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Monday, September 12, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday #25


 

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back to The Broke and the Bookish so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week's topic is Ten All Time Favorite Books of X Genre 

 I'm going with Fantasy this week. It's always been my favorite genre- there's something about fantasy- the sense of wonder, the escapism of it, the chance to explore a new world with echoes of our own, but with all the fun stuff- dragons, elves

So here are ten fantasies that I think are pretty awesome. 
A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

 This is without a doubt one of my favorite fantasy books. It's huge, sprawling and there are so many great moments in it.  
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

 The third book in the series and like A Dance with Dragons, there is just so much that happens in this one. 
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

 The second Ice and Fire book this one takes the story into much deeper territory and has some amazing moments. The prologue especially sets the tone as we see just how mysterious the red priestess Melisandre really is. Plus Dragonstone!
The Return of the King (Lord of the Rings, #3)

 For me not only is this a great conclusion, but I've always been fascinated by the period of time after the Lord of the Rings. The beginning of the Fourth Age, when man is ascendant and the elves leave- Aragorn Elessar's reign begins and the north and south kingdoms are reunited. I'd love to see how that develops- and the Appendices in this book give lots of hints. 
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

This book spends a lot of time in the Shire and that's one of the things I love about it. As a kid reading these all the build up and Shire stuff bored me, but as an adult I found that pastoral land to be fascinating and the images of it presented here are some of my favorites. The Old Forest, the sense that the Shire is a protected land and outside its borders is an encroaching darkness, the town of Bree- just amazing worldbuilding. 

Image result for unfinished tales jrr tolkien

 This is a very nice companion read to the Lord of the Rings. It provides background information on some of the fellowship members and what they were doing at various points before the quest, including Aragorn. There is a section on the Istari (the wizards) that shows where Gandalf and his kind came from, and it's just a wealth of information.
The Hobbit 


Planet of Exile
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28 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2016 at 9:21 PM

    The Return of the King remains my favourite of the three installments as it's just so epic and such a fantastic conclusion to the story. A Storm of Swords is definitely a favourite of mine from ASoIaF despite of how completely scarring that book was because of how it was such a game-changer to the story. I've been meaning to re-read the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy for some time now, it's one of my favourites too. Great list!

    My TTT

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2016 at 10:08 PM

    I'm not a huge fantasy reader, but I have heard so many wonderful things about these books.

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  3. DebbishSeptember 12, 2016 at 10:19 PM

    We've got such different taste (in books anyway) Greg, but I love seeing what others are reading and what they love.

    This is my first Top Ten Tues post today!!!

    PS. Our taste in TV shows isn't too different though!

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  4. Lindsey @ Lindsey ReadsSeptember 13, 2016 at 12:10 AM

    The Return of the King was indeed amazing! I loved the Appendices as well.
    To my shame I haven't read the George R.R. Martin books! I have them on my shelf, but I've been completely addicted to the TV show and now I'm not sure if I still want to read the books. Maybe once when the series is over and all books are out so I can binge-read :)

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  5. BibliophileSeptember 13, 2016 at 12:31 AM

    I find the thought of tackling the Song of Ice and Fire books a bit daunting, but maybe I'll go for it when the series is finished.

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  6. Suzanne @ The Bookish LibraSeptember 13, 2016 at 3:33 AM

    Great list! Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings are two of my favorites!

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  7. Grace @ RebelMommyBookBlogSeptember 13, 2016 at 3:48 AM

    I don't do much fantasy but I know GoT and LotR are two of the best. Maybe one day I will read them!!

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  8. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 13, 2016 at 3:54 AM

    I see a pattern, with some favorite authors, too. I'm wild about Tolkien, and I read the first book of GoT and thought it was brilliant. Thanks for sharing your favorites!

    Here's my Top Ten: Strong Girls and Strong Women in Literature!

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  9. BerlsSeptember 13, 2016 at 4:29 AM

    You seem to really like those epic Fantasies! I personally struggle with them, though I did enjoy Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was my favorite though - a little less epic :)

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  10. Dual ReadsSeptember 13, 2016 at 4:56 AM

    I feel so guilty for having never read Game of Thrones. It's one of the only times I've watched the show before reading the book! I love The Hobbit and LotR but I've never read any of his other works, Unfinished Tales looks like its worth checking out in particular!
    Here's my TTT post

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  11. SusanSeptember 13, 2016 at 9:09 AM

    I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I do love LOTR. It's hard not to get sucked into that world!

    Happy TTT!

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  12. MichelineSeptember 13, 2016 at 10:40 AM

    TOLKIEN. YES. I feel like I couldn't really call myself a fantasy fan until I'd read his works. He's like the father of all modern fantasy :) And I seriously must read some GRRM soon. Sigh. So many fantasy books, so little time XD

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  13. Literary FelineSeptember 13, 2016 at 10:42 AM

    I almost decided to go with fantasy for this weeks' list, but decided to go with crime fiction instead. Tolkien was such an awesome writer. His books are true classics. I haven't tried Tad Williams before. My husband really likes his books. Thanks for sharing, Greg!

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  14. DarleneSeptember 13, 2016 at 5:31 PM

    You have two mammoth series here that are both on my TBR mountain: A Song of Ice and Fire series and LOTR series! I definitely need to tackle them!!

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  15. Lee @ Rally the ReadersSeptember 13, 2016 at 6:07 PM

    Reading ASoIaF was truly a life-changing experience. I'd never read high fantasy before, and ASoIaF was the best introduction to the genre I could've asked for. Can we FINALLY have the new book already?! LOL!

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  16. Tracy September 13, 2016 at 7:14 PM

    I am SO interested in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales! I own a lot of his companion novels but haven't read them because they're intimidating (especially the Silmarillion). Awesome list!

    Here are my Top Ten!

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  17. Shannon @ It Starts at MidnightSeptember 13, 2016 at 9:20 PM

    I have read exactly zero of these, which is pretty bad of me. One of these days though I have full intentions on at least giving George RR Martin's books a go! Plus the cover of A Dance With Dragons makes me really want to read it, so there's that. Morgaine and Planet of Exile look good too, I think those could be "me" kind of books. I feel like Lord of the Rings and I would never get along ;) Great choices!

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    1. GregSeptember 13, 2016 at 11:26 PM

      I think you'd like George RR Martin's stuff, he certainly doesn't hold back but that's the thing with him, you never really know what's going to happen. lol he's pretty unpredictable. Of course there's the issue of when his books come out- kinda hard to wait years and years to get the rest of the tale. I like how someone like Maas writes big stories too, but she gets her books out. But Game of thrones is good for all that...

      I hear you on LotR, I have a lot of love for those but they can be slowmoving. It's a different experience with him, I've re- read Game of Thrones several times in spite of the length but Tolkien I re- read less. I love it but don't want to read it all the time, ya know?

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  18. UnknownSeptember 14, 2016 at 1:42 AM

    So much love got GoT and LotR!!! I love how big these books are too, so much to read. The last three I'm not familiar with but they look good!

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  19. La La in the LibrarySeptember 14, 2016 at 11:15 AM

    I feel awful that I still have not read Planet Of Exile! I need to go to Goodreads and add it so I don't keep fogetting. Katherine's TTT about "a book I would take to a desert island" got me thinking about a book I hardly ever mention and that's Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I loved that book. The covers you showed for Return Of the King, and Fellowship, were the covers my PB copies had. They brought back great memories. I wonder if mine are still at my mother's house somewhere. :)

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  20. UnknownSeptember 14, 2016 at 12:16 PM

    I haven't read any of these books, but I do agree with you Fantasy is a great escape genre! Happy Reading!

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  21. UnknownSeptember 14, 2016 at 2:04 PM

    I'm intrigued by the planet of exile.

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  22. Lauren StoolfireSeptember 14, 2016 at 2:59 PM

    Great list! I'll definitely be adding the Morgaine cycle to my tbr!

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  23. Angel Erin's Book ObsessionSeptember 15, 2016 at 12:26 PM

    Fantastic picks! I love GoT and LOTR. Also, The Morgaine Cycle looks really intriguing.

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  24. RissiSeptember 15, 2016 at 12:32 PM

    I've not read a single Tolkien novel nor have I ever seen the movies. But I hear they're amazing so who knows. Maybe, someday IF I ever wander more into the fantasy genre, I'll remember them. :)

    Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland, Greg.

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  25. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2016 at 2:11 PM

    I must confess - I am not a big LotR fan. I'm more of a Harry Potter girl. :) I did enjoy the films, one of the few times I like the film better than the book. :) Fun list!

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  26. Heather @ Random Redheaded RamblingsSeptember 16, 2016 at 2:13 PM

    I love that cover of the Fellowship, it would make a great poster. A great list Tolkien and Martin would be on my fantasy list, my greatest series list..........my list of lists!!!

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  27. Annemieke | A Dance with BooksSeptember 16, 2016 at 11:29 PM

    I personally really prefer A Storm of Swords in A Song of Ice and Fire. I thought that had a great balance between action and character development.

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