I've been searching, but have been unable to find a book that instills that same child-like magical feeling of enchantment that first motivated me to write. To give you a vague idea of what I'm looking for, I love the extraordinary. Fantasy, science fiction (if beautifully written), magic, the supernatural. And when I speak of fantasy or magic, I don't mean waving a wand, reciting a spell or a recipe for the perfect potion. I mean orchards of trees made of unmelting ice, an old woman who is the wind, a young man with an enchanted umbrella that covers you from the rain without having to hold it, and a bright red fox that only exists in a forest during the evening. So, I suppose, I'm looking for books which can be comparable to fairytales. Books like The Night Circus or The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The ones that can only be described as enchanting. Sorry, I tend to ramble when I talk about books like these. Anyway, I'd love some recommendations. Thanks guys!
Coraline The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making Howl's Moving Castle Graceling/Fire/Bitterblue (great books) - less of the style of "fantastic" you described I'll think of more. There are a bunch.
My favourite is The Magician's Nephew, C S Lewis, which is a book in the Narnia series that explains how Narnia exists.
One of my favorites is Wings by Aprilynne Pike. To me, it's a very magical story -- it's what inspired me to write. It's about faeries, but she created a very interesting and unique type of them. They are far from the ordinary faerie. There are four books in total, but the first (Wings) is the best. They start to get a little gloomy towards the end. Now I want to reread them.... Looks like I know what I'm doing tonight!
It's a bit... juvenile? No, not quite, but a bit... something. But I love The Book of the Dun Cow, if you can get your hands on a copy. Maroooooooooooned!
Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce The Godmother by Mercedes Lackey Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey Cinder by Marissa Mayer Peter Pan in Scarlet (can't remember the author!) Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman Stardust by Neil Gaiman My tastes must be grimmer than I thought, since these and their respective seriesa are all I can think of.
