As an avid reader of fantasy, I have my own recommendations (including books I think everyone should read). However, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this list without the help of fellow readers at the University of Twente, so without further ado, here are my cherry-picked recommendations for fiction books.
1. Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
I own a beautiful set of leather-bound Lord of the Rings books, and over the years they’ve shown their quality – worn and loved and dog-eared by middle-school me. Tolkien is a titan of fantasy, and his magnum opus, Lord of the Rings, shows why. This is the book series that started it all, paving the way for modern fantasy to find its place among literature, so if you’re into fantasy at all and haven’t read LOTR, you really should rethink your book choices. Do check out the other books by Tolkien if you like LOTR’s style, such as The Fall of Gondor and The Hobbit. However, don’t be surprised when you pick up the book and find yourself reading about a tree or an elf’s hairstyle for several pages straight.
2. A Song of Ice and Fire – George R.R. Martin
Ahh, Martin. Possibly my favourite fantasy series of all time, but also my most hated. If the author, George R.R. Martin, had actually dedicated himself to finishing the series, this could have been on the same level as LOTR. I love everything about this book series, from the characters and their Houses to the world to the dragons. If you’re like me and were disappointed by the Game of Thrones ending, then do yourself a favour (and also subject yourself to a bunch of pain) and read the book series, which includes a lot of stuff you wouldn’t see on TV. However, ASOIAF is unfinished, and while it pains me to say it, it will probably remain unfinished, and this saddens me deeply.
3. Dune – Frank Herbert
Recently, Dune has picked up on popularity, and for good reason – this is also one of those books that started it all, specifically for the sci-fi genre. I’m an avid defender of the fact that most of Star Wars was copied from Dune (though this doesn’t make me love Star Wars any less), so reading the original book was a pretty fun experience. Watching the movies was some of the most fun I’ve had in the cinema, and reading the books to accompany them only added to the fun. Dune is a fantastic story and has one of the best main characters I’ve ever read in Paul Atreides.
4. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
This book resonated with me for several reasons. For one, the book is written through the point of view of Charlie Gordon, who undergoes a surgical procedure to become smarter. For another, you get to see the effects this surgery has, and I think the book is written extremely well with regards to how relationships are affected by intelligence. It’s a fantastic read, and I finished this one recently in under a day. There’s also a shorter version, which is the original one, and I feel as though the payoff is the same for the plot. However, I was so absorbed after the first couple of pages that I just continued with the longer version.
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Witty, satirical, and full of irony, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a relatively light read that is, sadly, not really a guide. It’s a fun book about an ordinary man who is swept away on an adventure across the universe – what’s not to love? However, if you’re looking for a deep, overarching story (mainly the ones listed above), then this might not be the book for you… just yet. However, I still think everyone should read this book at least once in their lives, as it’s one of those books that you always hear about regardless. It also tells you the answer to life… just not the question that’s being asked.
6. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
This book has a peculiar premise – an English butler, Stevens, reminisces about his long career serving Lord Darlington, a nobleman. Lord Darlington sympathises with Nazis, which brings in Stevens’ struggle with unwavering loyalty and preserving his own dignity, including his lost opportunities with romantic partners and other such events. The prose in this book is beautiful and incredibly thoughtful – the scenes between the butler and his father were particularly agonising.
7. Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
I will admit, I’m not the biggest fan of Murakami. I’m not sure if it’s the prose or the plots or if it’s translated work, but most of his books just don’t spark that feeling in me. However, Kafka on the Shore was a pretty interesting, philosophical read, and I’m glad that this book is still being recommended and remembered, two decades after its release. It explores music, a criminally underused theme in literature, and ties in with metaphysics, something I personally think is odd but interesting nevertheless. It’s not my favourite book by any means, but it still makes for a good, engaging story.
8. The Song of Achilles – Madelline Miller
This book made waves around the BookTok community when people rediscovered it. Again, I’m generally skeptical of BookTok recommendations, but having read Madelline Miller’s other works (Circe, for example), I was inclined to give it a chance. As an Ancient Greek history buff, I was also curious to read how a book about Achilles and Patroclus, as lovers, would play out – after all, in the Illiad, it was never indicated that they loved each other more than just brotherly soldiers. I was expecting to cringe, I’ll admit, but after finishing it, I was left nearly in tears. It’s a beautiful book, with excellent prose and a great storyline. Do check out Madelline Miller’s other works!
9. The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Imagine how many alternate lives you could have lived if you’d made a different choice at different points in your life. One small difference could bring some serious change, and The Midnight Library explores exactly that – a woman, unsatisfied with her life after a series of events, is stuck in a limbo library between life and death. She gets to explore all kinds of alternate lives she could have lived if she’d made different decisions – millions and millions of them, stories of how her life could have been different. It’s philosophical, it’s interesting, and it’s definitely got a good story, though I’m not a fan of the author’s prose, but that’s just me.
10. 1984 – George Orwell
Of course this had to be on here. I remember being 13 or 14 or something of the sort and being amazed at how deep this book was. It’s a damn good read, that’s for sure, but I’ve toned down on the edginess and I do think this book is a tad overrated. If you want to get into philosophy, then oddly enough I’ll say that this book could be a good starting point: it introduces several themes, questions, and terms that any aspiring philosopher ought to be familiar with. Still, 1984 is rated positively by the masses for a reason, so grab a copy and form your own opinion. Just make sure that no one, least of all Big Brother, is watching you.
