I love a good story. Whether it’s told through a novel, film, TV, theatre, or at the pub – I’m not fussy how I get them. Books though, they’re something special. They spark my imagination like nothing else, they come in many forms (print, digital, audio), can be enjoyed anywhere and at your own pace, and the offerings are practically inexhaustible (my reading list is well into the hundreds). Here is an incomplete list of some of my favourites, books I would happily recommend to others. My tastes tend towards the fantastical, mythical, humorous, larcenous, whimsical, extraordinary and the exploration of ‘what if’. I intend to update this list occasionally. In no particular order…

• Arcadia by Iain Pears
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
• Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues by H S Valley
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Simon Snow Series by Rainbow Rowell
• The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow
• The Tale of Shikanoko Series by Lian Hearn
• Shades of Magic Series by V E Schwab
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• The Long Earth Series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
• Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton
• The Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh
• Highfire by Eoin Colfer
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• Mortal Engines Quartet by Philip Reeve
• The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker
• Gentleman Bastard Series by Scott Lynch
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune
• Artemis by Andy Weir
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• More Than This by Patrick Ness
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
• River of London Series by Ben Aaronovitch
• The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
• Extracted Trilogy by R R Haywood
• Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
• Railhead Trilogy by Philip Reeve
• Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
• Villains Series by V E Schwab
• The Nevernight Chronicle by Jay Kristoff
• The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen Series by Hendrik Groen
• Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
• Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump
• Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
• The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

For more of my reading history and books I am yet to read, see my Goodreads (@gbralph).

Updated: 5 October 2022