Book Recommendations

Here, roughly in order of how much I like them, are books that I recommend. Allowing for time and bookshelf space (I keep running out), I will progressively add more. If you need something good to read, this is the right place to be. 

Follow on Instagram @theorphanscode for more recommendations and reviews.

I have a bookmark with a list of “50 books to read before you die”, but I heartily disagree with it, especially because one of them is the Bible. So here we are:

50 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE (REVISED):

  1. If you must read the Bible, also read the following: the Qaran…
  2. …the Tao te Ching…
  3. …Nietszche….
  4. …and one other book on Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Native American or African tribal beliefs, atheism, or something that isn’t Christianity.
  5. The Iliad/The Aelid/The Odyssey
  6. Romeo and Juliet
  7. Hamlet
  8. Macbeth
  9. Twelfth Night or A Midsummer’s Night Dream or The Taming of the Shrew (a Shakespearean comedy, in short)
  10. Pride and Prejudice
  11. Jane Eyre
  12. The Count of Monte Cristo
  13. The Divine Comedy
  14. Fahrenheit 451
  15. 1984
  16. To Kill a Mockingbird
  17. The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time
  18. Great Expectations/A Tale of Two Cities/Oliver Twist/ something else by Dickens
  19. Huckleberry Finn
  20. Catcher in the Rye
  21. Night by Elie Wiesel
  22. Grimm’s Fairy Tales
  23. Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales
  24. The original Beauty and the Beast,
  25. The original Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
  26. Harry Potter series (7 books total)
  27. The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights
  28. The Subtle Knife
  29. The Amber Spyglass
  30. The Hobbit
  31. The Fellowship of the Rings
  32. The Two Towers
  33. The Return of the King
  34. Eragon
  35. Eldest
  36. Brisingr
  37. Inheritance
  38. Wheel of Time series (14 books total)
  39. The Alchemist
  40. Veronika Decides to Die
  41. The Shadow of the Wind
  42. A Certain Slant of Light
  43. The Book Thief
  44. The Help
  45. White Oleander
  46. The Trumpet of the Swan
  47. Charlotte’s Web
  48. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  49. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  50. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
  51. The Orphan’s Code by CRR Hillin (see what I did there?)

So yeah if you count the series that’s well over 50. Enjoy!

Recommendations

SERIES

  • Harry Potter by JK Rowling (I once naively believed that I could assume everyone had read this, but that is not the case. Still, read it. And if you’ve read it, read it again).
  • Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
  • His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
  • The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
  • A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin
  • The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
  • The Witcher by Andrez Sapkowski (I HIGHLY recommend the PS4 game as well)
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
  • The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
  • Maximum Ride by James Patterson (I’m reluctant to recommend this one; it had a lot of potential, but the story never actually went anywhere. I’m deeply disappointed).
  • The Expanse by James S.A. Casey
  • The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
  • The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (only books 1-3, skip 4-6)
  • Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee
  • Redwall by Brian Jacques

Enjoy your bookalanche.

NOVELS

  • A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb (one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read in my life and I recommend it to everybody).
  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, pere
  • The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  • The Irregulars by Will Nixon (on Kindle and edited by yours truly, easily one of the best books I’ve ever read)
  • The Help by Katherine Stockett
  • Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (don’t bother with the movie)
  • White Oleander by Janet Fitch
  • A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin
  • Stardust by Neil Gaiman
  • Aphrodite’s Brew by Delle Jacobs (looks like a trashy romance, definitely isn’t)
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  • Pinocchio’s Sister by Jan Slepian
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (I lived in Rome for awhile and I still didn’t know half of those places existed)
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Step Children by J. T. (also edited by me, also on Kindle)
  • The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (the somewhat lackluster sequel to Angels and Demons, I don’t know why everyone’s obsessed with it, but it’s fun).
  • The Immortal Cure by CJ Olsen (a random Amazon find that I love so much)
  • The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
  • Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Coelho
  • Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques (there are sequels but I don’t like them as much)

There are hundreds more but start with these, the rest won’t be as good.

OTHER

  • Bioshock Infinite (not all video games are as good as books, but this one certainly is)
  • The Elder Scrolls and Fallout (more or less educational, they certainly fill up time)
  • The Legend of Zelda (there must be 20 of them by now but I love them all, though not equally – Spirit Tracks, you know what you did)
  • Yu + Me = Dream (sounds like an anime, isn’t; be patient, once it gets into the colored parts it’s incredible)
  • Girly (looks raunchy, is raunchy, but strangely beautiful all the same)
  • Dominic Deegan
  • Marry Me
  • Gunnerkrigg Court (unfinished)
  • Questionable Content (unfinished)
  • Daughter of the Lilies (unfinished)

I have declared that webcomics count as literature. The ones above are certainly far better than some trashy vampire novel (looking at you, Twilight).