Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder, is the only introduction to philosophy that the world needs. I still adore this story and read it once or twice a year. After realising it was not just a torn pile of pages but a portal to an incredible, living, breathing world of Irish legend, my childish hands bound the whole lot lovingly together with clear contact that my Mum had supplied to cover my schoolbooks. Then I remembered: I bought this book, ripped in half and with no cover, at a garage sale with 20 cents Dad had given me. Looking for a picture of the front cover of The Hounds of the Morrigan, by Pat O'Shea, I was confused by the fact I didn't recognise any of them. Well, perhaps Feist didn't invent elves, but he invented Pug, Tomas, Arutha and Jimmy the Hand. What's not to love? Magician's derivative nature was lost on me at the time not having read The Lord Of The Rings, I was intrigued by the concept of tall, graceful elves in a tree city (as opposed to little ugly ones that fixed shoes in the middle of the night). Heroics, battles, coming-of-age, handsome princes and portals to other worlds. Feist, is one of the first fantasy books I ever read and fell in love with. A totally sympathetic murderer in a world of poverty and desperation, this book will linger in your thoughts for days after you finish reading it. Full of the power and mystery of women, I wish more men would read this book to better understand us, but I'm happy enough for the girls to get into it.Ĭrime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is the story of Raskolnikov and his tortured soul. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is lyrical, magical and heart-wrenching. A wise man departing the shores of his adopted home gives advice to the people he is leaving behind. The Prophet by Kahil Gibran, is inspirational, poetic, concise and memorable. Mostly, it's about an anarchist called Shevek who ships out to a capitalist world and tries to come to grips with what he finds there.

It's about the individual and it's about community. The Dispossessed, by Ursula LeGuin, is a book that hunts down the essense of humanity, exposing the horror of our flaws and the delicate beauty of our souls. You can feel the sand scouring your face. Not only is the story compelling, the characters are fascinating and the world-building is meticulous. My favourite books could fill a library, but I'll try and restrict myself to the ones that struck like lightning - and made me despair that I could ever write anything half as good.ĭune by Frank Herbert, has to be the best sci-fi novel ever written.

For example, When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett or The Dervish House by Ian McDonald. Jan 2012: Take note, my newer favourites can be found at Goodreads with 5 stars slapped on them.

When we have wings by claire corbett