Here are 62 books that The Part about the Dragon Was (Mostly) True fans have personally recommended if you like
The Part about the Dragon Was (Mostly) True.
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I grew up in a family of readers who valued humor above all else. I’ve always sought out novels that weren’t full of themselves or too serious. For example, I don’t actually like literature for the most part (sacrilege?) As a result, I’ve veered toward upmarket genre books that amuse me. My list reflects what I discovered as I explored this realm. It also led me to write mysteries and thrillers that are infused with my version of humor, which I must admit will never match the authors on my list. These guys are amazing.
Fforde takes literary characters and brings them to life in a mystery format. Inside jokes about them and well-constructed absurd situations kept me amused. I admire the creativity and imagination a book like this requires. The plot is also ingenious, with unexpected twists and turns.
I’d say I never read a book like it, but I’ve read others by him, and he continues to create fun novels with literary and fairy tale characters. I recommend all of them.
Meet Thursday Next, literary detective without equal, fear or boyfriend
Jasper Fforde's beloved New York Times bestselling novel introduces literary detective Thursday Next and her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England-from the author of The Constant Rabbit
Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it's a bibliophile's dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I love food. From watching my grandma bake pie as a kid, to learning to bake vegan cookies in my college co-op, to checking out a new restaurant—whether it’s old family favorites or a chef’s tasting menu, I’m happiest when I’m eating something delicious and sharing it with others. I incorporate tasty food into my books wherever I can (bonus points if I “have” to try some things as research), and it was inevitable that I’d write a series like The Infinite Pantry where food plays a starring role. I hope this list gives you some mouthwatering new reads!
This book is pure fun with a side of delicious pastries.
I love stories about an obscure, seemingly useless magical ability that the main character figures out how to use to save the day. In this case, magically animated baked goods! Of course, there are lots of delicious-sounding cakes and cookies at this magical bakery, which is why I picked it up.
I did not expect baked goods to literally save the kingdom! It’s absolutely zany—but it’s also full of the cleverness and heart that I love most about Kingfisher’s fantasy.
Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance.
But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of…
I’ve been a Pratchett fan since I first read The Colour of Magic in 1986. I was nine and suddenly obsessed. When he died, I cried; when I found out he left me – us – one last gift, I cried again. The best satire doesn’t just make you laugh through the tears and cry with laughter; it makes you think. Over the decades, Pratchett perfected this art. Nobody can replace him, although many authors, including myself, try to follow. Searching for them between the rock and the trying-too-hard place, sometimes I find diamonds. May they shine as brightly in your eyes as they do in mine.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that someone with a name like Miss Mildred Percy, a noted spinster living under her overwhelmingly generous and loving sister’s roof, does not inherit dragons’ eggs. Or bump into helpful and – one can’t help but notice – broad-shouldered, hat-wearing, single vicars. She’d swoon herself into dehydration if she knew what was still to come: raising a baby dragon (named Fitz); a proper Bad Boy villain with little money and relentless motivation (named Belinda); and, perhaps the most difficult, finding her own agency. Agnes Nitt would never. Perdita X Dream, however, might…
Miss Percyis the best book I’ve read in 2021 – it felt as if I inherited a manuscript signed by three of my favourite authors. Couldn’t recommend it more.
Miss Mildred Percy is a spinster. She does not dance, she has long stopped dreaming, and she certainly does not have adventures. That is, until her great uncle has the audacity to leave her an inheritance, one that includes a dragon’s egg.
The egg - as eggs are wont to do - decides to hatch, and Miss Mildred Percy is suddenly thrust out of the role of “spinster and general wallflower” and into the unprecedented position of “spinster and keeper of dragons.”
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.
Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…
I’ve been a Pratchett fan since I first read The Colour of Magic in 1986. I was nine and suddenly obsessed. When he died, I cried; when I found out he left me – us – one last gift, I cried again. The best satire doesn’t just make you laugh through the tears and cry with laughter; it makes you think. Over the decades, Pratchett perfected this art. Nobody can replace him, although many authors, including myself, try to follow. Searching for them between the rock and the trying-too-hard place, sometimes I find diamonds. May they shine as brightly in your eyes as they do in mine.
When Gadriel, an ex-guardian-currently-fallen angel bets against Barachiel, definitely-not-the-angel-of-gamblers, the latter wins – to nobody’s (including Gadriel’s) surprise. To pay the debt Gabriel must tempt the terminally sin-free Holly Harker to be a bit less of an Agnes (or an early Mildred) and more of a Perdita (or a late Mildred). Unfortunately, Holly has no experience at being nice to herself, even in perfectly wholesome ways. Neither Lady Gadriel, Sir Gadriel, Adorkable Fluffy Kitten Gadriel, nor chocolate will tempt her! The villains include an evil secondary school history teacher, a teen band leader whose mother is definitely not called Karen, and grief.
Small Miracles is hilarious, wonderfully queer, sweet, thoughtful, and occasionally heartbreaking. I never thought a cosy YA urban fantasy would become my favourite book of 2022.
A “charming tale of little temptations” (Jacquelyn Benson), this feel-good comedy by fantasy author Olivia Atwater mixes angels, demons, romance, and chocolate into a perfectly petty and wickedly entertaining novel.
A little bit of sin is good for the soul.
Gadriel, the fallen angel of petty temptations, has a bit of a gambling debt. Fortunately, her angelic bookie is happy to let her pay off her debts by doing what she does best: All Gadriel has to do is tempt miserably sinless mortal Holly Harker to do a few nice things for herself.
I’ve always been interested in worlds other than ours, primarily extraterrestrial worlds because I believe expansion into space is vital to the future survival of humankind, but also fantasy worlds that illuminate ideas and feelings that are universal. I’ve written the Newbery Honor book Enchantress from the Stars and ten other science fiction novels, a classification that limits their discovery because they're often liked better by people who read little if any science fiction than by avid fans of that genre. Because they’re set in imaginary worlds distant from Earth—and are not fantasy because they contain no mythical creatures or magic—there is nothing else to call them. I wish books didn’t have to be labeled with categories!
I don't ordinarily care for stories about dragons or speaking animals, but this book's beautifully written descriptions of them and their world made it compelling, and the singing dragons remained in my memory long after the first time I read it. Moreover, the familiar elements of such fantasy–a hidden prince, animal companions, magical objects, imprisonment in a dungeon, and so forth--are here presented in unique and believable ways. The protagonists are heroic but vulnerable and the villains who seek to enslave the world are truly evil, so that the reader feels that what happens to them really matters. And looking it over recently, I was struck by the realization that in the years since its first publication in the 1980s the timeliness of the story has increased.
Book 1: Nightpool. As dark raiders invade the world of Tirror, a singing dragon awakens from her long slumber, searching for the human who can vanquish the forces of evil—Tebriel, son of the murdered king. Teb has found refuge in Nightpool, a colony of speaking otters. But a creature of the Dark is also seeking him, and the battle to which he is drawn will decide Tirror’s future.Book 2: The Ivory Lyre. The bard Tebriel and his singing dragon Seastrider together can weave powerful spells. With other dragons searching for their own bards, they have been inciting revolts throughout the…
I am the oldest of six children – all girls! I used to make up imaginary worlds for my little sisters. We’d steal clothes from Mum and Dad for dressing up; we’d pull all the cushions off the sofa to make a show; we even used to put ribbons on the poor dog. Nowadays I write books with magic and fairy tales and adventure. I write for the child inside me; the child that loved an exciting, fantastical story. I have written over 50 books for children from picture book to middle grade, and I still love inventing imaginary worlds.
Dragon Mountain is fast and cinematic, full of excitement and thrills. It’s the story of a group of children at a holiday camp, who find a secret entrance to a world of dragons. There are battles and races and high-speed chases. I’ve always loved stories with a training session segment where the character learns new skills and, really, who wouldn’t want to learn to fly a dragon?
Shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award, the Children's Book of the Year (British Book Awards) and longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award. The first book in the ROARsome DRAGON REALM series for 9+ readers! Perfect for those who love fantasy, magic, adventure and DRAGONS! Dragon Destiny, the fifth and final instalment, is now available.
'Rollicking, escapist storytelling with a dragon-sized heart'- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, bestselling author of THE GIRL OF INK AND STARS
Deep within the mountain, a great creature stirred in its sleep. Its eyes rolled back in its head, and its wings jerked wide open...
Homeless following the death of his adoptive parents in a car crash and the subsequent loss of their farm tenancy, Seb decides to enrol as a residential student at the Asklepios Foundation, a College of Natural Medicine, boasting a sanctuary modelled on an ancient Greek healing temple. Spending a night…
Although I was part of a large family, I frequently felt alone growing up. While my siblings were busy playing sports or running around with their friends, I sat by myself in the basement, reading fantasy stories. Eventually, I began creating my own worlds and published the Riddle in Stone series and Sword of Betrayal. I suppose I’m still trying to find a place where I fit in.
Reputed to be one reason why J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H.P. Lovecraft began writing fantasy, The Book of Wonder is a collection of short stories by Irish fantasy writer, Lord Dunsany. With gnoles, mail-clad warriors, and dragons, it is in many ways the foundation of what we consider classical fantasy stories. Unfortunately, it doesn’t often get the credit it deserves.
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
I love to cheer for underdogs, and young women who are in this category have my special devotion. As a child of the 1960s, I remember a time when women didn’t have the same rights and opportunities as men, and we still seem to be fighting it today. Coming from a trauma-based childhood myself, I find myself comparing and contrasting coping mechanisms. Luckily, I haven’t found it necessary to kill anyone with dragon stone or jacked-up hornets so far. It delights me when these girls win, whether they game the system or fight their way with guns and knives.
Lessa is an amazing heroine who rises from scullery maid to ruler of a full Weyr of dragons, thanks to a persistent dragon rider who recognizes her hidden talents.
I admired her as much in either position, whether she was subtly using her powers to tear down her oppressor from the kitchen corner or flying high on her dragon, protecting those under her care from certain death. No matter what privilege or honors come to her, she remains humble and thereby gathers the admiration and love of all who know her.
Volume I of The Dragonriders of Pern®, the groundbreaking series by master storyteller Anne McCaffrey
On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack from a myth that is all too real. Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat to Pern reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly . . . and…
I’m passionate about strong female protagonists in YA and middle grade lit because through example, societies can change. Power dynamics can shift as young women are shown fictional ones whose strength and voice alter their lives and others. Being born in a heavily patriarchal home, I found courage and freedom through the lives of female protagonists in books, especially in series where the journey was long. Today, there are many novels working to right the scale, but here are a few of the first that captured my heart and gave me hope. One note, these works are of a specific time, and the content will reflect that period.
The Harper Hall of Pern Trilogy was incredibly exciting to me upon its discovery.
To see Menolly, a woman with gifts subverting traditional gender roles, leave her community and eventually excel was inspiring. I found hope that one’s talents might be strongly developed and recognized, eventually. I was fascinated by Menolly’s multi-layered abilities and aspired to grow such.
I learned good community might be found when your current network isn’t nurturing. If only there were tiny fire-lizards one could impress and cohabitate with!
Let Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author, take you on a journey to a whole new world: Pern. A world of dragons and other worldly forces; a world of mighty power and ominous threat.. If you like David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams, you will love this.
"Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants" - THE TIMES "Do yourself a favour and read ANYTHING by this Author, you won't be sorry" -- ***** Reader review "A real page turner" --…
Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS
by
Amy Carney,
When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…
Starting with Tolkien’s novels as a child, I’ve devoured countless SF&F stories. My love of the genre, particularly high fantasy, combined with the irritatingly fashionable trend of so many fantasy authors to stop writing their stories partway through and leave we readers high and dry, motivated me to start writing, to see if I could create something that I was missing as I hunted for new material to read. As an intense hater of winter, spring always signified to me a time of hope, of new growth, of opportunity, of the ending of difficulty, and the start of a time when all things were possible.
The 3rd and final book in the Dragonlance Chronicles installment, Weis & Hickman finished an incredible tale inspired by their Dungeons & Dragons role playing group.
Elves, humans, dwarves, and kender must work together to beat back the rise of an evil goddess seeking its way into the world to ensave its inhabitants. Having been a Dungeon Master for many years, I devoured these books, and remain appreciative to this day that role playing geeks love to read novels as well.
The third title published in the Dragonlance line is now being released in a trade hardcover edition for the first time ever. Featuring the stunning art and design that graced the cover of the paperback edition, this new version is the final edition in the hardcover release of the entire Chronicles trilogy. This release also continues the planned release of all the core Dragonlance titles from Weis & Hickman in trade hardcover, allowing fans and collectors alike the first-ever chance to obtain the entire set in hardcover.
