Well, I hope this is the more proper section to be placing this in than "I'm looking for" since it's non-manga related.
I'm looking for some book recommendations. I'm in a very daydreamy type of phase at the moment, and a good fantasy adventure to stimulate the imagination is what I'm looking for. I just finished reading "Beauty" by Robin Mckinley as per a friend's recommendation, and though the world that the author created was fun to imagine, the characters and their relationships fell short for me and I was hoping to find something a bit more character-based.

So if anyone knows of a good fantasy/adventure/action/romance (less for teens and more for adults), I'd love to hear it. Oh, and also, I've also heard of/read a lot of the popular books at the moment so if you know of anything that's a bit more unknown of that'd be great

Edit: Just a light, not too challenging read is really what I'm looking for. Once the school year's over my brain just wants to relax a bit, and not have anything too complex or intricate thrown at it. The Hunger Games (not so much for its dystopian/post-apocalyptic world but for its action) and Howl's Moving Castle (for its ingenuity and fantasy) come to mind as similar books to what I'm looking for presently

Last edited by Saons at 5:53 pm, May 24 2012

________________
Go to work, send your kids to school;
Follow fashion, act normal;
Walk on the pavement, watch T.V.;
Save for retirement, obey the law.
Repeat after me: I am free.

Kanata Kara

Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori
I heard this one was good.

Last edited by ForteAtrox at 3:34 pm, May 24 2012

Thanks, but I've read both--I'm also actually looking for a novel, not a manga Though Kanata Kara in novel form would be fun, hahaha.

________________
Go to work, send your kids to school;
Follow fashion, act normal;
Walk on the pavement, watch T.V.;
Save for retirement, obey the law.
Repeat after me: I am free.

Um, I don't know what the intended audience for this one was but I will recommend it. Vellum and its sequel Ink by Hal Duncan. You could call it fantasy, considering the plot.

These are directed more towards teens but I found them rather enjoyable. The Abarat series by Clive Barker (find an older hardcover copy if possible, the oil paintings inside are amazing), The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima and Ashes by Ilsa Bick. The latter is more sci-fi than fantasy.

I do hope you find what you're looking for.

________________
Tesla: If an immortal vampire dies in a virtual world-

Magnus: -does he make a sound?
_______

Likes: Action, adventure, drama, fantasy, historical, horror, mystery, psychological, sci-fi, seinen, shounen, supernatural, tragedy

...I read too much >.>

If you know a language other than english try the witcher.

beisdes that you could try discworld or game of thrones

Vellum and Ashes seem pretty interesting; they're not exactly what I'm looking for at the moment (I'm really picky depending on what I feel like reading) but I'll certainly keep them on a to-read list. Thanks!



I know french pretty well, but I would struggle to read a novel. Unfortunately, English is the only language I'm comfortable reading in! As for Discworld, I read "The Colour of Magic" when I was younger and though they're fantastic and Terry Prachett is a genius, they're a bit too young-adult for what I'm looking for presently. The Game of Thrones has been recommended to me, and I'm thinking of trying it, but I don't think it's much to my taste.

I'm so picky, I'm sorry. But thank you very much


________________
Go to work, send your kids to school;
Follow fashion, act normal;
Walk on the pavement, watch T.V.;
Save for retirement, obey the law.
Repeat after me: I am free.

So you're after a fairly light fantasy-romance with no particularly deep themes? The Bitterbynde Trilogy might suit your request. Is this the sort of thing you wanted?

Yep, pretty much! I do love my deep, make-you-think books, but it's just not what I'm after at the moment This one seems pretty interesting, I'll look into it. Thank you!

________________
Go to work, send your kids to school;
Follow fashion, act normal;
Walk on the pavement, watch T.V.;
Save for retirement, obey the law.
Repeat after me: I am free.

Doesn't matter...still goes in I'm looking for section.

My bad. There was a thread made by someone looking for nonfiction books, so I thought this thread belonged there too. Thanks for moving it to the proper section.

________________
Go to work, send your kids to school;
Follow fashion, act normal;
Walk on the pavement, watch T.V.;
Save for retirement, obey the law.
Repeat after me: I am free.

Since you're also a manga reader, I think you should give a try to Ookami to Koushinryou (Novel) since it's my second favorite novel and fit all your requirements. I'll let its average vote speaking for its greatness. The sixth book is gonna be published in English in June.

And obviously I can't avoid mentioning that The Hunger Games is not as good as Battle Royale (novel).

________________
What I like in Trivial Pursuit style. Pick your category:

this

you can also try Sword Art Online (Novel)
the first arc seems a bit thin plot-wise, still it's very good, the 2nd arc is only adding more good stuff (meaning thicker plot)

________________
in need of romance?
uncommon, sad, sweet

Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2)
Heroes Die (Overworld, # 1)
The Spook's Apprentice

________________

You might want to try "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" by Patricia C. Wrede.
Light read and easy to follow story, but I enjoyed it very much... It's marked as YA, or sometimes even children's books, but I simply consider it for all ages. Light on romance and no graphic violence/sex (as is common with many urban fantasy YA).

Have you tried browsing goodreads.com? They might even have a list of exactly what you're looking for.

________________
Who they, what are, and why?
- Manga Cover Database -

I second "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" - it's like a parody of fairy tales, very nice and easy read.
Also as Lorska said, Sword Art Online (Novel) is a good story and easy to follow (there will be anime based on it in a few months).

My proposition will be "The Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind - my social life ended for a few weeks when I started reading it. Great story with cool characters ^^

________________