Apr 17, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Fairy Tales

Fairy Tale Fortnight 2012 button hosted by The Book Rat and Basically Amazing Books
Top Ten Tuesday is a weakly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  They love lists as much as I do, so it's only fair to tip my hat.

So this week’s ‘official’ topic is tips for new book bloggers, but get this friends, I am a new book blogger!  I feel like giving advice when I’ve been blogging for 3.5 months would be a tad pompous of me, so instead I’m going to do something else I think is totally wonderful and fun.  The Book Rat and Basically Amazing Books are hosting a Fairy Tale Fortnight for these last several weeks of April!  I love fairy tales, as I know many of you do as well, so you ought to go over and check out the festivities!  There are lots of wonderful posts, chances to participate, and giveaways for all.  Yesterday I posted my review of Shadows on the Moon, a fabulous retelling of Cinderella set in a fantasy world much like feudal Japan.  Today I’m going to share with you some fairy tales and retellings that I adore most, or want to read desperately.

Fables no. 46 cover by James JeanFables TBC no. 2 Animal Farm cover art by James JeanFables no. 20 cover art by James Jean

Fables by Bill Willingham

Okay people, if you call yourself a fan of fairy tales, and you haven’t read the marvelous Fables by Bill Willingham, you really need to drop everything and do so.  Stat.  It tells the story of fables in exile after they’ve escaped their homelands to live in our own world, a refuge from the evil adversary that has destroyed their worlds.  I adore this series so much, and think that any fairy tale fan should read it, even if they’re not usually into graphic novels.

book cover of Cinder by Marissa Meyerbook cover of Stardust by Neil Gaimanbook cover of Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: My review here.  I adored this futuristic Cinderella as a cyborg story, and cannot wait for the rest of the series which promises to draw on other favorites, like Little Red Riding Hood.
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen: My review here.  I realize Robin Hood is more of a folk legend than a fairy tale, but I’m going to have to argue that that’s a very fine line, and since this is my list I’ll include what I want!
Stardust by Neil Gaiman: If you held a gun to my head and made me choose a favorite author, I’d probably say Neil Gaiman.  I love everything this man does, but Stardust was its own unique fairy tale esque story that shouldn’t be missed.

book cover of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jonesbook cover of The Princess Bride by William Goldmanbook cover of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Like Stardust, these next three are more modern fairy tales.  None of them were written down by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, but that doesn’t mean they don’t share that magic!  Love them all:
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

book cover of Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Halebook cover of The Goose Girl by Shannon Halebook cover of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Anything by Shannon Hale: I’ve just started reading Shannon Hale this year, and so far as I’m concerned with her MG work, she can do no wrong.  She writes wonderful fairy tale esque books that  any fairy tale lover will adore.

book cover of Beauty by Robin McKinleybook cover of Deerskin by Robin McKinleybook cover of The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
Anything by Robin McKinley:  I need to read these retellings in a bad way.  McKinley doesn’t only wright retellings or fairy tales, but I have heard absolutely amazing things about those she does, and plan to read some asap.

book cover of Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillierbook cover of Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillierbook cover of Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Anything by Juliet Marillier: Another author that weaves together her own fairy tales with retellings of those well-known.  I picked up Daughter of the Forest recently, and plan on reading pretty much everything else she’s written as well.

10 comments:

  1. HAHAHA. I thought about whether I should write a post or not, too. I mean I've been blogging for 3 or 4 years now, but bookblogging? 1 year. Then I thought, damn, I'll just write something about what I wish I had known before I started. :D

    (And The Princess Bride. <3)

    Patricia // My Post

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  2. Im a huge Shannon Hale fan! I talk her up to everyone I talk books with! Haha Also I just read Wildwood Dancing and adored it so I'll have to check out more of Marillier's work. You should also read some Jessica Day George as well, her Princess of the Midnight Ball is a fun retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses! :)

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    1. I feel like that one's so popular what with Entwined and all, thanks for the suggestion!

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  3. Scarlet, Stardust, Juliet Marillier! <3 Damn, you and I have the same taste I guess! :D I'm addicted, obsessed and crazy about fairytales, haha. Wildwood and Heart's blood are fantastic! And don't forget to read Cybelle's secret, because that one belongs to Wildwood :)

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  4. Wow, this list actually really useful. I have a crew of students who love fairy tales and I'm always looking for books in that genre that are well-written. I've got most of the Robin McKinley and Shannon Hale books, but I'm adding the others to my order list for next fall!

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    1. Yay! I'm so glad to be of help. I adore retellings and fairy tale books, and there are so many others out there I have yet to get to.

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  5. This post made me happy. Just looking at all those fairy tale books was like...ahhh. I just got Goose Girl and really want to read the Juliet Marillier books after both you and Misty have said such amazing things about them! I can't wait to read all of these! x

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  6. I love that you did this :] I have either read or have added these titles to my TBR pile!!

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  7. You've got some great books on this list! I absolutely love Robin McKinley's Beauty and Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl. Also, Howl's Moving Castle is such a lot of good, quirky fun!

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  8. I just finished Cinder and I loved it :D
    I can't believe I've never read The Princess Bride, though! I checked it out from the library a few times but I just got distracted by other shinier books. I do adore the movie, though :]

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