#matt cruse book series | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

book--brackets · 2 years ago

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Future Competitions

In light of recent requests and submissions, once this competition is over, we'll be starting back up again with a whole new set of books! If you'd like to submit a title, check my pinned post and the list below to make sure your submission is eligible. I can no longer add to this list. Any further titles are being kept privately by me, but there are there, I promise! I am now tagging asks with the titles submitted.

A to Z Mysteries

Abhorsen

A Dog's Life

Adventure (Blyton)

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

Adventurers Wanted

Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians

Alex Rider

All-of-a-Kind Family

The American Girl Books

Amulet

Anne of Green Gables

Animal Ark

Animorphs

Applewhites

The Babysitter's Club

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Beacon Street Girls

Beatrice Bailey

The Belgariad

Bella Sara

Betsy-Tacy

Black Beauty

The Black Stallion

The Blackwell Pages

Books of Bayern

The Borrowers

Bridge to Terabithia

The Boxcar Children

Captain Underpants

Casson Family

The Cat Club

Catwings

Charlotte's Web

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

The Chronicles of Dragon

The Chronicles of Prydain

The Circle of Magic

Clementine

The Clique

The Cloak Society

Cobble Street Cousins

The Cooper Kids Adventures

Coraline

Damar (McKinley)

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Is Rising

Dear America

Dear Canada

Deltora Quest

The Divide (Kay)

Dork Diaries

Dragonbreath

The Dragonfly Pool

Dragonhaven

Dragon Rider

Dragon Slayer's Academy

Earthsea Cycle

East (Pattou)

Echo (Ryan)

Edgar & Ellen

Emily (Montgomery)

Emily Windsnap

The Enchanted Castle

Encyclopedia Brown

Esperanza Rising

The Ever Afters

The Faerie Realm

Fablehaven

Fairyland (Valente)

The Faraway Tree

Ferngully

First Light (Stead)

Five Children and It

Flat Stanley

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Gallagher Girls

Geronimo Stilton

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Giver

Goddess Girls

Goosebumps

Graceling

The Great Brain

The Greenglass House

Gunnerkrigg Court

Half Upon a Time

The Hardy Boys

Hatchet

Heist Society

Help, I'm Trapped...

His Dark Materials

Holes

How to Train Your Dragon

The Hunger Games

Igraine the Brave

The Immortals Quartet

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

Ingo (Dunmore)

The Inheritance Cycle

Inkheart

Iron Hearted Violet

Island of the Aunts

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Ivy & Bean

Journey to the River Sea

Julie of the Wolves

Junie B. Jones

The Kane Chronicles

The Kid Who Ran for President

Kiki Strike

Killer Unicorns

Kingdom Keepers

The Last Apprentice

The Letter for the King

La Quête d’Ewilan (in French)

Legend (Lu)

Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude (in French)

Leven Thumps

Liesl & Po

Little House on the Prairie

A Little Princess

Little Women

Lockwood & Co.

The Lost Conspiracy

Macdonald Hall

The Magic Thief

Magic Treehouse

The Magisterium

Magnus Chase

Malory Towers

Matt Cruse

Maximum Ride

Melissa (Gino)

Merlin (Barron)

Michael Vey

Miri and Molly

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The Missing (Haddix)

Mister Max

The Mistmantle Chronicles

Misty (Henry)

Molly Moon

The Moorchild

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Music of Dolphins

My Secret Unicorn

My Side of the Mountain

My Teacher Is an Alien

Nancy Drew

Nevermoor

The Neverending Story

Nimona

The Ogre Downstairs

Out of My Mind

The Penderwicks

Pendragon

Peter and the Starcatchers

The Phantom Stallion

The Phantom Tollbooth

Pillage (Skye)

Pippi Longstocking

Pixie Tricks

Poison (Zinn)

Pony Pals

Princess Academy

Protector of the Small

Rainbow Magic

Rain Reign

Ramona

Regarding the...

The Roman Mysteries

Rose (Webb)

Rowan of Rin

The Royal Diaries

Running Out of Time

Sammy Keyes

Savvy

School of Fear

The Search for Wondla

The Secret Garden

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Secret Series

Septimus Heap

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Seventh Tower

Shadow Children (Haddix)

Silver Brumby

Silverwing

Skullduggery Pleasant

Song of the Lioness

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Stardust

Stargirl

The Strictest School in the World

Swallows and Amazons

Sweet Valley High

The Swiss Family Robinson

A Tale Dark & Grimm

The Tale of Despereaux

Tales of Alderley

Tales of Magic

Ten Kids, No Pets

The Thief Lord

Tiffany Aching

Tillerman Cycle

Time Hunters

The Trumpet of the Swan

Tuck Everlasting

Tuesday McGillycuddy

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Uglies

Un Lun Dun

Undertow

Unicorn Chronicles

Upon a Marigold

Upside-Down Magic

The Vengekeep Prophecies

The View from Saturday

The War That Saved My Life

Wayside School

The Westing Game

When You Reach Me

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wildwood Chronicles

Windsingers

Wings & Co.

Winnie the Pooh

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Worst Witch

You Be the Jury

#best childhood book #second competition

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magicaleggplant · 6 years ago

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are there any other books you would recommend? i may or may not have read everything you've already rec'd.

i actually only started reading for myself again a couple of years ago; i was an avid reader when i was younger but then college came along and sucked up all my time and destroyed my soul. i’ve mostly stuck to mainstream YA/fantasy novels for my whole life, so i don’t think i can give you many obscure recs, unfortunately. but in addition to my recs from the first half of 2018, here is a very long and haphazard list of books that i really like, in rough chronological order of when i read them. you’ve probably heard of many of these, but maybe you’ll chance upon something you haven’t!

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OLDER YA/ADULT BOOKS:

mostly fantasy, some scifi and historical fiction aimed at older teens and up.

the queen’s thief series by megan whalen turner (the thief, the queen of attolia, the king of attolia, a conspiracy of kings, thick as thieves). 5 books so far, last one coming out next year, which i can’t even believe because i first started reading these when i was about 12. low fantasy; the gods exist and they influence things, but supernatural elements are not a focus. read for political machinations, unreliable narrators, queens, a sarcastic brilliant genius asshole of a main character. do not look up spoilers. do not read these out of order. the first book starts with a royal scholar recruiting a young thief out of prison to steal a legendary artifact. it’s relatively tame; the second book is my favorite of them all and when the stakes start rising.

bartimaeus trilogy (the amulet of samarkand, the golem’s eye, ptolemy’s gate) + prequel (the ring of solomon) by jonathan stroud. magicians rule the british empire and the world by enslaving spirits to do their magic for them. precocious apprentice nathaniel summons a djinni to settle a grudge, and things escalate from there. i love these books very, very much. one moment i’m crying with laughter and the next i’m crying real tears because these books really get to the heart of things and stab you right where it hurts. they are outrageously funny but take a serious look at classism and systemic oppression. read the prequel after the main trilogy for some relatively light-hearted backstory.

old kingdom/abhorsen trilogy by garth nix (sabriel, lirael, abhorsen). i say “trilogy” on purpose because the new prequel and sequel are bad and you should ignore their existence. the story follows necromancers whose job is to keep the dead from returning, rather than raising the dead. very cool magic system and worldbuilding, magical zombies, high-stakes plot, scary villains, great female characters, great animal characters, mogget is my fave forever.

his dark materials trilogy by philip pullman (the golden compass, the subtle knife, the amber spyglass). idek how to describe this series (and probably everyone has already heard of it anyway)… it’s just really good. parallel universes, interesting themes, expansive and thought-provoking. at heart, it’s a coming-of-age story, and it’s beautifully told. i first read it a long time ago but i appreciate it more as i get older.

matt cruse trilogy by kenneth oppel (airborn, skybreaker, starclimber). i haven’t reread these for many years but they still stand out in my mind. airships! pirates! xenobiology! the sky is an ocean filled with strange creatures! in the third book they go into space and i promise it’s not as silly as it sounds. the steampunk ideas are a lot of fun and the danger always feels very immediate and real.

the princess bride by william goldman. the movie is obviously iconic and one of my favorites of all time. the book is actually quite a bit darker than the movie, but just as enjoyable in its own way. i first heard this when my teacher read it to my third or fourth grade class, one bit at a time in radio serial style, so it’s probably the oldest book i remember on this list. (another one that might be older, which my teacher also read aloud in class, was the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe.)

various books by neil gaiman; my favorites are coraline, the graveyard book, stardust, and anansi boys. american gods is probably his best-known novel but not my favorite; it’s worth a try though.

good omens by neil gaiman and terry pratchett. a fucking hilarious satire that i love returning to every once in a while. the forces of hell try to trigger the apocalypse, but there’s a mixup at the hospital when the antichrist is delivered to earth…

discworld series by terry pratchett. there are 41 novels all set in the same universe, split into different story arcs that focus on different sets of characters. discworld needs its own post, i can’t really do it justice here. i started reading these years ago and still haven’t finished all of them, so it’s a continuing journey of discovery for me as well. these books have a bit of everything, a lot of humor, a fair bit of darkness, a rich well of ideas, so many memorable and varied characters. a good standalone novel to get into first is small gods, one of my favorite discworld books.

nation by terry pratchett. a boy loses his home and everyone he knows in a tsunami, while a girl is the lone survivor of a shipwreck. they find each other and many other things too.

code name verity by elizabeth wein. two young women in WWII: one is a spy, the other is a pilot. they make a sensational team. i have not touched this book since i first read it, that’s how much it hurts. i love the two main characters so very much. tw for violence and torture. (i recently read the prequel, the pearl thief, and liked it a lot as well. it’s basically a mystery novel and can be read as a standalone, but i would recommend reading it after CNV because i think it’s better to go into CNV without knowing anything about the characters.)

the lion hunters series by elizabeth wein (the winter prince, a coalition of lions, the sunbird, the lion hunter, the empty kingdom). a very interesting historical fiction series. it starts out as a retelling of arthurian legends, and later moves to a completely different setting in africa. i wrote about this series a while ago. it’s not nearly as well known as everything else i’ve listed here but it’s really a hidden gem, so check it out. books 3-5 are the best, but 1-2 are important for backstory and setup.

the sparrow + children of god by mary doria russell. intelligent extraterrestrial life is discovered on another planet. a group of jesuits and civilians who made the discovery go to make first contact. things go terribly, terribly wrong. this is very soft scifi and part of me was always like…wait, that’s a bit too scientifically convenient, isn’t it? but that’s not really the point of these books. it’s about people. it’s about religion. it’s about a lot of things. tw for violence, of various natures.

gentleman bastard series by scott lynch (the lies of locke lamora, red seas under red skies, the republic of thieves). con artist locke lamora and his friends get into various situations. 3 books out so far, but the rest seem to be stuck in development hell. the first book has the best plotting and construction, but some things about it bothered me. (treatment of female characters, for one thing. but the author got way better at this later on.) cool worldbuilding, cool supporting characters (though i don’t like the main character very much), the plot gets kind of ??? but i’m very curious to see where the story goes. who knows when the next book is coming out, though.

the golem and the jinni by helene wecker. a newborn golem without a purpose and a centuries-old jinni escaped from captivity find themselves in late 1800s new york city. this is a slow-paced, slice of life kind of story, though a plot does kick in near the end. i love the exploration of immigration, loneliness, and community. it’s a wonderful book.

six of crows + crooked kingdom by leigh bardugo. a ragtag bunch of misfits are hired to break into the most secure prison in the world and retrieve a deadly secret. pretty sure everyone’s read these books already, but i love them to bits so i’m including them anyway. amazing cast of characters, high-stakes, fast-paced action, lots of humor and lots of pain, fantastic character development.

the paper menagerie and other stories by ken liu. this is a collection of short stories, and i think short stories are the best of ken liu’s work. i love his writing style and his ideas that mix science, fantasy, history, mythology, and very real human experiences and emotions. before ken liu, i had never read fantasy or scifi by an asian-american author. it was eye-opening and some stories hit me hard, personally. this collection is haunting, in a good way, and will probably remain one of my favorite books for a long time.

tales from outer suburbia by shaun tan. it’s a picture book, so might be a bit hard to get your hands on, but i love shaun tan’s artwork and this is a delightful and surreal collection of very short stories that leave you wanting more.

a monster calls by patrick ness. a boy deals with anger, grief, and loss. it hit me hard.

vicious by v.e. schwab. a couple of brilliant, arrogant college kids try to give themselves superpowers. unfortunately, it works. i have mixed feelings about this book, as i’ve mentioned before, but it’s interesting. the sequel is coming out this year.

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson. the ending of this book nearly made me throw my phone against the wall, and was the main reason i had mixed feelings about it. but altogether, this is an interesting book. it’s low fantasy and focuses on the politics and economics of conquest, colonialism, and rebellion. it’s unlike any other fantasy book i’ve read before, and i’m certainly reading the sequel when it comes out this year. tw for violence, homophobia, and more.

uprooted by naomi novik. probably everyone’s read this one as well. it always felt like a familiar story to me but told in a way that makes it feel completely new and wonderful. great plot, really interesting and menacing villain, good characters (though i have mixed feelings about the relationship development between the characters…)

winternight trilogy by katherine arden (the bear and the nightingale, the girl in the tower). an atmospheric fantasy set in medieval russia, told with care towards historical accuracy. 2 books out so far, first one is better than the second imo. the clash between magic and religion is usually an interesting topic to explore.

(insert my recs from early 2018 here)

spirits abroad by zen cho. i just finished this a little while ago, after someone recced it to me, and i’m very glad i picked it up. it’s another short story collection, and some are better than others, but overall i enjoyed it, especially “the house of aunts” and “the mystery of the suet swain”. some stuff will go over your head if you’re not familiar with malaysian culture and mythology, but i still liked it even though i felt lost at times.

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BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS:

some YA books aimed at younger teens/middle schoolers that i loved when i was around that age. they still hold up when i read them today, but you can tell that they are written for a younger age group.

silverwing trilogy (silverwing, sunwing, firewing) + prequel (darkwing) by kenneth oppel. it’s about bats. with a good dash of fantasy thrown in. and it’s really cool. no, seriously. the first book follows a young bat who is separated from his colony during his first migration, and must make the journey himself, running into friends and enemies along the way. then things escalate. the prequel takes place in prehistoric times and follows completely different characters, but it’s also a very intense adventure story.

artemis fowl series by eoin colfer. the first book starts with an asshole kid genius who kidnaps a fairy police officer and ransoms her for gold. a lot of shit goes down. there are 8 books in total, but i only recommend reading the first 3 or 4, because the author kind of loses track of the characters and plot after that. in hindsight, these books have plenty of faults, but they’re still a lot of fun. i loved these books when i was a preteen.

speaking of eoin colfer, i’m not sure where to put the wish list and the supernaturalist because they are kind of for younger readers but kind of not. they’re a bit darker than artemis fowl. in any case, they’re both fun reads. the wish list is about a girl who dies, gets stuck in limbo, and has to return to the living as a ghost to help out an old man if she wants to get into heaven, while heaven and hell fight over her soul. the supernaturalist is about a gang of homeless kids in a cyberpunk world who go around hunting supernatural creatures.

heir apparent by vivian vande velde. a girl gets stuck in a virtual reality game and has to win, or she dies for real. an old trope? yeah, but trust me, this book is fucking hilarious.

macdonald hall series by gordon korman. 7 books, all relatively short. two best friends at a canadian boarding school get into all kinds of improbable messes with a wacky cast of classmates and teachers. very much for younger readers, but still a hell of a lot of fun. they made me laugh so many times.

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NONFICTION:

i don’t read a lot of nonfiction these days, but here are a couple books i’ve enjoyed recently.

the rest is noise: listening to the 20th century by alex ross. recommended for classical music enthusiasts who aren’t necessarily musicians, like me. this is a history of 20th-century art music told in context of historical events at the time. it was actually part of the assigned reading for a music history elective i took in college, but i liked the excerpts so much that i ended up reading the whole book. it’s really fascinating and easy to read. one of the few times my class reading ended up becoming a personal favorite as well.

smoke gets in your eyes and other lessons from the crematory by caitlin doughty. basically what the title says - reflections from a mortician on life and death.

#books #book recs #anonymous #replies

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nancysdrews · 8 years ago

Note

Questions 1-15 ^_^

1. things that inspire you

I find inspiration is literally everything. In fact, most of my story ideas come from basic things I do every day. However, I do draw a lot of inspiration from my family (my brother is one of the most creative people I know) and music.

2. things that motivate you

I am literally the laziest person out there, so very few things actually motivate me to write. One of them is the readers. Basically everyone who reads my stories is so supportive and I love you all to death.

3. name three favorite writers

Fanfic wise, my faves are @bellamysgirl, @lydamartin and @catarcher. As for real world authors, I love Victoria Aveyard, Marissa Meyer and Sarah J. Maas.

4. name three authors that were influential to your work and tell why

Yikes there are so many! But probably in number one place is Shakespeare. When I was a kid, my dad told be all the Shakespeare stories and I still love them to this day. I guess I just want to be able to write stories as magical as his one day. Next is Hans Christian Anderson. His stories are just so beautiful, and I always dray inspiration from fairy tales. Lastly, Kenneth Oppel. The Matt Cruse series is one I have reread so many times that the cover has literally fallen off the first book. I just adore that series and one day I want to have stories as incredible as that.

5. since how long do you write?

I’ve been thinking up stories in my head since I was a toddler, but I actually only started writing when I was eight.

6. how did writing change you?

Writing really changed my life because it gave me a sort of escape from everything. As well, the first actual, finished story I wrote, my friends convinced me to enter in my school’s short story competition. I got an honourable mention on it, and I eventually won it two years later. I’ve connected with so many people through writing and it’s something I love to do.

7. early influences on your writing

I guess the biggest influence on my writing is my family. They’ve always inspired me. We also used to travel a lot, so visiting different places was always something that gave me lots of ideas. My dad also loves mythology, and he used to read the Greek myths to me all the time. These still inspire me today.

8. what time are you most productive?

Usually, it’s write when I’m not actually writing (did you catch the pun?) I get really creative in school or when I’m in the shower.

9. do you set yourself deadlines?

I suck at following deadlines, so I barely even try.

10. how do you do your researches?

Honestly, I don’t usually do that much research before I write. It’s only if I realize something doesn’t make sense or I need background information. Then, I usually just do a google search and see what comes up.

11. do you listen to music when writing?

I do! I usually have a playlist for every story, so I just put that on shuffle.

12. favorite place to write

Hmm, I’m not really sure about this one. I write everywhere I can, so there isn’t really a definitive answer.

13. hardest character to write

I hate to say it, but it’s definitely Vivian. I have so much inspiration for her, but physically writing Ashes makes me want to throw my computer across the room.

14. easiest character to write

I have an unpublished OUAT OC named Zara. I really associate with her, so she’s super easy to write.

15. hardest verse to write

Harry Potter. That stuff is too complex for me. Plus, Those spells are hell to spell.

#ask games #papermoon262 #get to know me

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