I need solid recommendations.

Things I avoid in books:
obsession with romantic relationships, foul language, gore, gratuitous violence, magic.

Reading Level:
I can read at a college level. I devour books by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Already read:
Narnia, Wilderking Trilogy, Beyond the Summerland, Kingdom Series, Lord of the Rings, Redwall, Passages series...I think that's it. Oh, and At the Back of the North Wind and some other random McDonald stuff and classic fairy tales.

Participating in the readathon over at Incredibooks...need books. Don't know all of what I can get my hands on, but I'd like to try as much as possible!

Oh, one last note - my family doesn't do Ted Dekker books. So if it looks like a Dekker thriller, then I wouldn't be able to get it... I think it's because they are intense thrillers with questionable theology. (But I'm not sure, I never really asked because I thought their descriptions looked too tense for me & my occasional panic attacks...)

Hmm... depending on whether you like pirate stories or not, Wayne Thomas Batson's Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire are good, Christian books. I think you'd enjoy them!

I really enjoy Bryan Davis's Dragons in our Midst series... It has to be my favorite

Oh, I read his Door Within books and intend one of these days to read his new ones...I don't know, they're about elves. (And anything about elves without magic has a high level of interest for me. ) They're just really expensive on amazon right now because they're new.

Are they at the same reading level as the Door Within trilogy?

(Actually, I know an 11yo who liked The Door Within who probably would like to read of pirates too...)

I have heard of those, but really wasn't sure. "Descended from dragons" kind of creeped me out. (My previous library before we moved actually had them but I passed for that reason.)

Why do you like them so much?

I like them because:

1. They are really long (some are close 1000 pages!)
2. You can get to know the characters after spending so much time with them...then he has another series (Oracles of Fire) that continues the same story with characters in the last series.
3. It's more of an adventure, fantasy...which I like to read

Does that answer your question? I'm not sure if I did or not

It kind of did. At the least, I am quite interested in the fact that 'some of them are 1000 pages' because when I'm picking books, I tend to go for the thicker ones. (Unless, of course, they're just large print editions. LOL)

I was also curious of your take on the plotline of 'descended from dragons' - as I said, it kind of creeped me out because it sounds like magic, evolution, or both. Things my mom wouldn't approve of, you know?

(Yes, even at my age I still worry about what my mom would approve of. )

Well, I think they are a good sized print

The whole 'descended from dragons' plotline is... (how do I say it wothout giving away too much?) Dragons came on the Ark, later turn human, and have normal lives with half-dragon kids... I don't have a problem with any of it and my mom was the one that bought it for me

LOL, I was making a joke, Terra. You know, at the library they have all those large print ed's of western novels? Huge print, usually about 4" thick books. I was being funny. (...hmm, what would LotR look like in large print edition...? that would be huge! ;D)

Yeahhhhhh, well, my mom gets a little antsy around even LotR. (It's my dad who let me read it - he likes sci-fi/fantasy, she doesn't; they compromised for us kids.) So dragons turning into humans just sounds like something my mom would get really nervous around. Which is why I'm probing so deeply into the matter. Because it would be cool if it were something I could read, because it's a fairly large series, but I don't want to buy books that I have to get rid of right away...

Have you read Auralia's Colors or it's sequel Cyndere's Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet? (Those are the only two out right now. There's two more in the making...er writing.)

The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is really good (though it doesn't look like anyone else had read it, but me.) It's historical-ish fantasy.

I'd suggest more, but I read a lot of historical fiction than I do fantasy because it's hard to find good fantasy without getting too dark. :P

Come to think of it, I know one more set of books that I think you might like. I love them. I thoroughly enjoy her writing style. They aren't Christian fantasy, but there isn't much magic. For example, magic as in a "glowglobe" for light or an enchanted cloak to keep the rain off. Wizards are briefly mentioned but never part of the story. They are very political, but very well written. The first book if called Crown Duel and the second, Court Duel. The books are by Sherwood Smith.

Hope that was helpful to you! ^^

Oh, no, I never did get to read Auralia's Colors! I forgot about 'em. (Which is crazy 'cause I'm the one who told you about them after seeing them in the CBD catalog...lol) I'm going to have to add those to the list.

Hey, I think the Flying Dutchman is at my library. I might pick it up. Just finished reading Redwall with mixed feelings...if the Flying Dutchman is at the library I'll have to try it.

I've never heard of those books, I'll have to look for them at the library. Are they considered youth fiction or adult fiction?

Yeah, I know what you mean about fantasy...well, kind of anyway. I don't pick up random secular fantasy books, so that closes off most of the dark ones. I'm usually more on edge about cheesy than dark...

Oh, I'm up for sci-fi recommends too if anyone knows of any good sci-fi books. Same rules as above.

Haven't read much of anything for sci-fi, I mainly watch it, not read it, because I haven't been able to find anything! Just some childrens' books (under age 12) years ago, and one of the Mars Diaries two-in-one books (I forget what they're republished under...they're the ones about the kid who controls a robot with his mind on a space colony on Mars) as far as I can remember.

(And Star Wars expanded universe books don't count - not only are we not keen on the Force new-agey junk that permeates the SW universe, but also I've heard of a bunch of the plots...lol, I wonder why people complain about the prequel trilogy so much when they could complain about these expanded universe plots... ;D)

That's is funny you forgot about them! You told me about Aurelia's Colors and now there's a sequel out! Crazy nubs, right?

It isn't called the Flying Dutchman. Make sure it's called Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. It's a trilogy. The reveiw is under "Reveiws" (no kidding!).

I found Crown Duel and Court Duel in the children's area at the library. I would label it children's-young adult. It's youth fiction.

I haven't read anything dark, but I consider Harry Potter as dark.

If you want historical fiction, I like Gilbert Morris's book... there are around 50 books (at 300-400 pages)... they are a little of Historical-Christian-Romance all packed into one (they were written by a Pastor, Gilbert Morris) I like them a lot, but you have to get them on Amazon.com or something, because some of them are out of print (and some you can't find at all...unless you pay $50!).

I also like Donita K. Pauls books

Hope it helps

Really? MYST? I used to play that game a few years ago, though I never played for long, since I could never figure anything out and got frustrated.
I might have to look into them, since even though I got mad at the game, I liked it.

Alright. I looked into it. I have an Amazon Kindle, so I wanted to see if they had it on the Kindle, but they don't Though the books have pretty high ratings and look good... so I will have to see

Yeah, I know it's Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, but it was too long to type!

Ahhhh, that's what you mean by dark. Okay, let's put it out there. I don't read Harry Potter. Ever. If it looks like HP, then I don't want to read it. Ever.

Oh, Donita K. Paul - that's Dragon-something, right? ::can't remember:: How are those for magic-content?

Sorry to pick everyone's brains so. Evening Aspen, I love your charts. And yeah, it's hard to find something I'd be comfortable with (or be allowed to) read. When it's not magic, it's gore. When it's not gore, it's overly described romantic relationships. And when it's not that, it's some unknown reason. For example, Myst. I'm not allowed to play Myst, I don't really know why. Therefore - no books either. Too bad, it really looked like a fun puzzle game (I played the original game a bit a couple years back before my dad came home and told me it wasn't allowed). I did find Isles of Derek, though, a Christian game with the same type of gameplay. To be completely random there...

Hence why I spend so much time writing - can't get into trouble there!

Ohhh, I so wanted to read the Restorer trilogy. I found it on CBD once and drooled over it - the covers looked so neat and the story was interesting. I couldn't justify just buying them at the time, though...I have been burned by too many books that I've bought and then regretted.

Haha, Lady E., I only get worried about telepathy when it gets into the new age/theologically harmful stuff. I just don't write it because it's touchy. But I covered that elsewhere...

I have read The Last Sin Eater. That was a really interesting book, I liked it!

Thank you, everyone!

Quoting Melody "Yeah, I know it's Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, but it was too long to type!

Ahhhh, that's what you mean by dark. Okay, let's put it out there. I don't read Harry Potter. Ever. If it looks like HP, then I don't want to read it. Ever.

Oh, Donita K. Paul - that's Dragon-something, right? ::can't remember:: How are those for magic-content?" End quote.

Haha, got it. ;P

Yeha, no, I don't read it either. I used to want to read it and see it as a kid, but now I'm completely uninterested. (Though I have seen the first and third movie. I have no idea why...that was a long time ago.) :P

Donita K. Paul does the Dragonspell series. In order:

1.) Dragonspell

2.) Dragonquest

3.) Dragonknight

4.) Dragonfire

5.) Dragonlight

My mom bought the whole series for me when she was at Savers one day. I am almost finished reading Dragonspell. Magicwise, I haven't run into any magic besides "mindspeaking" with dragons and other characters. It's a special ability Kale Allerion (the main character) has. There are also a couple wizards in the book who were given "special gifts from Wulder (aka God)" though the good wizard hasn't thrown any spells rather than sounding like an eccetric old man who talks to animals. XD

Kale's personal thoughts annoyed my in the beginning because she sounded so immature, but it's gotten better further into the book. I would reccomend it to you.

I remember what happened with the HP movies. You were overnight or something at a friend's house. I remember this because you came over and told me you got in trouble... lol, that was years and years ago! I feel old.

Ooh, those dragon books sound interesting. I'll add 'em to my list of books I want to try.

Hehe, I don't play that many video games anymore. Just things like Lego Star Wars and sports games and Mario on the wii every once in a while when I'm feeling under the weather or am braindead...when one is a writer, there is not much time for video games. I mainly play when my siblings want me to, or if I'm making a semblance of exercising on Wii Sports. lol

I read lots of things. I've read (and regretted some of) a lot of Karen Kingsbury books. A lot of Christian historical romances. (The ones that are more historical than romance, typically. Bleck, can't stand romance.) I am thoroughly fed up with both after spending last summer reading all the ones my library had. Now the library has nothing in it anymore that I want to read. (Except when they get in a new knitting book, of course...)

I have read the abovementioned fantasy books. I read...hmm...lots of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. (C.S. Lewis' theology & philosophy books are fascinating!) I have read many theology & inspirational type books. I've read Do Hard Things and Start Here. LOL, before I actually had to study them, I would read the high school history texts for fun! (But I did them a few years ago - I'm a grad.)

What you're looking at is a homeschool grad who wants to read but is tired of reading books aimed at middle schoolers or else based around boy/girl relationships. (Oh yeah, or nightmare inducing. There was this one Karen Kingsbury book that gave me a panic attack...but since then I've been more careful and watched what I read better.)

I have read not quite it all...but I am cautious of buying books at $10 apiece when I haven't got $10 often enough to spend it all on books that might end up resold at a loss.

Does that help?

I gotta go back to my new knitting machine; I'll be around.

Ooooh, hahaha! Got it!

Ooo! I know a really good sci-fi you might like, Melody! It's called The Glass Harmonica. It's based in both 1761 & 2018. Not positive on dates but close enough. XD It abouts a girl in the 1700's who become like an apprentice (because she can play songs on glasses filled with water also known as a glass harp) to Benjamin Franklin while he builds his glass armonica using her as a "tuner", if you will.

It's also about a girl who plays the glass harmonica (the name of the armonica was changed over time) who has these visions of a girl from the 1700's. It's super interesting because it has the historical part to it and the furturistic-ness to it. The history to the glass harmonica is expertly woven into the storyline. Even if you don't read the book, the videos of the instrument are amazing and ethereal!

Here's a couple links.

This one is to the water filled glasses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKRj-T4l-e8

And this one it to the glass armonica: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPfoFZYso8

Enjoy!

Well, I have read all of the DragonKeeper series and agree that they are for a younger'ish' group of people. They were ok overall, but I also say that Kale did think and say stuff that seemed very immature.

I liked the Bryan Davis series called 'Echoes from the Edge'. They are cool because he kind of uses music and science to put together an interesting plot there is nothing bad in them

Wow, I don't know why your parents would ban Myst! (Back when my mom had time she beat the first one! ) I love the books too!
*end of small rant*

One good place to get a few ideas for books to read is @ http://teenlitreview.blogspot.com/. Not that big of a variety and selection of reviews, but enough to probably give you a couple titles to read.
Do you like classics? Nicholas Nickleby by Dickens is a wonderful book - very long though. Paradise Lost is also a hard read but has some great passages about God that I love!
Hmmm... that's all I can think of for now. The website gives good ideas.

Finally back to this thread.

I swapped for a copy of DragonSpell, which I liked pretty well. The 'magic' was confusing, and so were the races, but I liked the characters. Leetu was healed too easily, tho, I think. They work and work and work to save her...and then all of a sudden she's up again and back to normal! lol... Oh well, it was pretty good.

Thanks for that link, Robyn, I only just noticed it today, and checked it out right away. I will have to check out some of the books that were reviewed on that site.

I like classics, and I've read a ton. I have read a bunch of Dickens - not that one, but a bunch of other ones - as well as Stevenson, Alcott, etc...

I can throw in an extra recommendation for Dragons in our Midst. It's about middle school kids, but I'd say the reading level is higher than that. I found them easy to read but still very enjoyable. The books are pretty long, but like someone said before, that just gives you more time to get into the characters.

OK, if you want to ruin the whole plot, read ahead:

The parents are actually dragons that turned into humans so as not to get killed by the dragon-hunter. That's how their children have dragon traits but aren't full dragons.

OK, nuff spoilers. Some other series'...Castaways of the Flying Dutchman is good though I found it a little creepy, anyways, the writing is good, so if you like....

Francine Rivers has written some other books but I believe they're romance. I haven't read any of them but Merashath has read a couple. (My brother, in case y'all didn't know.)

Hmmm, those are about all I can think of. And I don't want to self advertise, but there's a selection of books reviewed at Into the Book (see my signature) that mostly aren't fantasy, but still, if you want to check it out.

eruheran

I've read the Warrior by Francine Rivers, It's actually a really interesting, easy read. It's a fictional account of the life of Caleb, from the Exodus. I liked it, even though I knew what was coming.

I highly, highly recommend Andrew Peterson's The Wingfeather Saga. They are fantasy in that they have some imaginary creatures, and it is set in a different world (The world is Aerwiar- a spin off of here we are, and the creatures are things like thwaps, and there is vegetation like totaters). Here is a link to what he says about his writing them that I think sums it up pretty well: http://wingfeathersaga.com/?page_id=265

He has a rather quirky writing style that I found quite engaging. I would say more, but it might give them away...

Anyways. Those are my thoughts.

I liked the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, and personally, I loved them. I agree Kale did some immature things, but I don't always do things in the most mature way either, so I enjoyed seeing her grow. Please understand I am not trying to argue. Anyway, that is my two bit's worth.

I'm sorry if I seemed snappy saying this...

Well, I have to say, you basically ruled out everything I read. Mainly with the violence though.

The Tom Trueheart books are good, minimal violence, no swearing, no romance. But it does get pretty creepy.
There's also the Lost Island of Tamarind which is very long about a secret island in the Caribbean that the characters get shipwrecked on. Also kind of creepy and somewhat violent.

Those are the only ones I can think of that might fit.

Somebody mentioned Aurelia's Colors? The author is a good friend of a guy my father has known since grade school (ahem, think late 70's). I haven't read it yet because of parental restrictions a few years ago, but I think I will soon. If I don't forget again...

What's Aurelia Color's about? I don't have any parental restrictions so I have to use my judgement and scout out the books before I read them.