What to Read

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Here's an informal list of books organized in general categories.
I have read all the texts on this list, and I feel that some of the titles are best suited for mature readers. If you want an "official" recommendation from me, please talk to me in person.
 

 Books for avid readers.
 These are often considered "classics," which means they're not always easy. But they're rewarding!

  • Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

  • Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

  • Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

  • Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

  • Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

  • 1984 – George Orwell

  • Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky

  • For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

  • All the King’s Men – Robert Penn Warren

  • The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

 Fun Reads
 These books are either funny, short, or generally entertaining to read.

  • Pudd’nhead Wilson – Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

  • Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

  • I’m a Stranger Here Myself – Bill Bryson

  • Big Trouble - Dave Barry

  • Cannery Row - John Steinbeck

Descriptive Books
The kind of descriptive writing in these books is captivating and enchanting, which means the setting plays a large role in them. If, however, you refuse to appreciate description, you may want to steer clear of these.

  • Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton (set in New England in winter)

  • Death Comes to the Archbishop – Willa Cather (set in the Southwest)

  • My Antonia – Willa Cather (set in the plains of Nebraska)

Adventure
Maybe you're looking for a book where your muscles tense and you take on the intensity of the story's action. These could be for you.

  • Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkein

  • Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer (about a fatal trip up Mt. Everest)

Nonfiction
Sometimes you want to read about something that really happened. Try these.

  • Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer (about a man who lived in the wild of Alaska)

  • Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer (about a fatal trip up Mt. Everest)

  • Friday Night Lights - H.G. Bissinger (ignore the movie and the TV show - the book gives a real evaluation of American football culture)

War Books
What is the attraction to war stories? Is it that theme of ultimate conflict between people? These books deal with it in an engaging manner.

  • All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque (about WWI)

  • Killer Angels - Michael Shaara  (about the Civil War's Battle at Gettysburg)

  • The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien (about the Vietnam War, written as a pretend memoir)

Societal Sins
Though difficult to categorize, these books' conflicts surround sins of our societies: racism, class systems, persecution, and more. That is not to say the characters are without moral responsibility, but read these and you'll see how a character can be both a victim and a cause of his own demise.

  • Native Son - Richard Wright (This is the kind of book that is difficult to put down.)

  • Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton

Themes for Teens
For some reason, the ideas and characters of these books continue to ring bells with teens.

  • Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

  • A Separate Peace - John Knowles

  • Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

Modern Writers
While I'm not your best source for recommendations on living authors, I can point you towards a few interesting titles.

  • The Dream Life of Sukhanov - Olga Grushin

  • Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier

  • Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt (a memoir of McCourt's childhood in Ireland, written from the perspective of a child.)

Challenges
Some of these stories leave you thinking, "what?" But that is what the writers were trying to do - so think away!

  • Short Stories – Flannery O’Connor

  • Short Stories - Ernest Hemmingway

Shakespeare
You have to read Shakespeare for school, but if you ever get the urge to read one on your own, try these.

  • King Lear (my all-time favorite)

  • The Merchant of Venice

Additional Titles
The books listed below are not on my official list, but the school owns them and they are available for you if you would like to read one of them.

  • Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley

  • Hard Times by Charles Dickens

  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

  • The Color of Water by James McBride

  • A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines

  • Walking Two Moons by Sharon Creech

  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

  • Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

  • The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

  • The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

  • And Still We Rise by Miles Corwin

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

  • Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

  • Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

  • Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

  • Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

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