Here are books I love, each with a twitter-length reason why, listed alphabetically by author’s last name. Now and then I write reviews; when I do, I’ll link to my fantastically insightful analysis. ;-)
I’ve read a lot of really great books. This list doesn’t begin to cover it, but I had to start someplace, so these are the books I’ve read (or reread) in the last year or so. I’ll keep adding, so check back often, and feel free to make suggestions. I read a lot of books because smart people recommend them.
Fiction
Shalom Auslander
Beware of God: A collection of hilarious, scandalous, smart stories.
Charles Baxter
Through the Safety Net: Stories that are wise, funny and sad.
A Relative Stranger: Stories about ordinary, extraordinary people.
The Feast of Love: Love is messy, brutal, inconvenient, essential. LOVED this.
Octavia E. Butler
Parable of the Sower: Literary sci-fi about humanity and faith.
Truman Capote
Breakfast At Tiffany’s: Way better than the movie.
Michael Chabon
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: Alternative hist-mystery-love story. LOVED it.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: Smart, funny, wowza!
Summerland: A wild, fun ride; great for kids (12 and up).
Wonder Boys: Every writer will get it; Grady Tripp is all of us!
Alan Cheuse
The Fires: Two novellas, emotionally dead on.
Don DeLillo
White Noise: A strange, darkly funny tale that made me think. A lot.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby: As graceful as prose gets.
Nicole Krauss
The History of Love: A wonderfully chaotic unraveling of story.
A Man Walks Into A Room: Intriguing look at what makes us who we are.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
100 Years of Solitude: Profound and enchanting.
Toni Morrison
Jazz: The writing, the story, the way it all comes together – literary jazz.
Ann Patchett
Bel Canto: Had me from Page 1. Politics, love, art, opera, hostages, oh my!
Run: Emotionally clear, strong. Loved the ending.
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
The Little Prince: Weird, charming, profound, unique.
Brian Selznick
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: Picture book/Graphic novel/Film hybrid.
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men: Short, honest, it earns your tears.
Nonfiction
Martha Beck
Steering by Starlight: Practical guide to magic. Very cool.
Augusten Burroughs
A Wolf At The Table: Chilling, tense, revealing, sad, touching.
Julia Cameron
The Artist’s Way: For me, an answer. Cannot recommend enough.
Joan Didion
The Year of Magical Thinking: This is grief, graceful and blundering.
Christopher Edgar
Inner Productivity: A wonderful how-to manual for getting quiet inside.
(Note: You can by this and more on Chris’s Purpose Power Coaching site.)
Benjamin Hoff
The Tao of Pooh: I knew about Pooh. I learned a lot about Taoism.
HuffPo Editors
Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging: Informative, funny, enlightening.
Christina Katz
Get Known Before The Book Deal: Excellent guide to platform building.
Anne Lamott
bird by bird: My favorite Writer-on-Writing book.
Betsy Lerner
Forest For The Trees: Tough but inspiring advice to writers (from an editor).
Patricia T. O’Conner
Woe is I: I’ve got a lot of grammar books. This is the one I reach for most.
Steven Pressfield
The War of Art: Why we resist our best creative instincts, and how to stop.
Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now: Taught me how to calm the hell down.
12 responses so far ↓
Darren King // March 21, 2009 at 10:17 pm |
Hmmm…I just received a copy of The Power of Now. I really think I should read it after I finish “A Thousand Splendid Suns” because I totally relate to (and laughed with) your note about calming “the hell down”. Maybe it’s all those lattes we’re drinking? Or maybe it’s listening to the GOP nutjobs that makes me flipout in the middle of a perfect day. So that’s my thing Judy. I need to ‘learn’ how to calm the hell down without having to give up the lattes. If this book did that for you, than I’m in.
judy // March 22, 2009 at 10:17 am |
Darren, I actually listened to Power of Now on CDs. (Is that cheating?) Few things are more calming than Eckhart Tolle’s super, super calm voice. If you read it, let me know what you think. Should I read “A Thousand Splendid Suns?”
Darren King // March 22, 2009 at 11:06 am |
A Thousand Splendid Suns, like its predecessor, The Kite Runner (Khaled Housseini) is at once engaging. I read The Kite Runner in two days (thanks to long flights and lay-overs). Couldn’t put it down even with the distractions of turbulence and airport shananigans. I just started ATSS and I’m enjoying it very much. I’ll update you when I’m finished.
Stuff That Makes Me Smile « Zebra Sounds // August 15, 2009 at 9:18 am |
[...] Book Recommendations ← Caption This! [...]
Tricia // November 21, 2009 at 7:17 am |
I’ll have to read some of these since you recommend them and since you are smart and since smart people recommended them to you. I want to be smart, too. :-)
Wolf at the Table was my least favorite of Augusten Burroughs. If you haven’t had the pleasure of his other memoirs then I would highly suggest it. You will laugh to tears. My favorite is Possible Side Effects. Magical Thinking was hilarious as well. I’m afraid since I read Dry and all his others first that Wolf came across as too serious.
And since I know you like to laugh, I will recommend anything David Sedaris.
judy // November 21, 2009 at 8:23 am |
Hey, Tricia. Actually, I need too update this. I have read Running With Scissors, which I loved. I need to read Possible Side Effects. It’s now on my list.
LOVE David Sedaris. Me Talk Pretty One Day is my favorite, but I also liked Naked and Barrel Fever. I haven’t read anything of his in a while. I think he’s got a holiday collection I should check out about now…
Lynn // March 2, 2010 at 10:28 am |
Now I know what I’ll be doing this summer. Reading! Thanks for taking the time to write up a great list. :)
My husband was pretty shaken up by “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by the way. I bought it for him to read on a long flight – and he still holds it against me.
:?
judy // March 2, 2010 at 5:09 pm |
Lynn, Hi! I still haven’t read A Thousand Splendid Suns. And I need to update this list with some recent reads. I’ll have it done before summer. ;-)
Rock The Boat // March 12, 2010 at 12:09 am |
“Half Asleep in Frog Pajama’s” by Tom Robbins
-I think you’d like…
judy // March 16, 2010 at 9:58 am
I’m sure I would. I have it, actually. I love Tom Robbins. Still Life with Woodpecker is one of my all-time favorite books. I’ll move Frog Pajamas up on my reading list. Thanks.
Rock The Boat // March 17, 2010 at 4:51 am
Cool. I’ve been reading a bit of Camus lately.
judy // March 17, 2010 at 6:47 am
Wow. I’m impressed. I’ve been reading Michael Chabon. Practically the same thing, right?