Ah, books. So much type, so little time...
For
some reason, many people—and by people I mean young people and their
parents—ask me for book recommendations. I’m not sure why.
It can’t be because they think MY books are any good (and if they do,
they need more than a book recommendation, they need serious help). Be that as it may, I happen to like
books. Quite a bit, in fact. When I was young—and by young I mean
under the age of seventy—I read nearly a book a day. Here are a few of my old favorites (alphabetical by author):
CHARLIE AND CHOCOLATE FACTORY by Roald Dahl As many of you know, this is my favorite book of all time about my favorite subject of all time.
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster Juster is a word jester without equal. Very fun if you like to pun.
FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER by E.L. Konigsburg A brother and sister break into the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sleep in a royal bed. I don't know about you, but this has always been a dream of mine. A Newberry-winning novel.
A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle Another Newberry-winner, this is a terrific book about interstellar time-travel and grumpy old witches.
THE EARTHSEA TRILOGY by Ursula K. Le Guin To my mind, one of the best fantasy series ever written. Le Quinn knows wizards and dragons better than anyone and was writing about them long before Christopher Paolini was even a sparkle in Eragon's eye.
THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien The classic fantasy book introducing little people with big feet. Written for Tolkien's own kids. Read this one before The Lord of the Rings. (It's shorter and easier!)
BONUS MODERN-DAY BOOKS:
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Forget about Twilight. If you like fabulous books full of gothic intrigue, supernatural mystery, and, er, a little human-inhuman romance, then this one is for you. A truly wonderful book. But a word of warning: it's very, very long. For serious readers only.
THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY by Trenton Lee Stewart What can I say? I may not like eggs benedict (too mayonnaise-y) but the Mysterious Benedict books are mysterious indeed. If you like my books, you'll like these better. Some people have unfairly and cruelly accused Trenton Lee Stewart of secretly being one Pseudonymous Bosch. Undoubtedly, these people have not met Stewart. Unlike me, he is a very nice fellow.