Ha I know this is a few days later than your post Roisu, but I just finished The Hunger Games like two hours ago and also thought it was fantastic.

Other ones that have been mentioned that I wholeheartedly agree with: Sabriel by Garth Nix (as well as the rest of the series: Lirael, Abhorsen, and a short story in Across the Wall), Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and A Wrinkle In Time.

I have to add The Giver, The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones, and Sunshine by Robin McKinley (read it!!!).

Hey Roshio! I just finished The Hunger Games around an hour ago, IT'S AMAZING! I couldn't put it down!

yay fantasy! My first fantasy book was The Eye of the World (the Wheel of Time series) so i have to put that there.
Next A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The Age of the Five series by Trudi Canavan

Just finished the Mistborn series which was fantastic, especially when everything is unravelled, you don't see anything coming at all.

I'm also into vampires (not Twilight), but nice gory ones. The Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake series was pretty good until the last books were less about the vampires and more about well...sex. Quite like Richelle Mead's Succubus series and the Storm series as well.

Don't read a lot of Sci Fi, but i did just read The Hunger Games and that was brilliant so i'd recommend that.

To be honest i quite like those with a bit of romance, (i'm a sucker for them!), they still have to be good books though.

I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I did come across two really good books, that were part of a series, by Stephen Lawhead: Taliesin and Merlin. The books after these two go into more Arthurian legend and focus a lot on his battles, but Taliesin and Merlin both provide a reasonable level of fantasy built on top of Atlantian and Merlin's historical accounts.

I read Neverwhere A Novel recently and it's one of the first fantasy books I've read. I really liked his style and will definitely be reading more of his books.

Molly, I love fantasy basically because it's an awesome escape. Fantasy novels are usually so far removed from everyday life that I can totally get lost in them. So I agree with Melissa. Escapism.

Tami, I think those books would be classified as fantasy, although I haven't read them myself. I've heard they're good! =)

Fantasy is my favorite genre! It always has been. I'm not exactly sure what it is that draws me to the genre, I've just always been a sucker for a good fantasy story. I agree with what Melissa said, its the escapism. Fantasy takes you into a whole new world. These are a few of my favorites:

Sabriel
This is the first book in the Abhorson Trilogy, its not like most fantasy books, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much.

Poison Study
The first book in one of my favorite book series. I love this book, and haven't met a single person that has read it and not liked it. Great storyline with subtle hits of magic, an awesome lead character, and some hilarious characters.

His Dark Materials Trilogy
They seem to come in threes don't they? Another great book series.

A Great and Terrible Beauty
I wasn't sure about this book when I first picked it up, its written in present tense. (I am walking down the stairs. I am speaking.) But its different style made it that much more interesting.

Ender's Game
This is a science fiction book, and I usually don't care for that genre as much. However, Enders Game is excellent.

Young Wizards, Book 1 So You Want to Be a Wizard (20th) Twentieth-Anniversary Edition
Its written for a younger audience, but its good for any age. I started reading the series when I was 12, and its still in the top five of my favorite book series I've ever read.

Fablehaven
Such a cute book series! And each book just gets better. More of a fantastical feel to it. Its set in the real world, but suggests that magical creatures are all around us. We just don't look properly so we don't see them. (Similar to Spiderwick, but better in my opinion.

Peter and the Starcatchers
Love these books. They take the story of Peter Pan and tell you all the stuff you never knew about watching the movie.

Michael Crichton is another good science fiction writer. The Lost World and Timeline are some of my favorites.

Along the same lines of what Melissa said, with Fantasy anything is possible. When writing the author can create new words, languages, powers, etc. and it is okay. You can't have that in non-fantasy without people thinking it is wierd.

I love the escapism that fantasy provides. I think it provides even more than regular literature.

The adventure draws me into fantasy books also. They tend to have more in them.

Also, sometimes I just like to read something that isn't tied to the modern world, something different and that doesn't have real life aspect in it. Escapism again.

There also tends to be strong character development in fantasy books, which I love.

They can just be really fun!

Kelsey, would the Alchemist, the Magician, the Sorceress be considered fantasy? I enjoyed the first two, still haven't made it to the store to get the third. :) My will power is crumbling though.

oh boy! I have alot to add to my shelf now!
Thanks everyone!

So my question is..what is it that draws all you fantasy lovers in?

It is pretty intimidating. I also heard that the WoT series gets pretty awful in the middle and then gets better at the end, so I'm not sure if I want to read 3000 pages of awfulness to get to the sweet stuff, but I've already read the first book and it was pretty good.
I totally agree with A Wrinkle in Time! Awesome book.
And Jamie, you should! Fantasy books tend to get a bad rap, but they're some of the best books I've ever read!

It is hard to find good fantasy books that aren't in a series. Which is what I like to read. I am on an anti series reading spree. Right now I want to read a book and have it end when the book ends.

There are loads of fantastic fantasy but most of the series have 10-15 books in the series. I want to read the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan but each book is about 900 pages and there are 13 books. That is intimidating to me.

I've heard such fantastic things about The Book of Lost Things.

I really think I need to venture out and start reading some fantasy books.

I agree with Kelsey. The Inkheart series is great, an easy read.

The Book of Lost Things is another fantasy book that I have read that I recommend to patrons at work.

Some others are:

Mercedes Lackey Tale of Five Hundred Kingdoms series. The First book is The Fairy Godmother. This series has a twist of fairy tales in it. The first one a lot like Cinderella in certain ways.

Beasty by Alex Flinn A modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's point of view. *Note* Takes place in a New York Prep High School so it has the high school theme and feel in it.

The Golden Compass, Book one of His dark Materials

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo very easy children's fantasy book.

The Society of S by Susan Hubbard vampire fantasy.

Wrinkle in Time, considered both Fantasy and Science Fiction

I second The Name of the Wind and the Game of Thrones whole-heartedly.
There's also The Golden Compass.

Yay! I recently discovered my love of fantasy. I thought for my entire life that I didn't like it (I have no idea why, because I had never read much), but I realized that I love it!
Science fiction and fantasy can sometimes be blurred, but the general difference is that science fiction has more to do with the future (advanced technology and things like that), while fantasy has more to do with fictional lands/creatures/wizards/magic.
I haven't read much science fiction, but anything by Philip K. Dick is always great.

Some fantasy suggestions:
First of all, The Name of the Wind. It is the best adult fantasy book I've ever read. It will kind of ease you into the fantasy genre if you've never read much fantasy before. I recommend it to all of my customers (B&N).

Mistborn The Final Empire
Mistborn is a trilogy by a relatively new author, Brandon Sanderson. He also has a stand alone novel that is pretty great called Elantris.

A Game of Thrones
I think this series is fantastic, although it can be ultra dark and depressing. Another thing about this series is that it isn't finished, and the author takes a ridiculously long time to write. So you might want to wait until the series is finished (which might be awhile).

Poison Study
This is also a great series for the beginning fantasy reader. It also kind of eases you into the genre, and it has a wonderfully independent and kick ass main character, Yelena.

Neverwhere A Novel
For me, Gaiman is definitely a hit or miss author. I love some of his stuff and hate some of his stuff. I adored Neverwhere.

Inkheart
This is a fantastic kids fantasy series. I just read it recently, and it's definitely something adults can enjoy as well.

The Book of Lost Things
This one is also a pretty awesome stand alone novel.

If you enjoy vampire stuff, there's always Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.

I think it goes without saying that The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia are must reads. Harry Potter as well. I'm an absolute Harry Potter fanatic, so I recommend it to everybody! =)

I could definitely go on, but I don't want to overwhelm everybody!

Can't say that I have read much of either. I think i need to expand my horizons a little. I know there are alot of people in this group who do read it..so I'm sure they will have a nice list of good books to choose from.

I realized that I haven't read much fantasy or science fiction. What are some of your favorites that I might like? And also..what is the difference between fantasy and science fiction?