Making lists is my favorite thing to do, esp. rec lists. Here is a list of my favorite science-fiction and fantasy books / stories, and I hope to keep updating it from time to time.
I can’t claim I’ve read all the stalwart works of speculative fiction, but here are my personal top SFF recommendations, in no particular order. When next you’re on the lookout for something new to read, remember this list!
Last Update: May 14, 2021
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- Uprooted by Naomi Novik
- Labyrinths by Jorges Louis Borges
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke
- The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
- Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
- Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (Do I need to explain this?)
- October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire
- Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
- Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
- Song of Fire and Ice Series by George R. Martin
- Goblin Moon by Teresa Edgerton
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- The BitterBynde Trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
- The Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
- The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
- Six Gun Snow-White by Catherynne Valente
- The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris
- Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- The Moon is Drowning …by Charles de Lint
- Chime by Franny Billingsley
- Mad Ship Trilogy by Robin Hobb
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Baum
- The Alleluia Files by Sharon Shinn
- Tales of Mystery and Terror by Edgar Allan Poe
- The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
- The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
- The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip
- The Riddle-Master of Hed Trilogy by Patricia McKillip
- The Last Hour of Gann by R.L. Smith
- Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox by Forthright
- Serpent Garden by Judith Riley
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- Once and Forever by Kenji Miyazawa
- Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit Series by Nahoko Uehashi
- Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck
- The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers … by Rachel Swirsky
- Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
- Deathless by Catherynne Valente
- Avaryan Rising by Judith Tarr
- The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Alpha & Omega Series by Patricia Briggs
- King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
- Reluctantly Charmed by Ellie O’Neill
- The City in the Lake by by Rachel Neumeier
- Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn
- Brood of Bones by A.E. Marling
- Princess Floralinda & the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
- House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
- The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Deerskin by Robin McKinley
- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
- Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
- Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
- The 13 Clocks by James Thurber
- The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
- Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
- Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
- Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce
- Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara
- The Thousand and One Nights/ Arabian Nights
- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
More to come in!