TBR: Fantasy Books for All the Readers on Your List

Including you. Definitely for you.

Welcome to Magic & Ink, a newsletter about magic, fantasy writing, and the creative life.

It’s that time of year when gift guides are almost as abundant as holiday sale ads. I’m generally not one to jump on trends, but nothing suits wintery weather so well as curling up with a good book, so I’m taking a break from my general lack of holiday spirit to offer you a few suggestions, for yourself or for the fantasy reader in your life.

Personally, I prefer book recommendations that come from someone I know (at least parasocially ) over Good Reads rankings or the “what’s popular on TikTok” table at the bookstore. If you feel the same way, I hope you will accept this list as my way of shoving a stack of books in your hand and saying, “You absolutely have to read these!”

Have I actually read all of these books? Almost! The main exception are those in the Award Winners section, some which I’m adding to my own TBR¹ list as I compose this. Plus, there are a couple books in the Reader Recommendations list that I haven’t read yet, either. Nevertheless, I feel100% comfortable endorsing these titles, since clearly people of excellent literary taste have already done so.

What will you be reading during as the long nights of winter close down around us? Did your favorite book of 2024 make my list? Please share in the comments, and keep the recommendations rolling!

I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I may receive a small fee for any books purchased through the links below.

My 2024 Top 5

(in no particular order)

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison

The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur, by

Lev Grossman

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Spear by Nicola Griffith

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

2024 Award Winners

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (World Fantasy Award, novel)

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Hugo Award, novella; Locus Award, novella)

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Hugo Award, YA)

The Book of Witches: An Anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan (World Fantasy Award, anthology)

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs (Mythopoeic Award, novel)

Unraveller by Frances Hardinge (Mythopoeic Award, YA)

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (Nebula, novel; Locus Award, first novel)

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill (Nebula, novella)

Witch King by Martha Wells (Locus Award, fantasy novel)

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link (Locus Award, collection)

5 Non-Fiction Books About Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy: How It Works by Brian Attebery

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer

An Introduction to Fantasy by Matthew Sangster

A Short History of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn and Edward James

The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy by Ursula K Le Guin

5 Classic Fantasies You Should Read if You Haven’t

The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany

Lud-in-the-Mist (1926) by Hope Mirrlees

The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison

Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners by Ellen Kushner

Riddlemaster of Hed by Patricia K. McKillip

5 Books That Are Even Better Than the Movie

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Reader Recommendations

I asked Substack readers to share their own favorite fantasy reads of 2024. Here’s what they had to say:

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

• Recommended

  Kim and the Cat
  of Traveling in Books, who says “I've already read it twice. It's about a Nova Scotian nurse who returns to the front in WWI to search for her brother. He has been presumed dead, but she has certain clues that he is still alive. Arden's writing is always beautiful, her characters feel so very real, and the ending is bittersweet and pretty much perfect.”

Kim also recommends Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien, saying, “I read it every December, and it never fails to cheer me up.”

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

• Both recommended by

  Jam Canezal
  of Books Worth Sharing. Both would have made my favorite books list if I’d read them this year instead of 2023!

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 6 by Gwon Gyeoeul, et. al.

• Recommended by

  Mary Catelli
  of Writing and Reflections. Of this Korean manhwa, Mary says, “I particularly like that the heroine is beginning to realize that she might, indeed, be trapped in a game, but on the other hand, she might be in a real world, and the people in it matter.”

1. TBR = To Be Read