This is a list of fantasy-genre books and series I love. I am always on the lookout for new ones. Fantasy is a bit of a broad genre for me - it's not just stories of elves and orcs and dwarves; any story with some fantastical element that I cannot place into other genres fall here.
The Edge Chronicles, by Chris Riddel and Paul Stewart
With one of the more fantastical worlds I have encountered, the Edge Chronicles is easily a perennial favorite. It has great worldbuilding and easy-to-relate characters accompanied by Chris Riddel's amazing pencil drawings. The art is truly complementary in this series.
Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
LOTR needs no introduction. It was the first dense book I read. I struggled at the beginning, since I was reading this a month into my family's move to South Korea - I need to switch contexts, languages, and environments, all while learning English at a faster pace. I love the serioes for its frank take on war, and for its acceptability to all ages.
The Wildings, by Nilanjana Roy
The Wildings and its sequel, The Hundred Names of Darkness, are fantastic books for cat lovers. Beautifully illustrated by Prabha Mallya, it follows the life of a house cat Mara as she juggles life between her comfortable home and the stray cats of Nizammuddin Quarter in Delhi.
The Unincorporated Man, by Dani and Eytan Kollin
The series is set in stark future where corporations run the world and people are required to sell shares in themselves in order to receive education, heathcare, and basic services. The story centers Justin Cord, the only 'unincorporated' man: Cord is a 21st century industrialist who cryogenically froze himself and woke up 300 years in the future. Cord leads a solar system-wide revolution headed by faith leaders, scientists, rebels, workers, and laborers from space mining stations and the Belt colonies against the moneyed corporate core on Earth. The final epilogue chapter (of the fourth book in the series) is easily one of my favorite endings of any series.
Habibi, by Craig Thompson
"Habibi" is a beautifully illustrated and deeply moving graphic novel that explores themes of love, loss, and survival in a stunningly detailed and richly imagined world. It is the story of Dodola and Zam, two kids who find love and companionship in a world that is both cruel and beautiful. It's set in an unnamed, somewhat futuristic and desolate Arabic sultanate, filled with poverty and exploitation, as well as moments of great tenderness and beauty and the resilience of love.
The Finder Library, by Carla McNeil
This (still ongoing series) is a masterpiece of world-building, storytelling, and character development. The series follows Jaeger, an indigenous man who finds lost or hidden things, in a future Earth significantly altered by social and technological changes a la Nausicaa. The writing is deeply emotional, with compelling stories and truly complex and diverse characters depicted with sensitivity and nuance. McNeil's artwork is also something to behold, capturing the subtleties of human interaction so well you could swear you were just peering through a window.