1. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

2. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

 The Best Books I never read when I was a kid:  The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.  I read these as an adult and couldn't imagine how I missed them as a fantasy loving child.
 
 

SCIENCE FICTION:

My favorite fantasy and science fiction classics:

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Mists of Avalon by Marian Zimmer Bradley

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Dune by Frank Herbert

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein

The Once and Future King by T. H. White

Most of the books above were read several times over the years.   I think it's an interesting idea to re-read your favorite books from childhood and your formative years because I believe those stories and their underlying mythologies and symbols have a strong impact on us.

The science fiction writers I most enjoy reading right now are:

Orson Scott Card, especially Ender's Game and the rest in that series including the brand new Ender's Shadow.  Both my sons have read all of his books.

Bruce Sterling ( Holy Fire) and Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash) write excellent futuristic novels involving computers and bio-technology.

Connie Willis (To Say Nothing of the Dog) is wonderful.  Look for her short stories in award winner collections.

My absolute favorite number one fantasy/humor writer is Terry Pratchett.  Start with The Color of Magic and read the entire Discworld series.  Unlike many other series, this one gets better and better.  My favorite characters are the Witches ( Wyrd Sisters) and Death (Mort).

MYSTERIES

I'm very selective about the mysteries I read.  Reading about people killing other people just doesn't make my day.  But certain writers have such good characters and settings that I can't resist.  I've read everything by Agatha Christie more than once.  And Then There Were None is considered a classic, but I'm most fond of her characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

I've read every Kinsey Milhone book by Sue Grafton, starting with A is For Alibi.

And I'm entraced by Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series.  (The first book is A Morbid Taste for Bones.)  Brother Cadfael is a monk in 12th century Britain during the time of factional fighting between supporters of Empress Maud and those of her cousin Stephen.  Brother Cadfael is an herbalist and healer, who came to the monastic life after fighting in the Crusades.  He loves the tranquil life of the monastery but it keeps getting disturbed by local murders which he solves.  Ellis Peters wrote at least 20 books in this series and they give wonderful glimpses into life during that period of time.

For more fiction - check out what I'm reading now in Marcia's Book Journal.