Reader Recommendations




The "Ology" Books





It is my own personal treasure hunting mission to collect all of these wonderful obscure books. Meaning I myself want to own these and add them to the shelves of my personal Library. I wouldn't recommend these these books be put into circulation in a Public Library because of understandable reasons.

So what are the "Ology" books, if you haven't heard of them? Perhaps if you're like me, they first came on your radar back in your elementary days, having first seen them at your school's annual book fair amid all the trendy pens, notebooks, and puppy posters you and your schoolmates would beg your parents to buy you.

The Ologies books I would describe as a novelty book series, and a very in-depth one at that. The series includes many volumes of beautiful and intricately illustrated fictional encyclopedias. The encyclopedias cover various topics, but mostly concentrate on fantasy and sci-fi subjects like dragons or aliens or vampires. Each of the books is seemingly written by a fictional author, and is presented as a “lost” journal of these fictional investigators. 

While not every many pages, each book is quite large and contains additional items. Some pages fold out, some pages have "samples" collected from the field that are tactile like "dragon scales" or "gold dust", some pages have removable maps and postcards or letters that can be unfolded. These additional items are why I wouldn't recommend these books for public libraries. They'd be too easily lost and unreplaceable. But for a private collection like what I have, such things aren't as much of a problem.

Wanting to then own these books, it comes down to availability and price. Being novelty titles and not wildly published nowadays, not every bookstore you walk into is going to have them on shelf. And even if they do have the books, they aren't cheap. I've also scoured Amazon enough times to know that brand-new additions of these books can cost you upwards of $50. Used copies run cheaper but will always have some sort of damage. And if you are into thrifting like I am, you might get lucky and stumble across a copy here or there that's mostly intact.

But just how many ology books are there? Concerning what I'm trying to collect, There are 15 main volumes in the Ology series as you can see to the right. The first book (and probably the most popular volume) Dragonology, was first published by Candlewick Press in 2003. The latest book to be published in 2020 is Ghostology. As of present, there seems to be no new addition to the series in the works.

5-17-23



"Forensic Mysteries"





The "Forensic Mysteries" Series by Alane Ferguson is a wonderful YA Murder Mystery Series for anyone who loves crime procedural TV shows. (So like Bones). Because this isn't your run-of-the-mill murder mystery series with a teenage sleuth. Our 17-year-old detective in this case, uses forensic evidence to solve murders.

Summary (of The Christopher Killer):

Fascinated by forensics, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney persuades her father, the county coroner in sleepy Silverton, CO, to take her on as his assistant. But she never expects her first case to involve the death of a friend! Rachel Geller, a beautiful young waitress, is found strangled in a field with a Christopher medal around her neck — Clearly marking her as the fourth victim of a serial killer. Cameryn is determined to help find Rachel’s killer, and attending the autopsy gives her the first clue. But as she follows her instincts and gets closer to the killer, Cameryn suddenly finds herself on the verge of becoming his fifth victim! 

So this series is both realistic and unrealistic. And both in good ways. 

It's realistic in the sense of how it presents crime investigation. The "clues" that Cameryn finds, that help her solve murders, are all gleaned from autopsy results and the crime scenes of where the bodies were found. This might be a trigger warning (TW) for some readers, because the MC (Cameryn) participates in the autopsies of the victims (legally, she's permitted to help). The author goes into detail as well, but not in a way that comes across as grotesque. Everything is presented through a educational lens, but it also might be too much for some readers. Cameryn is getting experience in a career field she some day wants to enter, as well as seeking to bring to justice her friend's murderer.

It's unrealistic in the sense that a teenage girl with no credentials would be permitted to participate in the autopsy of a murder victim, as well as an assistant to her father as a coroner. However, this is leant some credibility though the setting. Cameryn is some a a small town in Colorado. So small that the Mahoney family station wagon has to double as the county coroner's hearse. This makes it a little more feasible. Certainly, none of it would fly in the big city, but in the country people just make do. Still, it's a little outrageous, but that's not a bad thing in fiction. What kind of story would it be without Cameryn being in the thick of it? One that's not as interesting. 

The series itself is well rounded, consisting of four books. And each of them, where Cameryn solves different murders in each new installment, is pretty short. I wouldn't have minded if they were longer. An avid read could easily finish one of the books in a day or get though the entire series in less than a week. The books in order (and page length) are as follows:

288 pages 

 272 pages 

 236 pages 

232 pages 

1-11-23

The

Inheritance

 Cycle

I'm surprised I haven't reccommended this on here before now. This site is even called "Book Dragon Librarian" and this is the series that started it all for me. So back to my roots! But better late than never, amirite?

I've also made another site that's all about read-a-likes to Eragon. You can find a link to it under the tab "Links to other bookish sites by this Dragon" Or just click here: Eragon Book Connections - Home 

Map of Alagaesia

Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire. 

The Summary above doesn't do the series full justice but it's how it all kicks off. Eragon finding a mysterious egg in the woods and the egg hatching into a dragon. Which is even all the more shocking considering all the dragons supposedly died after the war. The only known dragon left is the one that belongs to the evil King Galbatorix (excellent name for a villain btw) because he killed all the other dragons and their riders. 

So Eragon raises the dragon the secret and he can talk to Seraphina (the dragon) telepathically. She's highly intelligent. And then the King sends his minions looking for the missing egg and Eragon has to skip town with Seraphina and the village storyteller who is really someone else in disguise. And Eragon starts to learn magic - 

It's an amazing adventure story start to finish. You can tell the author was inspired at lot by Lord of the Rings. Eragon does a lot of traveling across the Fantasy Land. I liked how realistic it was in that aspect. It took Eragon the whole first book and multiple months to get from one corner of the map to the other. There are also multiple races that call the country their home. From Humans to elves. Dwarves to Urgals. Shades to the dreaded Ra'zac. And of course dragons. We can't forget the Dragons.

12-10-22

(Mature Manga - not for kids)

















Yakuza Fiancé


(Raise wa Tanin ga ii)

















Well now. While I do like romance, when I read manga I gravitate more towards the action-fantasy titles, the offbeat humorous stories, the preposterous isekai which is so dang popular these days. But to call this manga series just another a "romance" wouldn't quite sum it up.  If anything, this is a unconventional romance drama with a "bad boy" subgenre. Though the particular "bad boy" in this manga meant to hold the position of the male lead... is far more unhinged than he is endearing.

Summary:

In this critically acclaimed romantic crime drama, a yakuza granddaughter is sent from Osaka to marry the grandson of a rival family in Tokyo!

Yoshino grew up the sheltered yakuza princess of the largest crime family in Osaka, the Somei. Due to her "resting bitch face" and dangerous family, no man has ever approached her. When her grandfather signs a truce with the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, he offers her up as a truce bride to the Miyama leader’s grandson! Kirishima Miyama is popular, charming, and seems totally normal.

But behind his smile is a violent sadomasochist who thirsts for her dominance even more when she impresses him with her moxie! Even though she knows how bad yakuza can be, she’s stunned by Miyama’s viciousness. She can’t turn him down with the East-West peace treaty on the line…so instead she steels herself to play ball! 

So... Most romance manga have idealized love interests. Kirishima is not one of those. Sure, he's portrayed as handsome and friendly and popular, seemingly always smiling. But that's just the front he puts on around "normal  people". Really, the dude is violent and twisted. Plus he's seeing other girls while he's supposedly pursuing Yoshino, going as far as to track her whereabouts like a stalker because "he likes her." But before he "liked her" he was disrespectful to her not long after they first met, saying she was "boring and useless to him" and "her only selling points were her face and her body so she should go make him some money"

To sum it up, he's kind of a scumbag. 

So... Then why do I like this series? Why was I ecstatic when it got greenlit for a English publication? Why did I pre-order the manga so I could add it to my own private collection?

But then Kirishima reveals his true colors to her. He'd been pretending to be nice before then, before telling her she was "boring and useless to him". She then takes advice from her Grandfather. That she should make Kirishima fall in love with her and then just leave him after a year, pulling off the ultimate revenge. 

So she sets out to do this. Yoshino disappears for two weeks. Then she comes back, finding Kirishia at school (yes, they are still in high school)and drops a bag of money onto his desk. She sold a kidney for 4 Million yen ($30,552). (you can see this scene to the left - read right to left). 

So she's crazy too, to some extant. Seeing this, Kirishima is in turn smitten. Because again, he's crazy. The way a lot of other romance manga would proceed is the girl starting to fall for the guy. But Yoshino doesn't like him at all. She's seen this guy in action and knows to be wary of him. She's still intent on leaving him once her year is up and going back to Osaka. She's smart. She takes note of his habits and deduces he's been seeing other girls. But then, it's not like she cares what he does either, as she later tells him. 

As bizarre as this "romance" story is, Yoshino is a total girl boss, always maintaining the upper hand.

12-10-22

the hype is Real












Solo Leveling is Awesome

10 years ago, after “the Gate” that connected the real world with the monster world opened, some of the ordinary, everyday people received the power to hunt monsters within the Gate. They are known as "Hunters". However, not all Hunters are powerful. My name is Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank Hunter. I'm someone who has to risk his life in the lowliest of dungeons, the "World's Weakest". Having no skills whatsoever to display, I barely earned the required money by fighting in low-leveled dungeons… at least until I found a hidden dungeon with the hardest difficulty within the D-rank dungeons! In the end, as I was accepting death, I suddenly received a strange power, a quest log that only I could see, a secret to leveling up that only I know about! If I trained in accordance with my quests and hunted monsters, my level would rise. Changing from the weakest Hunter to the strongest S-rank Hunter! 

And the list goes on. Solo Leveling has all the makings of not just a quality webtoon, but a cohesive story as a whole. It's no wonder the Korean webtoon is so popular right now, being the most viewed on the site this Book Dragon uses to read webtoons. 

The main character is approaching 'overpowered' territory -

(who are we kidding - he's been there for a while) 

- but he was the weakest starting out. A character who is OP (personal pet peeve) usually comes off as annoying, they never having to struggle very much through the whole scope of the plot. 

Yet, the hardcore training Solo leveling puts the main character through seems to make up for this, he evolving into this overpowered Hunter because he's done the work to be so. And the training archs don't get stale like other series suffer from, another plus for the webtoon. 

Solo Leveling is currently ongoing so hopes are high it will only get better from here.

11-29-19




Graphic Novels 

by Faith Erin Hicks




Faith Erin Hicks is a wonderful artist with a number of graphic novels under her belt. You can almost immediately tell if a comic is by her due to the distinctive style in which she designs her characters. Anything by her can be recommended for comic-lovers to read. Some of her works, as have been currently announced, include:

Erin Faith Hicks has also put put a full length novel, Comics will Break your Heart.

2-15-19



Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus Series





(For Mature Readers)

Book 1: Hannah & Garrett

Book 2: Grace & Logan

Book 3: Allie & Dean

Book 4: Sabrina & Tucker

You don't have to like or even know anything about Hockey to pick up this addictive New Adult Romance Series. If you're into the sport, that's just gravy. Set at a college campus, the books follow students, introducing a new prospective couple each book. All the male love interests are macho Hockey Players. The Heroines are smart and sassy. The romance to ensue is nothing short of steamy with laugh-out-loud passages interlaced in between. Nothing more needs to be said.

1-15-18





One Punch Man

This isn't your average superhero story. 

Written by ONE with his trademark sense of humor, and drawn by Yusuke Marata to put this epic manga series into overdrive, the story and the art seamlessly come together to make this a masterpiece. 

One Punch Man is the story of unemployed Saitama, a simple guy who decided one day to quit everyday life and make being a superhero his new 'hobby'. Saitama doesn't look heroic, lacking charisma with his bald head, often expressionless face, and kinda dorky costume, a theme that the whole series revolves around. His origins story bears some of ONE's humor, Saitama not getting bitten by a radioactive spider or being an alien from another planet to gain powers. No, instead Saitama just started working out (until he lost all his hair) and gained the ability to punch through walls... and everything else. One punch from him, and the bad guys are done for. But you would think that with being so crazy stupid strong, and after defeating so many monsters, Saitama would be hailed as a hero and have legions of adoring fans. But the guy didn't stick around to take credit for his good deeds and no one knows about him or how awesome he is.

At this talking point, hi-jinks ensue. Saitama continues to save the day but never makes a big deal out of it, being a 'hero' and saving people because it is the right thing to do, giving no thought to the fame and glory. For a highly humorous story, this is one of its deeper talking points, asking what a superhero really is. 

The story also follows a number of other super heroes, there being a super hero organization because the world is plagued by by such an influx of monsters always showing up and making mayhem. One favorite is cyborg Genos, Saitama's loyal disciple and one of the few people that knows how awesome Saitama is. Other colorful side characters just keep adding to Saitama's world, from Sonic, the ninja to of sworn himself Saitama's mortal enemy, to superhero 'Tank Top Master' and his crime-fighting tank top underlings (who you can recognize by their different tank tops). 

This manga series has its serious and funny points and won't disappoint.

6-11-18

The Millennium Trilogy

By Stieg Larsson

This suspenseful murder mystery carries more punch than just what main character, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, can provide in his investigation in to the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, a girl from a prominent family to of gone missing some forty years past. What really makes this story sizzle is the 'girl' mentioned in every title of the series: Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced and tattooed, genius hacker, who assists in the investigation and helps crack the case. 

The second and third books in the series focus more on the heroine, her tragic up bringing, and the heinous crimes committed against her. What readers learn is that Lisbeth Salander is one badass girl you don't want to mess with. Explored in the books are injustices towards women, corruption, and social bigotry. 

All three books were published post humorously, the author having unfortunately passed away before seeing his work become so popular. Later books linked to the series are written by ghost writers.

5-31-18







Fangirl

By Rainbow Rowell





What more can be said about this book? (If you haven't heard of it, you must have been in a coma the past few years)

Well, this coming-of-age story is about socially-awkward Cath, a glasses and cardigan wearing girl just starting college. Above all, this is a fun read, enjoyable for both teens and adults. Be prepared for:

Be warned, Book Dragons - Chance are you will want to read Carry On after finishing up this book. (And that's not a bad thing)

5-19-18





    The Queen of           






Erika Johansen's The Queen of the Tearling trilogy is one of those unique series that can't fit under one genre.

The story starts of in an alternate land where we meet practical main character Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, rightful ruler of The Tearling. She's been raised all her life in exile for the assassins that would be happy to kill her and claim a reward from her Uncle whom has been acting as reagent in her stead. On the morning of her nineteenth birthday, Kelsea is finally legally old enough to claim the throne and so her journey to her castle in New London begins. Being crowned is only the first of her trials for the price on her head.

From there, the story has:

This trilogy is so well rounded and so satisfying that you won't want to see it end.

5-19-18



Awesome Fairy tales by Amy Harmon



The first book in this dualogy by Amy Harmon is The Bird and the Sword. The Second is The Queen and the Cure. Both are beautiful and lyrically written. Some say that either of the two can be read as stand-a-lones. This Book Dragon doesn't recommend that. Read both of them together and in order. The impact isn't the same otherwise.

In The Bird and the Sword, we are introduced to Lark, a girl gifted with magic in a Kingdom where such gifts are taboo and severely punished. The only daughter of a nobleman, when she was young Lark's gifted mother was killed by the old King for possessing magic. On that day, her mother cursed Lark to be mute so she wouldn't be able to use her own magic. Grown into a young woman, Lark is still mute when taken hostage by the new King, Tiras, the son of the man to of murdered Lark's mother. Lark becomes a political pawn because of her father's ambition to take the throne for himself, even as the kingdom is at war with evil bird-men creatures called Volgar, they ravaging the land for seemingly no other reason than uncontrollable hunger.

So yeah... A lot of interesting stuff going on here (with just the right splash of 'forbidden' romance between Lark and Tiras)

The Queen and the Cure follows the half-brother of King Tiras, Kjell of Jeru, after the events of the first book. There's still some Volgar left lurking about, which Kjell has been tasked by his half-brother to eradicate. His quest takes him to the desert, where he meets slave woman Sasha. She is missing her memory but receives troubling visions of the future. The two are thrown together for better of worse and... a bunch of stuff happens, yeah. 

Talking anymore about it just will spoil everything. So read the book. You won't regret it. (Also some romantic developments occur between Kjell and Sasha, if you didn't pick up on that)

Overall, the books are beautifully written, some of the lines piercing you like an arrow through the heart that the characters feel achingly real. The magical system in the book is awesome too, the fight scenes surprisingly intense. This is a double whammy with romance and sword fighting. Thie dualogy has it all, with appeal to both teens and adults.

5-18-19

Barry Lyga's: 

I hunt Killers Trilogy

You think you have problems?  Jasper Dent's father is a convicted serial killer. Developed is a nature vs. nurture debate in this YA thriller series that has 'Jazz' and everyone else around him wondering whether he'll grow up to be just like Dear old Dad. And when people start dying in his home town, fingers start pointing at Jazz.

This series has its bloody moments (*cough* understatement), make no mistake. But it is well worth the read. The mystery alone is worth it, with plot twists you won't see coming. 

If the word of  a book dragon isn't enough...

•Publishers Weekly – “can easily stand on its own as an adult thriller” - “Jazz’s internal conflict about his exposure to his father’s evil adds extra dimension”

•Voya – “combines the feel of a true crime story with mystery, adventure, and psychoanalysis in this intense story of a different kind of family bond.” - “Classic 'whodunit' with the added intrigue of describing murders in great detail, while not becoming overly gruesome, as well as the police work involved in solving a crime, so it feels like a true crime novel” - “excellent addition to any library serving mature teens.”

•Booklist – “Gripping, gory psycho-thriller usually relegated to adult fiction.” - “Rare when a YA novel dares to dwell upon the moral ambivalence of its protagonist.”

•Horn Book – “Lyga explores compelling questions of nature, nurture, and free will in Jazz, who has more heart and conscience than he thinks”

•School Library Journal – “many teens, particularly boys, will be drawn to this title for the suspense, the violence, the brutality, and the gore.”

•Kirkus – “grisly teen thriller. Jazz’s heightened self-consciousness is both believable and entirely in tune with regular teens.”

5-18-18







Anything

Anything

Anything by Sarah J Maas




If this is biased, this book dragon doesn't care.

If you don't like assassins, wisecracks, secret identities, kickass heroines, awesome fight scenes, and swagger, don't read the Throne of Glass series by the author.

 If you don't like re-worked fairy tales, hot guys with pointy ears, squad goals, and yet more kickass heroines, feel free to skip Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses too.

But if you do like all that stuff (and puppies making friends with kittens), then what are you waiting for?

Get Reading.

5-16-18