I just don't have any creativity right now, so I'm doing another repost from an old Facebook note I did before I started this blog. I did just read "True Grit" by Charles Portis, which would get an honorable mention on the list. If you've never read it, you need to do so.
This was a tough list! What are some of your favorite books?
Honorable Mentions: Harry Potter Series by Rowling, The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper, The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, Call of the Wild by Jack London, the rest of the Inheritance Cycle by Paolini, and countless others that I've read.
#10 - The Daybreakers by Louis L'Amour. There is a reason that he is called "the best western writer of them all!" The Daybreakers is the first of the 17 Sackett novels that L'Amour writes and I think his best. Ty Sackett, the Mora Gunfighter, is my favorite character because of his wild side that he has. I enjoy how he kills the a Higgins at Orrin's wedding and the final duel between him and Tom Sunday.
#9 - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes at his best. I remember reading this for the first time when I was 12 years old in the Sherlock anthology my grandma had gotten me and being sucked in completely. It shows Holmes at his best, shows Watson as the ever faithful, and really gives the reader a chance to get to know all the characters more than the short stories allow.
#8 - The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour. This is a modern western about our world and another world that is in a different dimension. Not only does L'Amour bring his usual rough cowboy saga with some great landscape descriptions, but he does it in a way that is unusual to him and for that I really like it.
#7 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I had never heard of this book until this year. When I read it in a single Saturday I was blown away. Great storyline, great ending, great book. This is a must read for any guy out there. I'm looking forward to going further in the series.
#6 - Eregon by Christpher Paolini. Who doesn't want a dragon of their own? A great start to the series that I couldn't put down. Probably what I liked best about it is the physical toll that the magic takes on the wielder. The further away something is, the bigger it is, the heavier it is, all comes to play how much physical stamina is needed to use magic on it.
#5 - The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour. A great epic tail of a wronged child who goes from slavery to education to revenge. All set in the middle ages of Europe and the Middle East. It was the first of what was meant to be a trilogy, but L'Amour never got around to finishing it before he died.
#4 - The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. This is a romanticized tale of Sir William Wallace defending Scotland against the English. Wallace is the picture of chivalry, but his enemies are the worst traitors you can ever imagine. Lady Helen is beautiful, the battles are terrible, and by the time you are finished with the book you want to Scottish.
#3 - The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien. Though not as good as the two novels that sandwich it, TTT really has a lot to offer. Most notably the entrance of Gollum as a steady character and meeting the Ents. However, probably my favorite part from it is when Gimli sounds the Horn at Helm's Deep!
#2 - The Fellowship of the Ring by by JRR Tolkien. If the FotR had the end of the story, I think it would be my number 1. It has "The Walking Song", Bilbo's Party, the Balrog, and the oldest creature in Middle-Earth - Tom Bombadil who remembers the first rain drop and acorn.
#1 - The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien. This makes number one over the Fellowship barely, mostly because it see the conclusion of the story. I love the Sam & Frodo relationship, with Sam carrying Frodo to the end of the journey and going with him, even though he knew that they'd probably never come back. I also like when Theoden charges at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Also, my favorite non-person character in the series is in RotK. That is Grond: Hammer of the Underworld. The 100 foot long battering ram
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