Top Ten Tuesday: Retro Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where a new topic is given each week by the host blog and participants write up a corresponding list of ten things. Simple, fun, and great for those obsessed with lists. This week's topic is: Top Ten "Older" Books You Don't Want People To Forget About (you can define older however you wish. Basically just backlisted books you think are great. Basically the point is to share books that could be forgotten about in the midst of all the new releases).

(1) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - I know, I know, I find a way to wedge this one onto almost any list. By this point in time its pretty much impossible for any of you to forget about its existence. But it really is an awesome read and one of my absolutely favorites...and got my nerdy self into science fiction, a genre I pretty much avoided like the plague previously. Give it a shot, pretty please?

(2) Tamora Pierce's Entire Backlog - Like I could choose! Okay. I probably could. You want my favorites? Trickster's Choice, Trickster's Queen and the Immortals Quartet. But I really love them all, I just happen to love those a little bit more than the others. Actually though, it was the Circle of Magic books that got me hooked on Tamora Pierce and subsequently fantasy. She is simply a must read for any fantasy fan.

(3) Books of Partholon by P.C. Cast - I could not get into the House of Night books. I've read a sampler of the first one about a dozen times and it never clicks...which saddens me because I LOVED these books. And they're about CENTAURS. I'm kind of addicted to them now. Centaurs that is. These books managed to get me hook, line, and sinker.

(4) Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith - I feel like almost no one ever knows about this book which I feel is a real shame. Its one of my top three fantasy novels, which is really saying something considering how many I read. Fantasy IS my favorite genre after all. But there is just something special about this one. It has all of my favorite fantastical elements all crammed into one book. Okay, technically two but they are bound as one so it counts, mmkay?

(5) Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken - I love throwing this one out there because it is an old favorite of a lot of bloggers and if it weren't for their posts I might never have found it which would have truly been a shame because it is a beautifully written, entrancing fantasy novel. Ah-may-zing.

(6) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - Yes. Just yes. Go read this one, go read it now.

(7) Wicked by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie - Before I fell head over heels for the fey I was all about witches. I remember an entire summer of reading pretty much nothing but novels about witches and doing research about them and pretty much dedicating the summer to them. Out of all of those witch books, and let me tell you there was a LOT of them, this series still remains my favorite.

(8) Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale - Fairy tales! I love the cast for these books and I love the world that they are set in...and the friendships that are made and the very sweet romances that take place. They're just beautiful books. [Also, check out Princess Academy!]

(9) The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine - "I was really impressed with the world-building in this novel, simple and sweet yet interesting in its own right. There was enough there to capture the attention of older readers while maintaining, more likely captivating, the younger crowd. Its a fantasy for all ages which is a rare occurrence indeed. Adventure, wit, fantastical creatures, an homage to the great epic poems of old, with a touch of romance. I can't ask for much more in a novel" [<- From my review.]

(10) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson - Man, this one is getting a lot of buzz from me this month...all well-deserved of course! Its one of those reads that will really make you think, question the world around you and what will become of it. Also, the heroine is awesome. "This book really got to me. My eyes welled up with tears, my own rage bubbled up alongside Jenna's and I longed as she did for her to be complete...To say this book was intense would be an understatement..." [<- From my review.]

So...if you didn't already know I love fantasy novels I'm guessing this list probably gave it away, am I right?