Friday, April 16, 2010

Books Worth Singeing Your Eyebrows For



I am on constant alert, scouring newspapers, magazines, over-heard conversations on the street, looking for new books to add to my list to read. I realize that not everyone is as devoted (aka obsessively anal) about books and reading, nor does everyone keep a running list of great books to recommend. So it occurred to me that maybe others are looking for some reading recommendations, and because giving the gift of a great read is almost as good as reading it myself, here are a few books worth running into a burning building for…

TOP 20 FICTION NOVELS:

“I Know this Much is True” by Wally Lamb
 “Fall on Your Knees” by Ann-Marie MacDonald
 “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett
 “The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
“Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
“Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan
“The Bean Trees” by Barbara Kingsolver
“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver
“We were the Mulvaneys” by Joyce Carol Oates
“Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseni
“Unless” by Carol Shields
 “Stones in the River” by Ursula Hedgi
“A Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing” by Melissa Banks
“Cider House Rules” by John Irving
 “Black and Blue” by Anna Quinlan
“Midwives” by Chris Bohjalian
“The House of Sand and Fog” by Andre Dubas III
“The irresistible Henry House” by Lisa Grunwald
“Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese
“The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant

SOME OF THE TOP NON-FICTION…
“Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life” by Amy Krause Rosenthal
“Spilling Open” by Sabrina Ward Harrison
“The Middle Place” by Kelly Corrigan
“Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith” by Anne Lamott
“Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith” by Anne Lamott
“The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls
“The Last Time I wore a Dress” by D. Scholinski
“The Color of Water” by James McBride
“Prozac Nation” by Lauren Slater
“Angry Conversations with God” by Susan E. Isaacs
“Million Little Pieces” by James Frey
“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Dideon
“This Camera My Mother Gave Me” by Susana Kayson
“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert
“Long Past Stopping” by Oran Canfield
“The Good Body” by Eve Ensler
“Death be Not Proud” by John Gunther
“Blackbird” by Jennifer Lauk
“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers
“A Girl Named Zippy” by Haven Kimmel
“Kitchen Table Wisdom” by Rachel Naomi Remen
“My Grandfather’s Blessings” by Rachel Naomi Remen

Okey doke, so I just realized that these lists (not to mention the ones I left out – short stories, children’s books, advice, spiritual nonfiction…) could go on forever, so in a moment of self-restraint, I’m going to stop…for now. However, out of loyalty for all of the books not on these lists, lest I hurt their feelings, know that there are many more that need to be added! (this is kind of like my worry when I was five that the stuffed animals that I didn’t choose to sleep with would be hurt, so I forced myself to rotate which ones I cuddled with – I know, this explains so much of the craziness, doesn’t it?)

Please feel free to add more suggestions, and I promise more recommendations to come!

Oh – “The Gift of Rain” by Tan Twan Eng…ok, now I’m really done


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