Book Recommendation Master List

All of these categories will come around every couple of years, so if you don't see a book you feel should really be on here, stay tuned, and eventually you'll get your chance to reshape these lists. Don't forget that each category has a link to the original page where you can go look at all the gushing reviews in the comments and check out the "UNSUNG HEROES" list (which are books that are maybe not "the best" but that don't get recommended enough and folks think everyone should know). 

Best Standalone Fantasy (Check out the conversation HERE)

The Night Circus, E. Morgenstern 
The Princess Bride, W. Goldman
War for the Oaks, E. Bull
Good Omens, N. Gaiman and T. Pratchett 
American Gods, N. Gaiman
Neverwhere, N. Gaiman 
The House in the Cerulean Sea, T. J. Klune 
The Once and Future Witches, A. E. Harrow 
Poison, C. Wooding 
Un Lun Dun, C. Mieville 
Le morte d'Arthur, T. Mallory 
Tailchaser's Song, T. Williams 
Kindred, O. Butler 
Dragon Pearl, Y. H. Lee 

Undersung Heroes 

Shades of Grey, J. Fforde 

Afterworlds, S. Westerfeld 

Glasgow Fairytale, A. D. McIver

Fire and Hemlock, D. W. Jones

Best YA Science Fiction (Check out the conversation  HERE)

Machine - E. Bear

Thunder and Lightning (series) - J. Varley

Dingilliad (series) - D. Gerrold

Succession (split into two volumes by the publisher) - S. Westerfield

Karen Memory - E. Bear

Matthew Looney and the Space Pirates (series) - Jr. J. Beatty

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel - R. A. Heinlein

Raybearer - J. Ifueko

Animorphs - K. A. Applegate 

Undersung Heroes

Foundations - I. Asimov

Epic - C. Kostick

Best Romance (Check out the conversation HERE) 

Best Romance (Book or Series) 

Parasol Protectorate series, G. Carriger 

When a Scot Ties a Knot, T. Dare 

Outlander, D. Gabaldon 

These Old Shades, G Heyer, 

Reluctant Royals series, A. Cole 

Jane Eyre, C. Bronte 

Love Only Once, J. Lindsey 

The Dark Hunter series, S. Kenyon 

Psy/Changeling series, N. Singh 

Love in the Time of Cholera, G.G. Marquez

Cecile, F. Burney

Tairen Soul series, C.L. Wilson

Cut and Run series, A. Roux and Madeleine Urban

The Hating Game, S. Thorne

The Lion's Bride, C. Mason

Red, White, and Royal Blue, C. McQuinton

The House in the Cerulean Sea, T.J. Klune

Guild Hunter series, N. Singh

Sevenwaters series, J. Marillier

Pride and Prejudice, J. Austen

A Long Fatal Love Chase, L. M. Alcott

Wild, J Barnett

Sweet Valley series (attributed to F. Pascal, but written by a team of ghostwriters)

Spindle Cove,T. Dare

Castles Ever After, T. Dare

The Chesapeake Bay Series, N. Roberts

Undersung Heroes

Beautiful Creatures, K. Garcia and M. Stohl

Rise of the Iliri, A. Hadley

Best Standalone Modern Sci-Fi (Check out the conversation HERE)

Earth, D. Brin (2)

Snow Crash, N. Stephenson

Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, S. R. Delany.

China Mountain Zhang, M. F. McHugh

House of the Scorpion, N. Farmer

Silently and Very Fast, C. M. Valente

Sudden, Broken, and Unexpected, S. Popkes

The Positronic Man, I. Asimov and R. Silverberg

Story of Your Life, T. Chiang

Undersung Heroes:

Six Wakes, M. Lafferty 

The Gone World, T. Sweterlitsch