"Yes, yes," you say dismissively, "I know what Shannon writes, but what does she read?" Fret no further. Here’s her answer.

    These are some books I loved. Forgive the separation into genres, Gentle Reader. It is meant for ease alone. Personally, I believe “Young Adult” to be an arbitrary title that means the book "Can be enjoyed by anyone/Has a main character who’s not quite an adult/Isn’t really boring."

    Young Adult
    For fantasy lovers
    • Crown Duel, by Sherwood Smith
    • Goddess of Yesterday, by Caroline B. Cooney
    • The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
    • The Blue Sword, Beauty, and The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
    • A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
    • The Earthsea series, by Ursula K. LeGuin, starting with A Wizard of Earthsea
    • The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
    • House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
    • The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper
    • Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
    • Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
    • Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
    • Wishing Moon, by Michael O. Tunnell
    Still good, even if there's no fantasy
    • Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman
    • Big Mouth and Ugly Girl, by Joyce Carol Oates
    • Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
    • The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
    • Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
    • The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodges Burnett
    • Holes, by Louis Sachar
    • Homecoming & Dicey’s Song, by Cynthia Voigt
    • Charlotte's Rose, by A.E. Cannon
    Younger readers (especially good for ages 7-10)
    • Anything by Roald Dahl
    • The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander, starting with The Book of Three
    • The Narnia Chronicles, by C.S. Lewis
    • The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and other books by Joan Aiken
    • Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White
    • The Frog Princess, by E.D. Baker
    • Whispering to Witches, by Anna Dale
    Picture Books
    • Fanny's Dream, by Caralyn Buehner, Mark Buehner
    • A Very, Hairy, Scary Story, by Rick Walton, David Clark
    • Yesterday I Had the Blues, by Jeron Ashford Frame, Gregory Christie
    • Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems
    • Board books by Sandra Boynton are a big hit with our 1-year old
    • The Monster at the End of this Book, by Jon Stone, Michael Smollin
    • Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak


    Fantasy reading targeted at adults
    • The Lord of the Rings trilogy (of course), by J.R.R. Tolkien
    • Riddle-Master: The Complete Trilogy, by Patricia McKillip
    • The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
    • The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter
    • Tales from the Sisters Grimmer, by Tanith Lee
    • Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
    • Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, by Susanna Clarke
    • Lots of graphic novels, mostly Batman, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Astro City

    Other loved literature
    • Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson
    • Ballad of the Sad Cafe, by Carson McCullers
    • Possession, by A.S. Byatt
    • Pride and Prejudice & Persuasion, by Jane Austen
    • House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende
    • One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    • Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
    • Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
    • To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    • The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
    • Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
    • Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
    • Lying Awake, by Mark Salzman
    • A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster
    • Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
    • Perma Red, by Debra Magpie Earling
    • Precious Bane, by Mary Webb

    Books recommended by Shannon's husband
    • A Fire Upon the Deep and Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge
    • The Postman, Kiln People, and The Uplift Saga, beginning with Brightness Reef, by David Brin
    • Declare and The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
    • The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis
    • The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold




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