#edogs

so these are basically the first books that came to my mind:

1. howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones

i love this story and the characters so much and it's so important to me that at the beginning sophie thinks she won't achieve anything in her life but then gains a lot of confidence in herself because of what happens to her. and i want to write something more here about the plot but i've read it so long ago that i'm scared i would remember something wrong

2. dragonriders of pern by anne mccaffrey

probably listing about twenty books as one is a little too much but oh well. i've started reading the first one knowing nothing about the series and i was absolutely sure it was a fantasy book with dragons, magic and everything. but it's actually sf? like there are dragons, but they're actually aliens form space!! and there are starships and other stuff left by the people who settled centuries ago on the planet the whole series takes place on. and it may sound weird but it's actually pretty cool. and i cried so many times reading them, both from sadness and from happiness and once even because i was so nervous about what was happening. and there are so many great characters. and so many great female characters. and in one book there are two cute guys who are a couple. and there's an asexual dragon who basically saves the whole planet thanks to his abilities. and the books follow some characters almost their whole life and watching them grow up and get old and then die was both wonderful and painful. and. and. i just. these books are amazing.

3. artemis fowl by eoin colfer

okay, so disclaimer here that i'm ignoring existence of the last two books. but i love the rest a lot. again, great characters, great story. and a lot of witty humor. and i like the whole idea with centaurs, and dwarfs, and elves, and trolls, and pixies living underground in a technologically advanced society.

4. the six bullerby children by astrid lindgren

this was one of my favorite books when i was small. i'm an only child and i didn't have any close friends for a very long time and reading about a bunch of kids being close to each other and spending a lot of time together somehow let me feel what i didn't have in my own life.

5. the secret garden by frances hodgson burnett

this book is here partially because alice made me think about it yesterday. but it's also one of my favorite childhood books. i think the reason is similar to the the one above - both mary and colin are very lonely and then they become friends with each other and with dickon and they restore the garden and somehow everything gets better and i wanted to have something like that as a child

7. ronia the robber's daughter by astrid lindgren

(sooo astrid lindgren may actually be my favorite childhood writer) this book tells a story about a girl and a boy from two enemy robber clans. they're the only children there and they become friends despite their backgrounds that ultimately leads to peace between the clans (and i think they also stopped robbing people but i'm not sure). so again a story about a young girl making a close friend.

8. witches' daughter by dorota terakowska

dorota terakowska is my favorite polish writer and i don't think this book was ever translated to english so this is the title i think it could have if it was. or maybe it would be something that sounded better. anyway there's a girl raised by the witches because she's the last hier to the throne in an occupated kingdom and her whole family was killed. and the story is beautifully written and it's great to see how the girl grows up and changes, while traveling around the kingdom with the witches.

9. his dark materials by philip pullman

i loved the whole story but the part that stayed with me the most is the idea that at some point after death our souls will get back to the living world and dissolve into atoms, and later create something new. i think this is my favorite afterlife idea ever.

10. airman by eoin colfer

i don't know. i just liked it a lot. i think i generally like the kind of stories where something happens to the main character that changes their whole life and they have to adapt and change and build something new.