Inspiration: magical

I'm defining "magic" as books where charms or spells and supernatural powers are used. The kind of stuff not defined by physics and lab science. Mostly thought to be fiction, but I'll let you make up your own mind.

You've got to be able to suspend your disbelief and really fall into the book to truly enjoy a magical story. Things happen that can't happen, and that's just the way it goes. Remember when you were a kid and could do that? Try to recapture it.

Here's a list of magical stories I've personally read and enjoyed, including internal links to this blog's posts where I discussed them (if I did).

Note: I have an admitted weakness for vampires, but they're not really "magical" so I'll save that list for another day. ;) 

• I, Coriander by Sally Gardner - A fantastic, captivating middle-grade book about a 17th Century London girl who ends up in the land of fairies.
• The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde - A high-rise rest home for magicians, the orphan who tries to keep it all afloat, and a quest to save the world's last dragons.
• The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag - A magical, living house that protects women in need.
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - The first in her All Saints Series, where a witch and a vampire fall in forbidden love. 
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Highly acclaimed novel, a steampunk magic circus.
• The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman - A library of magical materials, collected by the famous Grimm Brothers.
• The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry - Salem's modern witches, who tell fortunes by focusing through hand-made lace.

I also could simply recommend nearly anything by Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett, but if I have to choose just one from each of them, I'll recommend:

• Stardust by Neil Gaiman - A naive young man who vows to bring back a falling star to win a girl's love, and the profane Earthly embodiment of that star who doesn't want to be captured and held prisoner.
• The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett - Crivens! A girl witch (and a clan of drunken, thieving, miniature warriors) tries to save her baby brother from the Queen of Fairies.

What's your favorite book of magic?

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett

In this, the final bit of Terry Pratchett's writing (RIP good sir), we make a final visit to the Chalk for a visit with young witch Tiffany Aching - a fifth book in the young adult series set on Pratchett's Discworld.

There's a shift of power in the world as Granny Weatherwax passes from it, but she's made all the arrangements and has left detailed instructions on what she wants - including specifying Tiffany as the beneficiary of her steading, home and gardens.

Running two steadings quickly wears Tiffany thin, and the fairy world has noticed the barriers aren't guarded so well these days. Of course, they have to try and push their luck.

Luckily, Tiffany's just the kind of witch the world needs now - one who's not afraid to try something new, but she's also dedicated to doing what's right even if it's not fun. Along with a motley band of witches and my adored Nac Mac Feegles, Tiffany's determined to put the fairies back where they belong.

In the afterword, it is explained that this book was written and finished by Terry, but didn't get his customary, continuing tweaks and changes right up to publication. Honestly, I don't know that I missed them. It's a wonderful book, a delighting story, funny and sweet, and hits all the right notes.

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan

When a Las Vegas magician with true magic is hunted by a fetch, she whisks her children away to the place where she was born - a New England ghost town and haunted forest thick with family secrets. But all the secrets make this "safe" place dangerous too in unexpected ways.

It's a good book with a unique angle in the very crowded genre of supernatural novels. Reve is a well-drawn character, flawed but also likeable, and her kids act like typical kids ... even though Nana is not your ordinary kind of grandmother.

It looks like Szarlan is working on making this a series called The Revelation Chronicles (this book ends well, but leaves it open for more stories). I'll be interested to see where she takes this.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

A different approach to the ever-popular vampires and fairy genre - and it really works!

Evie's never known "normal." She bounced around in foster care until her special talents were discovered when she was eight, and since then she's been an agent under protection of the International Paranormal Containment Agency. Her best friend is a mermaid, and she's homeschooled at the IPCA between capture-and-tag assignments. But really, she's a teen who dreams of hanging out at the mall, having a locker, and going out for pizza with friends.

When the IPCA is infiltrated by a supernatural being they can't identify, Evie's whole world is rocked off it's boring old rails. Before it's over she makes a friend, loses a friend, finds herself, and saves the world (while wearing a really pink prom dress).

The book's got a satisfactory completion, yet still leaves itself open to becoming a series. And I'd buy that - I really liked the characters, they experience realistic angst and emotions, and the action (while supernatural and weird) was also believable.

How to ditch your fairy

How to ditch your fairy by Justine Larbalestier

What a fun book! The main character wants to get rid of the fairy that allows any car she is riding in to find the perfect parking spot. She finds a way, but has to admit that some things are worse than the known evils in our lives. The synopsis on the cover of this book promises that readers will be able to recognize what kind of fairy they have by the time the book is finished. I'd have to say that I have a "running into stationary objects" fairy.