The fantasy genre has always been my favourite, for some reason. I don't know what it is about dragons, elves, dwarfs, and magic that draws me in, but I get sucked into these books and often end up reading them cover-to-cover in the wee hours of the morning. They have affected me so much that I am writing my own fantasy novel, and have already poured dozens of hours of my life into the project. So today I thought I'd tell you about my five favourite fantasy authors and their best books. Maybe you'll find a new favourite here too.

5. J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter"
What can I say that has not already been said? It's Harry Potter. They're amazing books, and although I think Rowling herself has been rather corrupted by fame and money, Harry Potter remains an incredible series that I have read five or more times.

4. Cornelia Funk, "The Inkheart Trilogy"
Funk's books are great, especially Inkheart, which I've read many times. Ultimately, it was a tough decision between her and Tamora Pierce for this spot, but I think I like Funk's books a bit more. Check out Inkheart (but skip the movie, which was nowhere near as good).

3. Jonathon Stroud, "The Bartimaeus Trilogy"
Perhaps a bit of a lesser known choice, Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy are excellent. They paint a dark picture of a modern world controlled by magicians, and looks at the corruption that would come with such power. As a bonus, the book's wily protagonist, Bartimaeus, is a hilariously cynical djinni. It is he who truly makes the books great.

2. Terry Pratchett, "The Discworld Series"
I only started reading Discworld in the summer of '08, but since then I have been devouring them at a freakish pace. They are witty, but not stupid, something surprisingly hard to find in a novel. Pratchett was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but I hope that he continues to write, for his books are superb.

1. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings"
Is anybody surprised? The Lord of the Rings is undoubtedly the epitome of the fantasy genre, an epic, exciting, immersive adventure. I greatly admire Tolkien's ability to be descriptive but not long-winded (something Christopher Paolini could take note of). This book, along with the Harry Potter series, is probably the most influential fantasy book of all time. It simply can't be beat, and that's why Tolkien is my favourite fantasy author.

Honourable Mentions: Nancy Farmer, "The House of the Scorpion," Tamora Pierce, "Circle of Magic Series," Eoin Colfer, "The Wishlist," T.A. Barron, "The Great Tree of Avalon Series"

Do you guys have any authors you think I might like? I'm looking for a good book to read.

Hey guys,

I know I haven't been around, but I simply haven't been gaming all that much. Plus, I've been super busy with school and stuff, so have had to prioritize.

Anyways, I've just got something I wanted to share with you. I've been participating in the beta for Better the World. It's this really cool website that lets you raise money for charity by basically doing nothing. It simple installs an unobtrusive sidebar that runs ads while you surf the web. Companies pay Better the World to run their ads, and the site donates 90% of the money to a charity of your choice. I'm raising money for the World Wildlife Fund Canada. I've already raised over $100, and barely even notice the sidebar anymore.

Anyways, if you're interested I really encourage you to check it out. The site is small now, but I think that it will catch on and become big, and being a part of that expansion could be a really cool and rewarding process.

BETTER THE WORLD

I am a major procrastinator.

Maybe I should write a blog about it. Nah, I'll do that later.