madeleine still manages to get
all cosmic in this book, too. She blows my mind, really she does.
- Certain Women
- Dragons in the waters
- A House like a lotus --this book has the best most honest and true sex scene ever written. Thought you ought to know.
- A live coal in the sea
- Many Waters
- Meet the Austins
- Moon by night
- A ring of endless light --beautiful, beautiful, friggin' friggin' beautiful. The greatest book about death ever. Also, a book
that will turn even the most "who cares about dolphins?" person into a Dolphin Person.
- A swiftly tilting planet --didn't really like this one. Like I said, you can absolutely worship Madeleine and still not like all her books.
- Troubling a star
- A Wind in the door
- A wrinkle in time --where can I begin with this book? This is The Book. The first time I read it I literally could not put it down (I fell off my neighbor's sliding board
because I insisted on trying to climb to the top of it WHILE READING), and I have read it so, so many times since. I am Meg, and
her story, her inner struggles, they are mine. And the Mrs W's are always there in the back of my head now, ready to give
advice when I need it. This book has come to my aid at so many moments in my emotional life.
- The young unicorns
Leonard, Elmore
Levine, Gail Carson
- Ella enchanted -- this is the best retelling of a fairytale ever. Cinderella makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE after reading this book.
It's also just plain funny at parts. (PS-- way better than the movie)
- The Princess test --the one thing I love about this little book is that the main character is Extremely Sensitive (this is
another fairytale retelling, the Princess and the Pea), and that is not painted as being a good thing. In fact she's a plain old
crybaby. But she's also got lots of good qualities... frankly, I just plain identified with her. It's good to be able to laugh
at yourself.
- The two princesses of Bamarre
- Fairest --Super-duper very good; takes place in the same universe as Ella Enchanted, but is a bit more serious. The other thing that struck me was how many odd parallels it has to Terry Pratchett's Maskerade, which is odd because the two books are based on two entirely different stories.
Lewis, C. S. --did you know CS Lewis and Madeleine LEngle have the same birthday? Now you know.
- The horse and his boy --do not underestimate this book of the series-- it was one of my favorites
- The lion, the witch and the wardrobe --so I remember reading this as a child and having the vague impression that it took place
in the 1800s or at least the early 1900s. Then I read it again in college. Holy crap, they got sent to the country because of
the Blitz! One little line in the beginning that had totally gone over my head as a child, but it changed the whole atmosphere
of the story! They've gone and expanded that aspect beyond one little line in the movie, which I really appreciated, because it
really does change it, it adds such another layer of depth to the story.
- The magician's nephew
- Prince Caspian
- The silver chair
- The voyage of the "Dawn Treader" --this is probably my favorite of the series. Probably because I always had a thing for
sailing books. Also because it has one of the best opening lines EVER: "There once was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he
almost deserved it." That is just so classic. Thank you, Clive Staples. I will not make fun of your name.
Lindgren, Astrid
- Pippi Longstocking --I actually have nothing to say about this BOOK. What I want to say is, I once had the very odd experience
of watching this movie IN GERMAN in an Austrian movie theater with my roommate and our professor's nine-year-old daughter.
Just thought I'd share.
Lockhart, E.
- Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The --this book is so completely more entertaining than you expect it to be, even when you go in expecting it to be entertaining.
London, Jack
- the Call of the Wild -- I do not like dog books. I did not like this book either.
Lowry, Lois --the most star-struck moment of my life was MEETING LOIS LOWRY at my first Fall Festival of Books.
I just gaped and said something stuttery about how I'd once illustrated Number the Stars. She didn't seem all that impressed
with this fact.
- All about Sam
- Anastasia again!
- Anastasia at this address
- Anastasia at your service
- Anastasia has the answers
- Anastasia Krupnik
- Anastasia on her own,
- Anastasia's chosen career
- Anastasia, absolutely
- Anastasia, ask your analyst
- Autumn Street --my least favorite book by her. Didn't like it at all. But she says this is her favorite of her books, and
my beloved library professor said the same, so maybe I'm just a freak or some junk.
- Find a stranger, say goodbye
- Gathering blue,
- The giver --the part where the Giver gives Jonas Christmas-- that's just so perfect. It's just so why I love Christmas.
It means a lot more in the context of this book. If you've never read this, go. Do it. Now.
- Messenger
- Number the stars --as I told Ms. Lowry, I loved this book so much that I drew illustrations for it.
- The One hundredth thing about Caroline
- Rabble Starkey
- A summer to die --I think this was the book that convinced me for a fleeting few months that I wanted to be a photojournalist
when I grew up. Random out of nowhereness.
- Switcharound --I think I had a crush on a character in this book, but don't quote me on it.
- Taking care of Terrific --this book made me Absolutely Bawl. The only book I cried at more was Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry
- Us and Uncle Fraud
- Your move J. P.!
- The Willoughbys --after so many years of her serious deep award-winning-type books, I almost forgot how funny she could be. Actually, this one is even more wickedly funny than anything else she's written.
Lyga, Barry
- The astonishing adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl
Lyon, George Ella
M
MacDonald, Betty
- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle --actually I have no idea if this is REALLY the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book I have read, or even how MANY
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books I have read. So, since I know I've read SOME, I'll just list this as a default.
MacDonald, George --almost every single one of my favorite authors has named George MacDonald as a major influence,
so how come I could never find any of his books in the library? Finally I stumbled upon these two books in one volume for a quarter at a church book sale,
and after reading them, I repeat, how come I can't find them in the library?
- The Princess and the Goblin
- The Princess and Curdie
MacLachlan, Patricia
- Cassie Binegar
- The facts and fictions of Minna Pratt,
- Sarah, plain and tall
Mahy, Margaret --Margaret Mahy is so excellent at creating really eerie wonderful supernatural multiverses.
And she's from New Zealand, which is just cool.
- Alchemy
- The Changeover: a supernatural romance
- Dangerous Spaces-- especially this one. This one had me stuck in my own eerie dreamworld for days, weeks even.
- The haunting
- The Tricksters
- Underrunners
Martin, Ann M.
- Bummer summer
- the Doll people
- Me and Katie (the pest)
- Missing since Monday
- Slam book
- Ten kids, no pets
- Yours turly, Shirley
- and way more of the original Babysitters Club series than I feel like listing here. Just trust me that I've read most of them. At least up through number, like, 45 or something.
At first in elementary school I thought I wouldn't like the Babysitters Club because the popular girls at school read them, so
they couldn't possibly be something I could relate to, could they? But I was visiting my uncle's family in Florida and
his stepdaughter, the only person close to my age, was away at camp-- so I went through her book collection and picked up a
BSC book, because it happened to be a mystery. Luckily, perhaps, it was also a Mary Anne book. I have often been
accused of being Mary Anne in real life (though I'm probably more like Mallory, really; and besides, Mary Anne got a boyfriend in
middle school, like I pulled that one off), so, well, it was enough to prove to me that this was not a series I couldn't
relate to. It might have been harder if I had picked up a Stacey or Claudia book first. After awhile, though, Kristy became my
favorite, because she was the sort of girl I WISHED I was. But the REAL point of me having got into this series was that it came
at an important time in my life-- I had two younger siblings and had suddenly become old enough to help take care of them-- and then
I ended up taking care of their (my sister's at least) friends, and then other kids in town... I picked up a lot of valuable
pointers from the BSC!
Marzollo, Jean
Matas, Carol
McCaffrey, Anne. --You know Anne McCaffrey swears her Pern books aren't fantasy, but science fiction?
Seriously, what's the point of arguing that? Anyway, A Wrinkle in Time has far more science fiction in it than the Pern
books, but people are reluctant to classify THAT as SF. They call it "science fantasy." Do you think McCaffery could be happy
with that title? Anyway. I liked the books about the Harpers best.
- Dragondrums
- Dragonflight
- Dragonquest
- Dragonsinger
- Dragonsong,
- The white dragon,
McCaughrean, Geraldine
McDonald, Megan --Megan McDonald was the librarian at my public library growing up. Unfortunately if I
ever had any communication with her, it was before I'd found out she was an author, and afterward I don't think I ever saw her
(I think she got a new job somewhere else anyway). This is a fairly short list, but that's because she mostly writes picture
books. Which I also have read. Is this a House for Hermit Crab? is a really great read-aloud, by the way.
- The Bridge to nowhere
- Judy Moody
McGraw, Eloise
McKay, Hilary
McKenna, Colleen O'Slaughnessy --McKenna was another "local" author, the first I discovered growing up.
Before her, I didn't realize real authors DID live in normal places like Pittsburgh. It was very exciting, and she did become
one of my heroes for some time. I sat a few seats down from her at a writing conference last fall, but did NOT work up the nerve to say hello and inform her of her interesting place in my concept of authorhood. Man.
- Camp Murphy,
- Eenie, meanie, Murphy, no,
- Fifth grade, here comes trouble,
- Fourth grade is a jinx,
- Murphy's Island,
- Too many Murphys
McKinley, Robin --I keep insisting to this teen volunteer at one of my libraries, whose taste in books I think I have a pretty good picture of, that she will LOVE LOVE LOVE Robin McKinley, but she still hasn't tried her yet!
- Beauty : a retelling of the story of Beauty & the beast --possibly the SECOND-best fairy tale retelling ever (after
Ella Enchanted). You can also tell that this is where the people who made the Disney movie got a
lot of their ideas-- particularly the library scene.
- The blue sword-- I didn't like this as much as The Hero and the Crown, but was glad to discover that I didn't REALLY
need to read it first to understand the prequel.
- The Door in the hedge
- The hero and the crown --THIS is just plain one of the absolute best dragon-slaying epic fantasies ever.
Rivals Lord of the Rings on a lot of counts, even. Actually, I read an interview
where she explained that she wrote this primarily because she was inspired by Eowyn, and wanted a book where the girl was THE
sword-wielding hero of the land, period. Eowyn rocks. But that's for ANOTHER annotation....
- The outlaws of Sherwood
- Spindle's End
Miéville, China
Miller, Kirsten
- Kiki Strike : inside the shadow city
Milne, A. A. --Apparently When We Were Very Young and Now We are Six (which I recieved as a
present on my sixth birthday, of course) do not count because they are poetry books.
- the House at Pooh corner --is it just me, or was anyone else really freaked out by the idea of Christopher Robin never returning
to the Hundred-Acre Wood just because he'd grown up a bit? Do we REALLY have to leave imagination behind us when we get older?
Obviously, I'm one of those who hasn't. Which is probably why the end of this book freaked me out so.
- Winnie-the-pooh
Montgomery, L. M. --Where to begin with Anne? (Obviously there are books here that AREN'T about Anne, but
Montgomery is SO PRIMARILY all about Anne that I might as well write about it here). Is she not the girl you always wanted to
be friends with. Is she not the girl you always wanted to BE? (No you probably WOULDN'T want to fall off somebody's roof or
accidentally dye your hair green or what, but in THEORY...). She has also given me the incredibly important term "kindred
spirits," which I have used to describe only the most terribly special people, including the girl who became my best friend in
high school who I always also thought of as "my Diana Barry," because I'd always been longing for such a relationship as hers
and Anne's. Although oddly I think she was more like Anne than I was, which makes ME Diana, and I think in a lot of ways I AM
... which is probably why I liked Anne so much in the first place.
- Akin to Anne
- Anne of Avonlea
- Anne of Green Gables
- Anne of Ingleside
- Anne of the island
- Anne of Windy Poplars
- Anne's house of dreams --this was about when in the series that Anne grew up and became boring. Suddenly everyone ELSE was
having the adventures, and she was just there. Hmm.
- Chronicles of Avonlea
- Emily of New Moon --I liked Emily, but never read any more of her books because she was a grown-up in them (to my perspective)
and I was afraid she'd become boring. But maybe now that I'm a grown-up I should track them down and try them again.
- The Golden road
- Jane of Lantern Hill
- Magic for Marigold
- Pat of silver bush
- Rainbow valley --this book is about Anne and Gilbert's kids, because apparently it finally occurred to Montgomery also that
Anne had grown up and become boring, so maybe she'd better focus on the kids instead. This was a wise move.
- The Story Girl --was REALLY REALLY cool. This is NOT a well-known book by her, but it OUGHT to be.
Morris, Gerald --I've only gotten into Arthurian legend relatively recently in my life. But I've decided
that I probably enjoy Gerald Morris's retellings and adaptians better than any others I've read (not counting
The Dark is Rising series, which more just uses Arthurian legend as a jumping-off point). They have the right blend of
adventure, humor, character development, and... just general coolness.
- The Ballad of Sir Dinadan
- Parsifal's page
- The Princess, the crone, and the dung-cart knight
- The savage damsel and the dwarf
- The Squire's tale
- The Squire, his knight, and his lady
Myers, Walter Dean --Considering how much I've STUDIED Walter Dean Myers in YA lit classes, I can't believe
I haven't read more than this. But oh well.
- Fallen angels -- My Vietnam-war-history-buff husband had this book in his collection, and I recently pulled it down from the shelf to read,
and he said, "Ah, you're reading my book. Is it any good?" SOMEHOW, he hadn't actually got around to reading it himself. I have yet to figure out how that happened.
- Monster
- The Young landlords -- this book is surprisingly hard to find anywhere, which is a shame, because it's a lot of fun. Dangit,
why is it everybody always knows his SERIOUS books instead?
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created 2006, updated 2007, by Amy, who thinks you need to know this.