RobbieÂ’s Fishhooks:
The First 45 Books to Get Hooked On After HP

I get a lot of requests like this, and this is a list I have been sending in reply. The idea is not to list the 45 best books ever, but 45 “first” books to start with, after Harry Potter gets you hooked on reading. Many of them are the start of a series, or a good introduction to an author whose other books you may also want to read. I skipped J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis because they go without saying. Enjoy!

1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

3. So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane

4. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

5. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

6. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

7. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

8. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

9. The Indian In the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

10. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

11. The Witch Trade by Michael Molloy

12. A School for Sorcery by E. Rose Sabin

13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

14. The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

15. The 13 Clocks by James Thurber

16. Half Magic by Edward Eager

17. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

18. A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

19. Molly MoonÂ’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng

20. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

21. Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton

22. The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

23. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

24. The Once and Future King by T. H. White

25. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

26. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

27. The Midnight Folk by John Masefield

28. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

29. The Brave Apprentice by P. W. Catanese

30. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

31. Mimus by Lilli Thal

32. Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn

33. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

34. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

35. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

36. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

37. Tangerine by Edward Bloor

38. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

39. The Various by Steve Augarde

40. The Children of Green Knowe by L. M. Boston

41. The Tears of the Salamander by Peter Dickinson

42. Hidden Talents by David Lubar

43. Sabriel by Garth Nix

44. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

45. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

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Logo: photo by Julia Eisenberg (sphaera)