Ignoring that hideous, uninspired title, let's talk about books!
"The comfort of reading. Reading has always been, to me, the equivalent of snuggling close to a fire with a hot chocolate after a long day playing in the snow. It warms, fills, and makes you feel cozy." (Me)
The art of stories have been around since probably the beginning of humanity. When I was younger, I liked to pretend I was the first little girl on earth, and make up the world’s "first" stories (there were a lot about talking rocks and dancing sticks).
There are hundreds of book fandoms. Notable ones include Harry Potter (I know I keep mentioning Harry Potter-I might as well create a mock Bechdel test where you try to talk about fandoms without the mention of JK Rowling’s works), the Lord of the Rings, Divergent, the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Maze Runner, the Selection Series, the Twilight books, the Lunar Chronicles, John Green books (notably The Fault in Our Stars aka TFIOS), the Mortal Instrument Series, the Infernal Devices Series, the Maximum Ride series, Vampire Academy, Rainbow Rowell books, ect,etc.
Is it obvious I’m trying to hit a word count?
Jokes aside, if a series is good it's bound to have a decent following. Although, since there is such a wide variety of books and many book readers with a variety of interests, some real hidden gems can often get missed! I’ll be sharing my favorite non-mainstream books that deserve a little love.
1. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
This book is more here because of the nostalgia I associate it with. This was one of my first chapter books as a kid, and I have a copy I keep by my bedside. The spine is all crinkled, and the cover is halfway off-it’s obvious I’ve read it hundreds of times.
But you may be wondering, why would she keep reading this children’s book? The answer is quite simple- because it's the best one I’ve ever read!
Recently I’ve read the Hobbit (I know, I know I’m about 80 years late) and found I quite liked it. In fact, it has a similar ‘vibe’ to Dragon Slippers. Although, the dragon’s in this book are much more friendly.
A synopsis of it can be found here, if you’re interested (just check it out, for real, trust me on this one.)
2. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Oh, the amount of people who have never experienced the magnificence of this novel! Every page is pure magic. I eat it up like candy, or potato chips, or maybe even grapes if I need to mention something healthy.
Stardust is that book you are looking for. Experienced readers, new readers, or people who don’t even like to hear the b word (b=books. What were you thinking?) will enjoy Stardust.
Plus, I can say it has a little bit of everything. Adventure? Action? Comedy? Romance? Fantasy? It has flying pirates, for goodness sake!
Honestly I’ll never be able to praise Stardust enough. If my opinions weren’t enough to convince you to read the book, at least watch the movie (which is also pretty amazing.)
Check out the book’s synopsis here!
3. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
I actually picked up this book recently, after I needed a break from all the YA Fantasy Romance books I was reading (after reading the same genre for a while, the plot just becomes predictable.)
Exhalation was the science fiction break I needed. It’s a collection of short stories that temporarily opened my third eye- it made me sit for a while and just think.
The stories were interesting, and showed how people view the world in different ways. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially those who want their mind blown. Read more about it here.
4. There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar
Don’t let the title throw you off-this book is a real tearjerker. At least, for me it is...maybe I’m just emotional?
Anyways, this book helped me through some tough spots. It taught me that it's okay to struggle, and it's okay to look for help. While I was reading this, it was as if I was learning the same lessons that the main character was (which I can’t get too into detail without spoiling.)
If you’re craving to learn a thing or two, a slice of life book, or just wanting a bit of nostalgia, this one’s definitely for you! Read the synopsis here.
5. Fate of Flames (The Effigies Series #1) by Sarah Raughley
The Effigies Series is one of those series that goes by in a flash. I think I read this trilogy in a week or less-I couldn’t put them down.
The series has a mix of everything- comedy, fantasy, action, horror, adventure, etc. It’s like the Last Airbender meets of Onyx and Ivory meets Pacific Rim meets Avengers meets Sailor Moon.
If you’re still not interested (which sounds reasonable considering how bad at I am at articulating how amazing books are), read the synopsis here.