Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Hi, I'm 12 years old, and after the Harry Potter series ended last year, I can't find anything to read except the books that I am required to read for school. I'm not saying they're not good, but I usually like reading at least 2 or 3 books at a time.
I like fantasy books (such as Harry Potter or the Hobbit, which I am currently reading) and action/adventure books. Anybody have any ideas on what to read???

Muggle,
Welcome!
How about My Side of the Mountain, The Call of the Wild, White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, Eragon.
I'll think of some otheres and get back to you.

His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman is an excellent fantasy series. I know there is a lot of controversy over his atheism and the "killing God" aspect of the book but if you read it you'll see that the meaning of the book has been skewed. It has three books and the first is my favorite, I absolutely fell in love with Iorek.

You might also want to try Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series. It's one of the best science fiction series ever written and promises endless fun.

If you want a series that's a little younger than you but very good (and quick reads), I highly recommend The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. The protagonist is 11, and it's written more simply than some of the other suggestions, but it's great and I want everyone to read it :)

The first book is Gregor the Overlander.

Some of my favorite fantasy books are... Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Inkheart by Cornillia Funk, The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

Have fun reading.

I would definitely second the Ender's Game series, the Eragon series, and the His Dark Material Series.

I checked my bookshelf for some more recommendations...you'll have to check some of these out because some of them may be too easy for you...here goes...
The Princess Bride, The Westing Game, The Phantom Tollbooth, Twilight series, Pendragon series, The Trickster's Choice (plus sequel and other books by Tamora Pierce), The Giver (and Gathering Blue/other Lois Lowry books), Ella Enchanted, the Uglies series, the Redwall series, The Two Princess of Bamarre, A Great and Terrible Beauty series, Thief Lord.
Wow...that's a lot of books...it'll definitely keep you (and whoever else looks at this) busy! Good luck reading!

I second the suggestion! I love Terry Pratchett and I love Disk-World! Admittedly, I've only read one of the books but as you can see, I loved it.

Also, Lauren, thank you so much.
For at least a month now I've been trying to remember the title to one of my favorite books I read as a child and you have just posted it: The Phantom Tollbooth! Thank you thank you thank you. (:

I'm glad to help Samantha! We did the Phantom Tollbooth play in 5th grade and I was Princess Reason! I also love that book! Thinking back...it was a great book, but it would definitely be a quick read for a 12 year old!

Lauren,

I'm SO glad you mentioned The Westing Game. I thought that book was brilliant when I read it as a kid. In fact, it is one of the few books I kept and I'm thinking it needs a re-read.

The Phantom Tollbooth is missing from my repertoire...I need to rectify that!

I also second the Dark Materials Trilogy and the L'Engle series!

So many of my beloved books are already on this list: Phantom Tollbooth, His Dark Materials (much better in book form), Ender's Game...

As a fantasy and young adult book lover (still!), I would suggest the Lord of the Rings (found them better than the Hobbit in the end), Chronicles of Narnia, Garth Nix's Sabriel (Abhorsen trilogy), the Thursday Next series (if you like books come to life), Redwall series, The Book of Lost Things... I'll stop there :)

I'm a 6th grade teacher and love juvenile fiction! Two of my favorites are Walk Two Moons and City of Ember.

Lots of great stuff posted here...

If you like your fantasy with a dash of humor, be sure to try Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest series.

If you like Harry Potter, you might also like Charlie Bone.

Mythology fans will enjoy Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series.

For fairy tale retellings, check out Donna Jo Napoli. My personal favorites are Crazy Jack (Jack in the Beanstalk) and Spinners (Rumpelstiltskin). Shannon Hale also wrote a marvelous reimagining of a Grimm's fairy tale called The Goose Girl. It is a trilogy, starting with, you guessed it, The Goose Girl.

I think it was the summer when I was 12 that I DEVOURED the complete Sherlock Holmes stories. They're tremendous fun -- if you want to branch out from contemporary YA, check them out!

A few more...

The Charlie Bone series is similar to Harry Potter.

The Spiderwick Chronicles are wonderful. Fun fantasy.

I just reread Watership Down and remembered how much I loved it as a teenager. 400 pages about rabbits? Way better than it sounds.

Another creative take on fairy tales is Michael Buckley's Sister's Grimm detective series. They discover that the Grimm's fairy tales are actually their great uncles' case files.

Most of my suggestions have already been listed but I definitely second The Spiderwick Chronicals, His Dark Materials, and Inkheart. Those are three of my favorites.

I would also HIGHLY recommend Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (actually, all over her books are incredible)- it's pretty much my favorite book of all time.

I would also suggest that you read the Time Quartet by Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time might be required reading for you, but the series is amazing.

These are all awesome recommendations! I'd like to add one more: The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. This is an awesome sci-fi/adventure story about a young boy who discovers he is a human clone...it will hook you after the first chapter!

I don't believe anyone has mentioned the The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. It was a lot of fun.