Man, I wish the Dresden Files were available in our bookstores… 
When I was in the 4th grade, I read the Grey King, which is the 4th book in the series. The series is clearly targeted at young readers, but I bought the entire set when I was in college just to have it. It has battles between good and evil and a little Arthurian fantasy thrown in for good measure.
The Dune series has been close to my heart since I read it in my early teens. I’ve reread it a couple of times since then and each time I’ve got more out of it. First I read it as a great story, then as an allegory of the spread of Islam, and finally as an eco-thriller and exploration of prophesy.
The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is great - I’m sure he must have been there from his descriptions of the landscape 
A nice spin on globalisation too, if you’re into your politics.
I recently read the slightly weird but incredibly wonderful Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe - wow, what a ride. I’d thoroughly recommend it.
Then of course there’s Hitch Hiker’s…
While I’m at it, does anyone know of any good used book stores in Manhattan that have a decent amount of sci-fi? Exploring these places is one of my many weaknesses, and I’m in NYC until Saturday.
The Strand comes to mind.
And while it’s not a used bookstore, when in NYC, do Forbidden Planet.
As a kid, I grew up on…
The Hardy Boys
Because I teach elementary I enjoy…
Harry Potter Series
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
On my own time…
Dan Brown’s novels particularly the Robert Langdon series
Steve Berry’s books particularly the Cotton Malone series (Templar Legacy, Alexandria Link, Venetian Betrayal…)
Left Behind Series (Oooh I’m gonna catch flak for this one)
Forever King Trilogy by Molly Cochran
I don’t know that I would call it my favorite, (although it does have a place in my heart) or that it is even a “series” but I would like to give a shout-out to Madeline L’Engle, who piqued my interest in sci-fi and fantasy when I was a little girl: A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet - I can’t wait until my son is old enough for me to read them to him!
This thread hits home for me, because I almost NEVER read anything unless it’s part of a series. Who wants to get the end of a book and Boom–that’s it. You never see those characters again. Maybe that’s why I like Star Trek so much. It just goes on and on an on and on.
Roughly in order of bestest to just best:
A few more series I thought of:
*Hitchhiker’s Guide “Trilogy” by Douglas Adams (How did I forget this the first time?!?)
*The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R Lawhead (I enjoyed “Patrick” as well. I nearly finished it on the plane from London to Philly.)
*The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts
*Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Oh yeah. I forgot that one two. How could I forget that? Must have had too many Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters (best drink in the universe). Let’s see, I put that up there as 2.5 in my list.
I know they’re ‘non-genre’, but one of my favorite series is the Spenser detective novels by Robert B Parker. I read the first on a beach in Cape Cod one hot day, and fell in love with them.
Thanks for the guidance! Where is the Strand? Sure I can find it on Google, so don’t worry if you pick this up after i’m off…
Cheers
NickB…here you go…and the best part is that the Strand and Forbidden Planet are like a block apart!
This is the first time I have seen Google maps fail…I could not convince it that walking down the block is the shortest route. Oh well.
Maybe we should do a spontenous GWC meetup tomorrow afternoon?
Hey Solai - thanks. Didn’t realise you were in NYC. I’m in the office all day today and tomorrow. Tomorrow night out with colleagues before I head back the UK on Saturday afternoon. I’m free(ish) tonight (I think, but have to confirm) and Saturday morning. Not sure if that works for you. If not, I’m in NYC every now and again, and now I know you’re here I can give you advance warning next time. Whether on this or the next trip, always happy to meet fellow GWC geeks! I’ll send you a message to avoid clogging up the forum with social arrangements.
Hey there. Sorry to have missed you this time around, will have to setup a time in advance during the week!
Likewise - I’ll give you advance notices and we can sort something out. Likely to be a good few months, but I’ll be back…
HOH boy…I dunno if I’m gonna be able to remember them all! But, here goes:
Song of Ice & Fire: George R.R. Martin
Anita Blake: Laurell K Hamilton
The Hollows: Kim Harrison
Stephanie Plumb: Janet Evanovich
Anything Nora Roberts
In Death: J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)
Women of the Otherworld: Kelly Armstrong
Kushiel’s: Jacqueline Carey
Star Wars: Timothy Zahn
Temeraire: Naomi Novik
The Ruby Dynasty/Skolian Empire: Catherine Asaro
Black Jewels: Anne Bishop
Dark Hunter series: Sherilyn Kenyon
Guardian Series: Keri Arthur
Sign of the Zodiac: Vicki Pettersson
whew
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin- my absolute favorite book series ever. Fantastic dialogue, intrigue, dragons, magic, politics, knowing that no character is safe and sword fights.
Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde- does for literature and alternate history what Adams did for space travel. Funniest book series I’ve ever picked up.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman- simply love the books, better than any of the other YA novels I’ve read
Popculture and Philosophy series- These books are all so interesting. They give such an interesting and intelligent view on series like BSG, The Matrix, Star Wars, Harry Potter and LOTR.
All of the Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn- Introduced my favorite SW character and one of the best villians in the GFFA.
The New Jedi Order- enjoyable for the most part with a novel or two that just blows you away (I’m talking Matt Stover here). It was the first time I ever felt that the main characters were in real danger of dying.
Legacy of the Force- Once more the GFFA goes to hell in a handbasket and puts the Skywalker-Solo clan at odds. Could have done without the Boba Fett
The Inheritance Cycle by Paolini- yes it’s cheesy but it’s entertaining and I like reading what is essentially Star Wars in Middle Earth.
Dragonlance: Weis and Hickman
Dresden Files: Jim Butcher
Lord of the Rings: JRR Tolkien
Ender and Bean Series: Orson Scott Card
Hitchhikers Guide: Douglas Adams
New Jedi Order
Ah, there are so many, in so many different genres, depending on my mood…
In no particular order:
Darkover (MZB)
Pern used to be up there but I can’t stand the prose anymore.
Dragonprince books
Witchworld
Harry Potter
(can you tell I was into fantasy before SF?)
CJ Cherryh: Faded Sun, Chanur, Foreigner in particular
And branching out a bit… I also love Jane Austen’s novels, and some of the authors I study - there’s one in particular that’s fun because the novels are ostensibly separate and different and have nothing to do with one another but the version of [place] is the same throughout them, and characters reappear in the oddest places…
Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony
The Kinsman Saga by Ben Bova
The Heechee Saga by Frederick Pohl
The Avalon Series by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Sharpe’s series by Bernard Cornwell (my guilty pleasure)
Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley
The Logan Trilogy by William F Nolan
Riddlemaster of Hed by Patricia A McKillip