Not necessarily the best books, but the ones you enjoyed the most. And you can give reasons if you feel like it!

Here are mine, but they aren’t in any particular order, it’s hard enough picking Ten! Some of these I’ve read recently and some have made an impression on my younger self and remained my favs, but they’re all unforgettable books in some way or another.

1)Go, Dog, Go! By PD Eastman

It is surprisingly hard to pick ten! I am trying to read more broadly these days and I think I have rad a few contenders this year for new favorite books, just gotta give them some time to sink in and possibly revisit them later.

Some of my honorable mentions that I read in the past year are: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, The Ring by Koji Suzuki, Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold, Two Old Women; An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival by Velma Walis, and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami.

Top 10? Oh jeeze. I apologize for the repeated authors but I've got my favorites <3

1. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
4. Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
6. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
7. Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
8. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
9. Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak
10. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

A really nice selection! I hadn’t heard of Diana Wynn’s Jones but google tells me she wrote Howls Moving Castle, which makes me want to read her work! Would you say one of the novels you listed is a good starting place?

Thank you! I'd actually suggest Howl's Moving Castle or the Chrestomanci series as a good jump-off point. Her prose are lyrical in style but still easy-reading which I can appreciate. Most of her stuff aside from a handful of adult works are on the YA side of things but I still enjoy them.

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King (The Dark Tower series) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (the Shadow series, aka Bean's quartet) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Mort by Terry Pratchett (the Discworld series) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett The Stand by Stephen King Mississippi Jack by LA Meyer (the Bloody Jack series)

These aren't in order because I don't think it's fair to compare them in terms of greatness, but I've read each one of these at least twice. I tend to be very shy about reading books I'm not sure I'll like, so I go back to my favorite authors again and again, especially if I just need an entertaining, comfortable read. I also really love series, so for those I just mentioned my favorite book of the series with the series name after.

I'll only pick one per author, otherwise 8 out of 10 books would be books by Stephen King.

1. Of Fire And Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
2. Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews
3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
5. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
6. Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
8. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

1. Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
2. The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Exupery
3. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
4. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
5. A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher
6. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
7. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
8. The Sight by David Clement-Davies
9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
10. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

I'm not sure that these are in order but this was a hard list to make! There are a few excellent books which I was sad to miss off. Given that I'm 28, I'm surprised how many of my teenage reads appeared on this list, and how much of it is YA fiction. Not that I believe in reading books that are, so called, 'for your age group'. I'm just amazed that fewer books have affected me as strongly in the last 10 years.

1. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
2. A Place in the Woods - Helen Hooper
3. The House of Thirty Cats - Mary Calhoun (childhood favorite)
4. The Norton Book of Nature Writing - Robert Finch
5. 1776 - David McCullough
6. Too Much Salt and Pepper - Sam Campbell (wonderful nature writer)
7. Ripple - Tui Allen (beautiful book about dolphins with an ending that will leave you speechless)
8. In the Shadow of Man - Jane Goodall
9. Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck
10. The Elephant Whisperer - Lawrence Anthony

Honorable Mentions Memoirs of Cleopatra - Margaret George Love, Life, and Elephants - Daphne Sheldrick Watership Down - Richard Adams Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

In no particular order:

1. Annie On My Mind - Nancy Garden
2. Darth Plagueis - James Luceno
3. The Poetic Edda - Snorri Sturlsson
4. War Crimes - Christie Golden
5. Rise of the Horde - Christie Golden
6. The Old Republic: Revan - Drew Karpyshyn (I wasn't fond of how they portrayed some of the characters, but it still a fun read.)
7. The Viking Trilogy - Tim Severin
8. Everything leads to you - Nina Lacour
9. Luna - Julie Anne Peters
10. Keeping you a secret - Julie Anne Peters

Gah... I feel like this list has to be constantly changing.

1. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame My GOAT
2. Paradise Lost - John Milton I have 4 different copies of this, friends make fun of me.
3. Ubik - Phillip K. Dick
4. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle ⭐ This is the one thing I recommend to everyone.
5. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
6. Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
7. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
8. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
9. The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. LeGuin

This is an incredible hard choice, but I'll try:

1. The Wizard Test -- Hilari Bell
   SPOILER (click to toggle)

   It's amazing. I used to go into the library during high school lunch every day to read it day after day. I read it so much that when I graduated, the librarian gave it to me.
2. Women of the Otherworld [Series] -- Kelley Armstrong
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   The first book is called Bitten, and it's about werewolves. The author decided to turn the book into an extended universe with several sequels - there are thirteen total in the main series, then there are two spin-off YA trilogies and several graphic novels, novellas, and short stories. I bought every anthology the short stories were found in and was, through this series, introduced to so many new authors.
3. Circle of Magic [Series] -- Tamora Pierce
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   This is what basically amounts to a found family story between four young magic users who come from different hard backgrounds. Stories like this are really close to my heart.
4. The Magic Thief [Series] -- Sarah Prineas
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   The Magic Thief has such an incredibly interesting style of prose where the author uses peculiar language to really help the reader immerse themselves fully into the story. It's a book I often refer to when I want to remind myself that not every story has to be told in common language -- immersion starts in the prose.
5. Artemis Fowl [Series] -- Eoin Colfer
   SPOILER (click to toggle)

   This is one of the first books I've ever read with an antagonist as the main character, and even so one of the only ones I actively rooted for throughout the novel. I read this when I was in high school first and I remember spending my time carefully noting the code written at the bottom of each page and deciphering it before I moved onto the next chapter. It was a fun, interactive experience, and I genuinely enjoyed the growth of the titular character over the course of the series.
6. Percy Jackson and the Olympians [Series] -- Rick Riordan
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   I want to start off by saying Rick Riordan is a phenomenal author. The story behind how the writing of this story began is always incredibly touching to me. Representation matters has always been a core belief in his writing -- and being that I am someone with ADHD and Dyslexia, it was a delight to younger me to read a book with a protagonist I could identify with. Percy was relatable in every way to me, from his behavioral issues, the learning deficiency, and the self esteem issues he had and overcame over the course of the series. Even now I find his story inspiring, and I also enjoy the new books Mr. Riordan publishes, as well as the books he promotes through his book label from marginalized writers to give them a platform to tell their stories their own way.
7. Nightmares & Fairy Tales [Series] -- Serena Valentino
   SPOILER (click to toggle)

   This is a comic book series that has a unique and creepy take on popular fairy tales. I love the stories so much that I bought a plush doll modeled after Annabelle, the cursed doll from the story.
8. The Power of Five [Series] -- Anthony Horowitz
   SPOILER (click to toggle)

   The first series I read from Horowitz was the Alex Rider series which I had a strange relationship with. I enjoyed it, but I felt the overall tone of each of the books fell flat for me, and I didn't quite like how the series as a whole ended. That didn't set me up for excitement when I took notice of this series, but I'm glad I took the dive anyway. The story is interesting, I really connected with the protagonist from the first book when I read it the first time, and I still look back on it fondly now -- even though I'm older and find myself identifying more with the guardian character at this point.
9. The Circle of Three [Series] -- Michael Thomas Ford
   SPOILER (click to toggle)

   The story is so lovely -- it started off with such an incredibly goofy premise, and then went into a deeply complex story line that I genuinely enjoyed reading.
10. Love is the Higher Law -- David Levithan
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    This is such a deeply emotional book and has such an incredible portrayal of friendship and romance in hard times. I love this book, and a lot of the other books he has written. Good for LGBT romances in ways you might not expect.

Monsoon by Wilbur Smith, the first I read. The Stand by Stephen King The Rats , Lair and Domain by James Herbert, the first I read. Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally Redwall by Brian Jacques, the first I read. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel, the first I read. The Client by John Grisham, the first I read. Watership Down by Richard Adams

Can only think of 8.

Not in any particular order:

Ghost Eye — Marion Dane Bauer The Wednesday Wars — Gary D. Schmidt Night — Ellie Wiesel Starkweather — William Allen Mincing Mockingbird Guide to Troubled Birds — Matt Adrian Boys With Plants: 50 Boys and the Plants They Love — Scott Cain The Sixth Extinction — Elizabeth Kolbert The Tales of Dimwood Forest (series)— Avi Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark (series) — Alvin Schwartz The Guardians of Ga’Hoole (series) — Kathryn Lasky

In all honesty, I really do need to read more books...