Wrinkle in Time is amazing! And any of those books could really serve as a stand-alone. I love how each focuses on a single plot and wraps up by the end. Will say that Swiftly Tilting Planet is my favorite because of time travelling unicorns.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, (titled Scepter of the Ancients in later US editions), first in a series of the same name, is an utterly fantastic book. It's about a twelve year-old Irish girl called Stephanie Edgely who inherits her uncle's vast fortune after he dies. One night while she is alone in his abandoned mansion after she is separated from her parents due to flooding of the roads, a man breaks into the house demanding that she give him a key. Before he can do any serious damage, she is rescued by Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeleton detective. This book is a witty, fast-paced and exciting read which perfectly sets up the rest of the series, while hinting at the darkness and horror to come. Landy's background as a scriptwriter is very evident in his snappy dialogue and excellent ability to paint a picture in your mind. If I could sum up the series in a quote from this book, it would be: "You ask me what is my nature? It is a dark and twisted thing." (That's a quote from Skulduggery himself. The secondary protagonist.) The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is the first book in the Bartimaeus trilogy. In this book, the snarky djinni Bartimaeus becomes enslaved to a young boy named Nathaniel who tasks him with one thing: retrieve the Amulet of Samarkand from the house of the powerful magician Simon Lovelace, and bring it back to Nathaniel. Things do not quite go as simply as Bartimaeus and Nathaniel hope. This book is exciting and witty and atmospheric and dark. And of course the political and moral undercurrent that becomes more prominent in later books is evident even this early. It's one of the deepest and most poignant series I've ever read and I highly recommend it to everyone. Timekeeper by Tara Sim is the first book in the Timekeeper trilogy. In a Victorian England where time is controlled by magic clocktowers, Danny Hart is a clock mechanic, someone who can repair time itself. Danny's father is trapped in a town where time has stopped and Danny must prove himself to the lead mechanic so that he will be assigned to the rescue effort to build a new clocktower and free the town. This becomes difficult after Danny is assigned to Colton tower in Enfield, where he falls in love with it's resident clock spirit, which is illegal, and because there are terrorists bombing clocktowers in order to "free" time. This book was fantastic and adorable and dramatic and emotional and clever. I can't sing it's praises enough. Half Bad by Sally Green is the first book in a series of the same name. If I could sum up why I love this book in one word, it would be "brutal." I like to liken this book to a mixed-race child growing up in a world ruled by a magical KKK. Nathan Byrn is a Half-Code - half White Witch, and half Black Witch - and as such his life is made hell by the White Witch Council. This book steadily ramps up the stakes for Nathan as he suffers more and more abuse. This book pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to the brutality that Nathan is subjected to as time goes on, and is horrifying, and perhaps even nauseating to read. And that's why it's so good. The second book suffers because it doesn't have this brutality for the most part, but the third book is an amazing return to form for the series. The Shattered Gates by Ginn Hale is the first book (or rather, the first three books) in the Rifter series. John Toffler is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life who steals a key intended for his roommate Kyle, out of frustration with Kyle's constant disappearances. This turns out to be a mistake, because Kyle is really Kahlil, a warrior from another dimension who was assigned to guard John for reasons unknown. Then of course there's the Rifter, a malevolent god destined to destroy both worlds. This book is beautifully written with stunning characterisation and world-building, as well as a confusing yet intriguing story that the reader must piece together as the story progresses.
I really enjoy your spin on this topic! And I can't remember the last time I've been as excited for a movie adaptation as I am for A Wrinkle in Time...
I love your interpretation about only needing to read one book in the series. I've been curious about the books after a Wrinkle in Time but now I can spend time reading other books. I really enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time as a standalone anyway. I need to read Not Your Side Kick and The Knife of Never Letting Go. They both sound amazing and I've had The Chaos Walking trilogy since I started my channel.
I LOVED Inkheart! I have owned all 3 for over 10 years now but never continued. I think I'll re-read Inkheart this year and continue on. Also Daughter of Smoke and Bone ripped my heart out and I couldn't get into book 2 :(
Man, I remember getting Inkheart for my 12th birthday and I kept picking it up, getting to the middle, and then putting it down for awhile, and starting it over again and again because I kept forgetting what happened. Finally a couple years later I started it again, determinedly pushed through that middle section and suddenly I was obsessed and had to finish the series lol. I was just not an avid reader at age 12 as I am now at 23 haha. Inkheart really is a great series, and it's an unpopular opinion but I really liked the movie. Paul Bettany makes a fantastic Dustfinger :)
I was getting mad at you for a second when you mentioned Graceling until you redeemed yourself and said the whole trilogy is great :P but always happy to see someone mention that book/trilogy!
Inkheart was my favourite book as a kid (besides HP)! I really credit it alongside HP for my love of reading, stories, and adventure. I remember being 10 or something and just wishing more than anything that I could grow up to have Eleanor's house/library/rare book collection lol. I still have a ways to go before I fill up every room and hallway but I'm certainly working on it :P
I personally think that the Inkheart series gets better with each book since we get so much more world building , but nevertheless, it's one of my favourite series of all time. I originally read it when I was 12 and I'm 17 now, but I've reread it twice and it never fails my expectations and it's really nice to just go back and revisit the world you know and love.
I agree with your thoughts on The Mysterious Benedict Society. The sequels were a bit plain. But I thought the prequel, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, was actually the best book in the series. Plus, you don't need to read any of the main series in order to enjoy it and vice versa. Inkheart and its sequels are a lot of fun. My personal favorite introduction to a series would probably be The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. It's the first book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy and loads and loads of fun.
Graceling is amazing! Have you read Jane, Unlimited? I loved it as well. I even got to meet Kristin Cashore on her tour for Jane, She's so nice and inspirational. I agree with so many of the books on this list. I think my favourite first book is Obernewtyn. It practically paved my way to reading things not by Ben M Baglio.
Inkheart is phenomenol! I want to get the trilogy for my nephew but am probably going to wait a bit since I got him the Harry Potter series for Christmas. Need to give him time to read that.
I’ve only read Graceling and Fire and loved them both. I tried picking up Bitterblue but didn’t find it interesting enough to go past the first few chapters. I might try it again.
The only one of these I've read so far is A Wrinkle In Time, and that was a long time ago (back in the '70s) and Every Heart a Doorway (which I loved). I will have to check these others out.
A Wrinkle In Time is definitely the most memorable. But if anyone hasn't read the whole series and wants to if I remember they real pretty quick. They aren't bad...but the first is my favorite.
Hey Cece! Loved the video! I saw your video about books to read in 2018 and I read The Scorpio Races this week and I just want to encourage you even more to read it! haha. Turned out to be a book of great character s and feminism and family I really think you'll enjoy!. I also loove this trilogy by Patrick ness! Big hugs from Brazil ❤
Personally I think Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the best out of the series, but I totally understand where you are coming from. I really really really want to read The Chaos Walking trilogy and still have not managed to pick it up!
I consider Down Among the Sticks and Bones a very, very close second. I honestly gave all three in the series the exact same rating, I just have a very slight preference for the first in the series since it was my introduction to the world.
ProblemsofaBookNerd That's true. I personally loved the characters, world, and theme more in the second book. I totally get where you are coming from, though.
I despised A Wrinkle In Time. I don’t understand why, just not my type of book. And I have all three books in the Inkheart trilogy. Inkheart was slow going and I’m trying to read Inkspell. Not going so well. I might have to DNF this series until I’m feeling nostalgic..
I love to the mysterious Benedict Society read the entire series honestly nothing really compares to the first book the kind of spin-off book where it is more of a prequel was interesting and probably the best of the continuation of the series but nothing really adds up to the first book
I really hated Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I just hated Xifeng she was so vain and just annoyed me. I also really disliked Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I was surprised by this as I LOVED Strange the Dreamer. 😊
Hmm, that's interesting that you feel that way. In my opinion, you aren't really supposed to like Xifeng. She's a villain, and it's a villain origin story, so the parts of her that are less "likeable" are actually what made me super interested in her. But I'm also very fascinated by unlikable protagonists!
ProblemsofaBookNerd yeah I know you weren’t supposed to like her and normally that’s fine and I like books like that which is why I was so excited for this book. I don’t know, I just didn’t gel with her or her reasoning for being a horrible person. It literally just felt that she just wanted everything because she was pretty and thought she deserved it because of that. I know loads of people like it and I am the odd one out. That’s fine though. Everyone likes different stuff and that’s what makes life fun! Enjoy the second one when it comes out! 😊
Wrinkle in Time is amazing! And any of those books could really serve as a stand-alone. I love how each focuses on a single plot and wraps up by the end. Will say that Swiftly Tilting Planet is my favorite because of time travelling unicorns.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, (titled Scepter of the Ancients in later US editions), first in a series of the same name, is an utterly fantastic book. It's about a twelve year-old Irish girl called Stephanie Edgely who inherits her uncle's vast fortune after he dies. One night while she is alone in his abandoned mansion after she is separated from her parents due to flooding of the roads, a man breaks into the house demanding that she give him a key. Before he can do any serious damage, she is rescued by Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeleton detective. This book is a witty, fast-paced and exciting read which perfectly sets up the rest of the series, while hinting at the darkness and horror to come. Landy's background as a scriptwriter is very evident in his snappy dialogue and excellent ability to paint a picture in your mind. If I could sum up the series in a quote from this book, it would be: "You ask me what is my nature? It is a dark and twisted thing." (That's a quote from Skulduggery himself. The secondary protagonist.)
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is the first book in the Bartimaeus trilogy. In this book, the snarky djinni Bartimaeus becomes enslaved to a young boy named Nathaniel who tasks him with one thing: retrieve the Amulet of Samarkand from the house of the powerful magician Simon Lovelace, and bring it back to Nathaniel. Things do not quite go as simply as Bartimaeus and Nathaniel hope. This book is exciting and witty and atmospheric and dark. And of course the political and moral undercurrent that becomes more prominent in later books is evident even this early. It's one of the deepest and most poignant series I've ever read and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Timekeeper by Tara Sim is the first book in the Timekeeper trilogy. In a Victorian England where time is controlled by magic clocktowers, Danny Hart is a clock mechanic, someone who can repair time itself. Danny's father is trapped in a town where time has stopped and Danny must prove himself to the lead mechanic so that he will be assigned to the rescue effort to build a new clocktower and free the town. This becomes difficult after Danny is assigned to Colton tower in Enfield, where he falls in love with it's resident clock spirit, which is illegal, and because there are terrorists bombing clocktowers in order to "free" time. This book was fantastic and adorable and dramatic and emotional and clever. I can't sing it's praises enough.
Half Bad by Sally Green is the first book in a series of the same name. If I could sum up why I love this book in one word, it would be "brutal." I like to liken this book to a mixed-race child growing up in a world ruled by a magical KKK. Nathan Byrn is a Half-Code - half White Witch, and half Black Witch - and as such his life is made hell by the White Witch Council. This book steadily ramps up the stakes for Nathan as he suffers more and more abuse. This book pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to the brutality that Nathan is subjected to as time goes on, and is horrifying, and perhaps even nauseating to read. And that's why it's so good. The second book suffers because it doesn't have this brutality for the most part, but the third book is an amazing return to form for the series.
The Shattered Gates by Ginn Hale is the first book (or rather, the first three books) in the Rifter series. John Toffler is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life who steals a key intended for his roommate Kyle, out of frustration with Kyle's constant disappearances. This turns out to be a mistake, because Kyle is really Kahlil, a warrior from another dimension who was assigned to guard John for reasons unknown. Then of course there's the Rifter, a malevolent god destined to destroy both worlds. This book is beautifully written with stunning characterisation and world-building, as well as a confusing yet intriguing story that the reader must piece together as the story progresses.
I LOVE the Skulduggery Pleasant series!! May I ask, what did you think of "Resurrection"? Because I hated it :X
It wasn't my favourite of the series, but I didn't have any significant problems with it. Aside from the Valduggery hints.
I really enjoy your spin on this topic! And I can't remember the last time I've been as excited for a movie adaptation as I am for A Wrinkle in Time...
I love your interpretation about only needing to read one book in the series. I've been curious about the books after a Wrinkle in Time but now I can spend time reading other books. I really enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time as a standalone anyway.
I need to read Not Your Side Kick and The Knife of Never Letting Go. They both sound amazing and I've had The Chaos Walking trilogy since I started my channel.
A Wrinkle in Time was fantastic! I have been meaning to continue with the series!
I really want to read the rest of the Inkheart series! I’ve only ever read the first one.
I LOVED Inkheart! I have owned all 3 for over 10 years now but never continued. I think I'll re-read Inkheart this year and continue on. Also Daughter of Smoke and Bone ripped my heart out and I couldn't get into book 2 :(
Oh look, daughter of smoke and bone is not on the shelf ... wanna bet it’s in this video?
Man, I remember getting Inkheart for my 12th birthday and I kept picking it up, getting to the middle, and then putting it down for awhile, and starting it over again and again because I kept forgetting what happened. Finally a couple years later I started it again, determinedly pushed through that middle section and suddenly I was obsessed and had to finish the series lol. I was just not an avid reader at age 12 as I am now at 23 haha. Inkheart really is a great series, and it's an unpopular opinion but I really liked the movie. Paul Bettany makes a fantastic Dustfinger :)
I was getting mad at you for a second when you mentioned Graceling until you redeemed yourself and said the whole trilogy is great :P but always happy to see someone mention that book/trilogy!
Inkheart was my favourite book as a kid (besides HP)! I really credit it alongside HP for my love of reading, stories, and adventure. I remember being 10 or something and just wishing more than anything that I could grow up to have Eleanor's house/library/rare book collection lol. I still have a ways to go before I fill up every room and hallway but I'm certainly working on it :P
I personally think that the Inkheart series gets better with each book since we get so much more world building , but nevertheless, it's one of my favourite series of all time. I originally read it when I was 12 and I'm 17 now, but I've reread it twice and it never fails my expectations and it's really nice to just go back and revisit the world you know and love.
I’ve had Graceling on my shelf forever now!
Jay G same!😩
Love your recommendations! Added a few of those to my TBR list. Thank you!
Honestly Inkheart might be my favorite book of all time
A Wrinkle in Time is literally my favorite book! ❤️❤️
I agree with your thoughts on The Mysterious Benedict Society. The sequels were a bit plain. But I thought the prequel, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, was actually the best book in the series. Plus, you don't need to read any of the main series in order to enjoy it and vice versa.
Inkheart and its sequels are a lot of fun.
My personal favorite introduction to a series would probably be The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. It's the first book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy and loads and loads of fun.
I loved the Knife of Never Letting Go so much I read the next books in the next two days 😅
Graceling is amazing! Have you read Jane, Unlimited? I loved it as well. I even got to meet Kristin Cashore on her tour for Jane, She's so nice and inspirational. I agree with so many of the books on this list. I think my favourite first book is Obernewtyn. It practically paved my way to reading things not by Ben M Baglio.
Inkheart is phenomenol! I want to get the trilogy for my nephew but am probably going to wait a bit since I got him the Harry Potter series for Christmas. Need to give him time to read that.
I’ve only read Graceling and Fire and loved them both. I tried picking up Bitterblue but didn’t find it interesting enough to go past the first few chapters. I might try it again.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is amazing! I feel like it's really under-appreciated.
The only one of these I've read so far is A Wrinkle In Time, and that was a long time ago (back in the '70s) and Every Heart a Doorway (which I loved). I will have to check these others out.
I’m kind of surprised that The Giver isn’t on your list! I still really need to read Every Heart A Doorway UGH
Jill N how.... did I forget The Giver?? I’m so mad at myself.
The Chaos Walking trilogy is my favourite series of all time :D
A Wrinkle In Time is definitely the most memorable. But if anyone hasn't read the whole series and wants to if I remember they real pretty quick. They aren't bad...but the first is my favorite.
Proud because I know most of these, ashamed I haven't finished the series.
You Anyways make me add a lot more books to my tbr... :p
Hey Cece!
Loved the video! I saw your video about books to read in 2018 and I read The Scorpio Races this week and I just want to encourage you even more to read it! haha. Turned out to be a book of great character s and feminism and family I really think you'll enjoy!.
I also loove this trilogy by Patrick ness!
Big hugs from Brazil ❤
I'm surprised that The Raven Boys didn't get a nod on this list (I think you've said it's not your favorite in the series so that's probably why)
Personally I think Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the best out of the series, but I totally understand where you are coming from.
I really really really want to read The Chaos Walking trilogy and still have not managed to pick it up!
I consider Down Among the Sticks and Bones a very, very close second. I honestly gave all three in the series the exact same rating, I just have a very slight preference for the first in the series since it was my introduction to the world.
ProblemsofaBookNerd That's true. I personally loved the characters, world, and theme more in the second book. I totally get where you are coming from, though.
I can't say I cared for Every Heart a Doorway at all.
Who is wait for Not Your Backup by C.B Lee?
Will we get a video on your 2018 bullet journal?
Yes! You will. I am still working on setting it up right now, but I will do a video on it just as soon as it's all set for the new year.
this is exactly what I was going to ask! I need some inspo, cece!!
I despised A Wrinkle In Time. I don’t understand why, just not my type of book. And I have all three books in the Inkheart trilogy. Inkheart was slow going and I’m trying to read Inkspell. Not going so well. I might have to DNF this series until I’m feeling nostalgic..
I love to the mysterious Benedict Society read the entire series honestly nothing really compares to the first book the kind of spin-off book where it is more of a prequel was interesting and probably the best of the continuation of the series but nothing really adds up to the first book
The Knife of Never Letting Go was one of the worst books I have ever read 🤐
I really hated Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I just hated Xifeng she was so vain and just annoyed me. I also really disliked Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I was surprised by this as I LOVED Strange the Dreamer. 😊
Hmm, that's interesting that you feel that way. In my opinion, you aren't really supposed to like Xifeng. She's a villain, and it's a villain origin story, so the parts of her that are less "likeable" are actually what made me super interested in her. But I'm also very fascinated by unlikable protagonists!
ProblemsofaBookNerd yeah I know you weren’t supposed to like her and normally that’s fine and I like books like that which is why I was so excited for this book. I don’t know, I just didn’t gel with her or her reasoning for being a horrible person. It literally just felt that she just wanted everything because she was pretty and thought she deserved it because of that. I know loads of people like it and I am the odd one out. That’s fine though. Everyone likes different stuff and that’s what makes life fun! Enjoy the second one when it comes out! 😊