Sweet Kate

Books You Should Read, if You Haven't Already

I'm going to leave off all the long, hard books that I suspect no one will read anyway, or at least, not with my convincing, so I shall sadly not tell you here to read Dante's Divine Comedy, Spencer's Faerie Queene, and Homer's Iliad. Because if you're going to, you probably already have. But, in no particular order, some Recommended Books:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - if you haven't read this already, why am I still talking to you? Go get it, read it, read it again, and then we'll talk. Actually, read all the chronicles, but read this one first, because if you only read one (horrors!) then this is the one to read.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - I shall be most disappointed if you haven't read this (along with The Hobbit) because it is just so wonderfully good. Do not neglect the Appendices. They are Important (well, you can skim the ones on pronunciations if you like).

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers - you should read all the Wimsey novels, as well as her essays, but Gaudy Night is the place to start. If you only read one Wimsey novel (and I'm not sure we're still talking if you only read one) this is the one. I am in awe of Sayers.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - this is a total classic, and even if I like some of the middle Anne novels better, it is best to start at the beginning.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley - somehow this rises above all those other horse books where someone finds a horse and it ends up being the fastest, best horse in the world. I know this because I think I read all those other horse books, and this is the only one I still read.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - this happens to be the only book by Peter Beagle that I like, and I like it tremendously. The first page or so is just completely wonderful. I also have a fondness for the cartoon, in spite of its shortcomings.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White - now this is Important, so please pay attention. The first bit of The Once and Future King is called The Sword in the Stone. Check out the book The Sword in the Stone and read it first. There are differences in the story, and it works better if you read The Sword in the Stone and then continue on with the rest of the bits in The Once and Future King. Incidentally, I think this book is responsible for the way I associate King Arthur and Robin Hood.

Rose Daughterby Robin McKinley - McKinley is rather hit and miss for me, but when she is good, she's really, really good. This is my favorite because it is Beauty and the Beast the way it should be told.

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones - this is just brilliant. It is funny, and witty, and totally mocks the typical fantasy quest, but in a good way. Besides being brilliantly funny, it is also a good story in its own right (and by the way, Deep Magic is a very close contender for the book by Diana Wynne Jones, but Dark Lord edged it out by the barest margin today).

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - this is a classic for a very good reason. I am constantly reading this, being somewhere past the middle at present. I think it is Austen's best work, and it is certainly a good place to start (but why stop there?).

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - I realize that Dickens can be challenging, so that's why I think you should start off with something nice and short. It's only a hundred or so pages, and you get all the brilliance of Dickens without having to go through nine hundred pages (although I am slowly working my way through Dickens and very much enjoying it, because it is brilliant, it did take me a while to get hooked and it was A Christmas Carol that did it).

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I like to think that Bronte and Austen tend to balance out one another. I will admit to having a greater fondness for Austen, but Jane Eyre is just so good that it belongs on the list.

Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare - but you had better not stop with just one play, but go on to read lot's of them (to my shame, I haven't read all of Shakespeare, and my present excuse is that my lovely Penguin Complete Shakespeare is in one of the boxes on my floor).

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix (namely Sabriel, Lireal, and Abhorsen) - which I put on here because I really like them. The writing is wonderful, the characters are terrific (especially Mogget and the Disreputable Dog), and so it makes the list.

Dracula by Bram Stoker - partially because this is the vampire novel, but mostly on its own merit, and for Van Helsing, you should read this.

To Be Continued, Possibly