#HPLD Book List

[hpldreads]

Some reimagined takes on old classics:

Railsea by China Miéville

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Solsbury Hill by Susan M. Wyler

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

The Adventures of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang

Ulysses by James Joyce

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Winterspell by Claire Legrand

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann

Another Little Piece of My Heart by Tracey Martin

Persuasion by Jane Auten

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Duke of Bannerman Prep by Katie A. Nelson

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Sheperd

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells

Sway by Kat Spears

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

His Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

[squeemcsquee]

Convention/Event Review Master List

Because now that I can, I am definitely going to gather these all in one place. It’s a good excuse to go back and edit things. I’ll be adding reviews as I find them in my archives or as I add them in the future. 

Anime Central 2017

SoyCon 2017

Anime Zap 2018

UChi-Con 2018

Free Comic Book Day 2018

Anime Central 2018

Cogs & Corsets: A Steampunk Happening 2018

Bloomington Normal Video Game Convention 2018

HPLD Nerd Con 2018

Olde English Faire 2018

Anime Midwest 2018

Peoria Geekfest 2018

Ignite Peoria 2018

Springfield Micro Con 2018

Peoria Comic Book Convention October 2018

TFCon Chicago 2018

Anime Zap 2019

UChi-Con 2019

PeoriaCon 2019

QuadCon Peoria Spring 2019

Anime Central 2019

Anime Expo 2019 (Virtual Attendance)

Anime Iowa 2019

Springfield Comic Expo 2019

QuadCon Peoria Halloween 2019

Anime Zap 2020

Sixty-Six Games Expo/BN Video Game Convention 2020

Peoria Comic Book Convention Jan 2020

UChi-Con 2020

PeoriaCon 2020

Cogs & Corsets: A Steampunk Happening 2021

QuadCon Peoria, June 2021

Anime Iowa 2021

Anime Magic 2021

QuadCon Peoria, September 2021

PeoriaCon 2021

QuadCon Peoria, December 2021

Anime Zap 2022

PeoriaCon 2022

Anime Central 2022

Cogs & Corsets A Steampunk Happening 2022

Anime Iowa 2022

Anime Magic 2022

TFCon Chicago 2022

PeoriaCon 2023

Anime Central 2023

Illinois Game Con 2023

Game On Peoria High School Gaming Expo 2023

Otakon 2023

Anime Magic 2023

QuadCon Peoria November 2023

PeoriaCon 2024

[hpldreads]

Books with characters on the Autism Spectrum (and a few non-fiction, too)

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Rules by Cynthia Lord

The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Rain Reign Ann M. Martin

Blue Bottle Mystery by Kathy Hoopmann

Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Marcelo and the Real World by Francisco Stork

Same but Different by Holly Robinson Peete

Maybe in Paris by Rebecca Christiansen

Things I Should Have Known by Claire Scovell LaZebnik

Colin Fisher by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz

The Half Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman

It’s Not a Perfect World But I’ll Take It: 50 Life Lessons for Teens Like Me, Who Are Kind Of (You Know) Autistic by Jennifer Rose

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida, Ka Yoshida, and David Mitchell

Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s by John Elder Robison

Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism by Paul Collins

In A Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s by Temple Grandin

Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant and Tom Fields-Meyer

Asperger's on the Inside by Michelle Vines

[hpldreads]

A  list of books about magic:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Half Bad by Sally Green

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

When My Heart Was Wicked by Tricia Stirling

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Awakening by Catrina Burgess

Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

The Crowns Game by Evelyn Skye

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Throne of Glass by Sarah. J. Maas

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

[hpldreads]

Books about being involved in theater:

The Backstagers by James Tynion IV

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin

Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth

Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta

The Taming of the Drew by Stephanie Kate Strohm

[hpldreads]

A list of books with characters that are famous on the internet:

Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger

At First Blush by Beth Ellyn Summer

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

Internet Famous by Danika Stone

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Girl Last Seen by Heather Anastasiu and Anne Greenwood Brown

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Don’t Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley

Adorkable by Sarra Manning

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This Is How It Happened by Paula Stokes

[hpldreads]

Tales from the court of King Henry the Eighth:

Maid of the King’s Court by Lucy Worsley

VIII by H. M. Castor

Tarnish by Katherine Longshore

The King’s Rose by Alisa M. Libby

The Executioner’s Daughter by Jane Hardstarff

Just a Girl by Jane Caro

The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Ambition’s Queen by V. E. Lynne

Katherine Of Aragon: The True Queen by Alison Weir

Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

[hpldreads]

Books about Basketball:

Black and White by Paul Volponi

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

Boost by Kathy Mackel

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Kuroko’s Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Rebound by Bob Krech

The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year by Annameekee Hesik

The Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin

The Final Four by Paul Volpoini

[hpldreads]

A few books that take place in the 1960′s:

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Fallout by Todd Strasser

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

11/22/63 by Stephen King

The Girls by Emma Cline

March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell

[hpldreads]

Books about unicorns:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce

The Unicorn Hunter by Del Henderson

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

The Road to Balinor by Mary Stanton

Zombies Vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee

Acorna: The Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey

Wish: Dream’s Beginning by Deby Adair

Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville

Moonsilver by Kathleen Duey

Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

[hpldreads]

Books about Authors:

Maud’s Line by Margaret Verble

Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons by Ann Rinaldi

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees

Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick

Nobody’s Secret by Michaela MacColl

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne

[hpldreads]

Books about missing persons:

A Void the Size of the World by Rachele Alpine

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

The Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah

The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby

Shelter by Harlan Coben

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman

[hpldreads]

If you are a fan of 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, try another book that deals with bullying:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Winger by Andrew Smith

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

7 Days by Eve Ainsworth

Boring Girls by Sara Taylor

Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter

Tease by Amanda Maciel

[hpldreads]

Books about school shootings:

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser

Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Rage by Richard Bachman (Steven King)

Hey Nostradamus by Douglas Coupland

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon

[hpldreads]

Are you obsessed with the Netflix original Stranger Things? Yeah, us too. So we put together a list of what we think our favorite characters would read.

Eleven:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Talented by Sophie Davis

Mike:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Will:

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

Lucas and Dustin:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Hopper:

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Jackaby by William Ritter

Joyce:

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield

Nancy:

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

First and Then by Emma Mills

Jonathan:

The Jump Artist by Austin Ratner

The Outsiders by SE Hinton

Dr. Brenner:

The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly

Steve:

The Wind Blows Backward by Mary Downing Hahn

the DUFF by Kody Keplinger

[hpldreads]

Want to play book bingo with us? Just read a book from each category and mark it off as you go! Can you cover the board?

Here’s some suggestions to help you out!

Poetry: 

Reverie - The Poetic Underground by Erin Hanson

The Road Not Taken and Other Poems by Robert Frost

Orchards by Holly Thompson

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Historical:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Outlander by Diana Galbaldon

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

E-Book:

Bone Gap by Ruby Laura

A Step Towards Falling by Cammie McGovern

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Maze Runner by James Dashner 

Biography:

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Binge by Tyler Oakley

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin

Non-Fiction:

Assuming Names by Tanya Thompson

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

Mystery:

Peeled by Joan Bauer

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Western:

The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn

Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry

True Grit by Charles Portis

Daisy Kutter by Kazu Kibuishi

A Classic:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fantasy:

Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas