Looking for suggestions? Well… lately I’ve been into speculative adventure fiction (which is a very interesting genre… unfortunately they run out of plots too quickly. I mean, what else is there to talk about other than terrorists taking over the earth, terrorists taking over the earth with nukes, or terrorists taking over the earth with diseases?!), but… do you like “traditional” fantasy or “modern” fantasy or don’t care either way? Read the Artemis Fowl books… and the Percy Jackson ones, too. And Pendragon. Those are the three biggies for “modern” fantasy, I’d say. At least in recent years.

Temeraire series
Read it. Love it.

There is, of course, Harry Potter too.

You need to read the Bartimaeus Trilogy , by Jonathan Stroud. That is mentioned here quite a lot. And it’s quite funny.

You know, I own the first in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but I never actually read it.

Ooo, I forgot about the Bartimaeus Trilogy! It’s awesome. But I cried at the end.

@ CGilga:

Go read it. I read it again last night. I’m up to part three. If you read up to there, then we can read together from then on! YAY! (well, you don’t have to, but we should!)

@ swenson: I just pretend to myself that he got out of it.

Neil Gaiman’s books count as urban fantasy. I’d suggest basically any book by him – Neverwhere is exceptional though.

The thing that disturbs me about the Bartimaeus Trilogy is that it is Black Magic at its dirtiest. I’m actually not kidding; I don’t know who this Jonathon Stroud really is, but he describes the rituals and summonings as if he has witnessed them first hand.

I’ll be frank: It scares me. A lot.

Aye, aye, sir. I was going to try and finish it while I was in the Barnes&Noble, but one of the employees must have realized what I was up to.

Well, I can’t relate anything without giving up some plot points, so its spoiler’d.

I can’t say any more without fear of ruining the book for people. Wisper me if you don’t care about the spoilers.

I try to “steal” books all the time. It was great back when I just rushed through books like an excitable moron child, but it takes a bit longer now that I try to analyze the writing. Alas.

What did hedo about it? You should have just cited the store’s policy and said all is fine.

And I’ve decided to spend my summer reading this website. A futile task :P

Unless I make the claim to my English Literature teacher that American Gods is a commentary of today’s culture and the death of old beliefs (based only on your summary, Dan), then maybe I can read it ‘intellectually’.

Psh, no, too easy. Anyway I have too many other books to get through at the moment.

On topic though, The Once And Future King by TH White is considered fantasy – it’s Arthurian legend retold. It’s quite funny and absorbing.

CB, I’m actually not surprised. It’s not even related to this, is it?

I actually have Ursula LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, but I never got around to finishing it.

She wrote Gobbelino, The Witch’s Cat, am I right?

^^Seconded.