Please note: this list is highly subjective. Many friends who know what a bookworm I am have asked me to recommend books; for ease I have put
the top 10 first and this is followed by an extensive listing of all the general fiction and a few
non fiction books that I would recommend for pleasure reading (the top 10 are also repeated in the general list). I tend to be a sucker for prose that veers towards the lyrical. I haven't included "the classics" beacuse for the most part, I think they don't need my humble recommendation.
I'm always on the prowl for new authors--if you think we share the same taste in literature,
please email me k_remen@yahoo.com with your favorite authors/books.
Happy reading!
Top Ten Books--in no particular order
Gilead (Robinson)
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Ondaatje)
Homestead (Lippi)
Everything is Illuminated (Foer)
The Book Thief (Zusak)
Alias Grace (Atwood)
The Stone Diaries (Shields)
First Light (Baxter)
Ship Fever and other stories (Barrett)
Girls (Busch)
Complete list of recommended books, alphabetized by author's last name -- last modified 5/7/2007
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi Half of a Yellow Sun F
Allende, Isabelle House of the Spirits F
Eva Luna F
The Stories of Eva Luna F
Allison, Dorothy Bastard Out of Carolina F
Alvarez, Julia How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents F
Love in the Time of Butterflies F
Ambrose, Steven Undaunted Courage NF
Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party F
Atkinson, Kate Behind the Scenes at the Museum F
Human Croquet F
Case Histories F
One Good Turn F
Atwood, Margaret The Blind Assassin F
The Handmaid's Tale F
Alias Grace F
Good Bones F
Wilderness Tips F
Oryx and Crake F
Barnes, Julian Arthur & George F
Barrett, Andrea Ship Fever and other stories F
The Voyage of the Narwhal F
Servants of the Map F
Bausch, Richard Rare and Endangered Species F
Baxter, Charles Feast of Love F
First Light F
A Relative Stranger F
Believers F
Saul and Patsy F
Beck, Martha Expecting Adam NF
Berendt, John Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil NF
Berman, Sabina Bubbeh F
Bloom, Amy A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You F
Bragg, Rick Ava's Man NF
Bromell, Henry Little America F
Brookner, Anita Altered States F
Busch, Frederick Girls F
Byatt, A.S. Still Life F
Canin, Ethan Emperor of the Air F
Cantwell, Mary Manhattan, When I was Young NF
Chabon, Michael The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay F
Summerland F
The Final Solution F
Chang, Jung Wild Swans NF
Choan, Dan You Remind Me of Me F
Chevalier, Tracy Girl with a Pearl Earring F
Cisneros, Sandra The House on Mango Street F
Woman Hollering Creek F
Clark, Nancy The Hills at Home F
Codrescu, Andrei Road Scholar NF
Coe, Jonathan The House of Sleep F
Cowan, Andrew Pig F
Cronin, Justin Mary and O'Neil F
Cunningham, Michael The Hours F
Davidar, David The House of the Blue Mangos F
Davies, Katharine The Madness of Love F
Davies, Peter Ho Equal Love: Stories F
Deane, Seamus Reading in the Dark F
Dillard, Annie The Living F
A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek NF
The Writing Life NF
An American Childhood NF
Donati, Sara Into the Wilderness F
Dawn on a Distant Shore F
Lake in the Clouds F
Dorris, Michael A Yellow Raft in Blue Water F
Doyle, Roddy The Woman who Walked into Doors F
A Star Called Henry F
Dubus, Andre Dancing After Hours F
Dunnett, Dorothy Niccolo Rising and the rest of the House of Niccolo series (8 books in all)
Earley, Tony Jim the Boy F
Ehrlich, Gretel Heart Mountain F
The Solace of Open Spaces NF
Ephron, Amy A Cup of Tea F
Erdrich, Louise Love Medicine F
Tracks F
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse F
The Master Butchers Singing Club F
Erneaux, Annie A Frozen Woman F
Eugenides, Jeffrey Middlesex F
Fadiman, Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down NF
Farr, Judith I never came to you in white F
Fielding, Helen Bridget Jones's Diary F
Foer, Jonathan Safran Everything is Illuminated F
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close F
Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain F
Freud, Esther Summer at Gaglow F
French, Albert Holly F
Fuchs, Elinor Making an Exit NF
Fuller, Alexandra Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight NF
Galant, Mavis Collected Stories F
Garcia, Cristina Dreaming in Cuban F
Gibbons, Kaye Ellen Foster F
Glass, Julia Three Junes F
Golden, Arthur Memoirs of a Geisha F
Golding, William The Princess Bride F
Goodman, Allegra Kaaterskill Falls F
The Family Markowitz F
Gopnik, Adam Paris to the Moon F
Gordimer, Nadine Burger's Daughter F
July's People F
My Son's Story F
The Conservationist F
Jump! F
Gray, Spaulding Morning, Noon and Night F
Gurganus, Allan The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All F
Gutterson, David Snow Falling on Cedars F
Hagedorn, Jessica Dogeaters F
Hansen, Ron Mariette in Ecstasy F
Hardinge, Frances Fly by Night F
Harrison, Jim Dalva F
Haruf, Kent Plainsong F
Hellenga, Robert The Fall of the Sparrow F
Hempel, Amy Tumble Home F
Henkin, Joshua Swimming Across the Hudson F
Hillenbrand, Laura Seabiscuit NF
Hoffman, Alice Seventh Heaven F
Here on Earth F
The River King F
Hoffmann, Yoel The Book of Joseph F
Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner F
Howard, Maureen Big as Life F
A Lover's Almanac F
Hulme, Kerri The Bone People F
Hurston, Zora Neale Their Eyes Were Watching God F
Ishiguro, Kazuo A Pale View of Hills F
The Remains of the Day F
Never Let Me Go F
Jhabuala, Ruth Prawer Heat and Dust F
Johnson, Diane Le Divorce F
Jones, Edward P The Known World F
Kazischke, Laura Suspicious River F
Karr, Mary The Liar's Club NF
Kingsolver, Barbara Animal Dreams F
Homeland F
The Bean Trees F
The Poisonwood Bible F
Kingston, Maxine Hong The Woman Warrior NF
Krouse, Erika Come Up and See Me Sometime F
Lahiri, Jhumpa The Interpreter of Maladies F
The Namesake F
Lamott, Anne Operating Instructions NF
Hard Laughter F
Travelling Mercies NF
Plan B NF
Leffland, Ella Rumors of Peace F
Levy, Andrea Small Island F
Lippi, Rosina Homestead F
Lively, Penelope Moontiger F
Livesey, Margot Eva Moves the Furniture F
MacLaverty, Bernard Cal F
Maine, David The Preservationist F
Fallen F
Maitland, Sara Angel Maker F
Mallon, Thomas Dewey Defeats Truman F
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia Love in the Time of Cholera F
Martel, Yann The Life of Pi F
Mayle, Peter A Year in Provence NF
Toujours Provence NF
McBride, James The Color of Water NF
McCall Smith, Alexander The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and all the other books in the series F
McCourt, Frank Angela's Ashes NF
McCracken, Elizabeth The Giant's House F
McDermott, Alice That Night F
Charming Billy F
After This F
McEwan, Ian Saturday F
Mendelsohn, Jane I was Amelia Earhart F
Minot, Eliza The Brambles F
Minot, Susan Lust F
Folly F
Evening F
Mitchell, David Black Swan Green F
Cloud Atlas F
Ghostwritten F
Moore, Lorrie Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? F
Birds of America
Morris, Mary Nothing to Declare NF
Morrison, Toni The Song of Soloman F
The Bluest Eye F
Sula F
Jazz F
Beloved F
Mukherjee, Bharati Jasmine F
The Holder of the World F
The Middleman and other stories F
Munro, Alice The Progress of Love F
The Love of a Good Woman F
The Beggar Maid F
The Moons of Jupiter F
Murray, Sabina The Caprices F
Nabakov, Vladimir Lolita F
Naylor, Gloria Bailey's Cafe F
Mama Day F
Nemirovsky, Irene Suite Francaise F
Ondaatje, Michael The Collected Works of Billy the Kid F
In the Skin of a Lion F
The English Patient F
Coming through Slaughter F
Running in the Family NF
Ozeki, Ruth L. My Year of Meats F
Patchett, Ann Bel Canto F
Pears, Iain An Instance of the Fingerpost F
The Dream of Scipio F
Pears, Tim In the Place of Fallen Leaves F
Powers, Richard Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance F
Proulx, E. Annie Postcards F
The Shipping News F
Pullman, Philip The Golden Compass F
The Subtle Knife F
The Amber Spyglass F
Rakoff, David Fraud NF
Reichl, Ruth Tender at the Bone NF
Comfort Me with Apples NF
Richards, Mark Fishboy F
Roberts, Michele Daughters of the House F
During Mother's Absence F
Robinson, Kim Stanley Red Mars F
Robinson, Marilynne Housekeeping F
Gilead F
Rouaud, Jean Fields of Glory F
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone F
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets F
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban F
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire F
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix F
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince F
Russell, Mary Doria The Sparrow F
Children of God F
Salzman, Mark Lying Awake F
Saramago, Jose Blindness F
Sedaris, David Barrel Fever F/NF
Naked NF
Me Talk Pretty One Day NF
Dress Your Family in Cordoroy and Denim NF
Senior, Olive Summer Lightning F
Seth, Vikram A Suitable Boy F
Shields, Carol The Stone Diaries F
Unless F
Larry's Party F
Sidhwa, Bapsi Cracking India F
Silber, Joan Ideas of Heaven F
In My Other Life F
Silko, Leslie Mormon Ceremony F
Slater, Nigel Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger NF
Smiley, Jane A Thousand Acres F
The Age of Grief F
The Greenlanders F
Barn Blind F
The All True Travels and Adventures of Liddie Newton F
Horse Heaven F
Smith, Lee Fair and Tender Ladies F
Family Linen F
Smith, Sarah The Knowledge of Water F
Smith, Zadie White Teeth F
Spark, Debra Coconuts for the Saint F
Stegner, Wallace Angle of Repose F
Swift, Graham Waterland F
Tan, Amy The Joy Luck Club F
The Kitchen God's Wife F
Tartt, Donna The Little Friend F
Thompson, Jean Who Do You Love F
Tomalin, Claire Jane Austen: A Life NF
Tremain, Rose Music and Silence F
Trevor, William The Hill Bachelors F
Trillin, Calvin Messages from My Father NF
Family Man NF
Feeding a Yen NF
Truong, Monique The Book of Salt F
Tyler, Anne Accidental Tourist F
Saint Maybe F
Unsworth, Barry Morality Play F
Walker, Alice The Color Purple F
Wallace, David Foster A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again NF
Warren, Robert Penn All the King's Men F
West, Dorothy The Wedding F
White, Bailey Mama Makes Up Her Mind NF
Winterson, Jeanette The Passion F
Sexing the Cherry F
Oranges are not the Only Fruit F
Wolff, Tobias In Pharaoh's Army NF
Old School F
Wright, Richard B. Clara Callan F
Yamanaka, Lois Ann Blu's Hanging F
Zusak, Markus The Book Thief F
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