A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
This is one of the most magical, well-written novels I've ever read. It's about a boy who becomes aware that he is destined to fulfill a destiny designed by God. Irving always mixes comedy and tragedy, and he hits the perfect note in this book. Good endings are hard to come by, but this novels closes with an image so shimmering, I still get goosebumps thinking of it. - READING EASE: B
Cider House Rules by John Irving*
Another masterpiece by Irving. Every time someone tries to adopt Homer Wells, he ends up coming back to Cider House, more convinced each time he "belongs" to the orphanage. There are passages in this book that will echo through your mind for the rest of your life. - READING EASE: B
Texasville by Larry McMurtry*
Even though this is a sequel to The Last Picture Show, it stands on its own as a wonderful comic novel. You don't have to read The Last Picture Show to follow or love this book. The plot, what there is of it, wanders through the lives of the folks in this small Texas town. You will laugh out loud on every page. - READING EASE: A
Robots of Dawn by Issac Asimov*
Robots of Dawn is the rare novel that has everything: a great story, a mystery, the best of science fiction, characters you'll remember, anthropological studies of cultures, and a fantastic twist ending. Everyone, even those who don't like science fiction, will like this book. This is the third of a series of books, The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, both of which are good. However, Robots of Dawn stands on its own. A robot has been "murdered," which is impossible, right? - READING EASE FOR ALL 3: A
The Shining by Stephen King*
A really creepy, scary book. I eventually wouldn't read this alone at night. Even in broad daylight I ended up looking over my shoulder quite a bit. This is King's best novel to date. If you've only seen the mini series or the movie, you still don't have the whole story. Little Danny Torrence ends up going to a haunted hotel deep in the snow covered mountains, and Danny has the "shine" through which he can see ghosts. - READING EASE: A
The Stand by Stephen King*
The Stand is perhaps the only long piece of fiction where the characters are drawn so vividly that I never had to work to remember who someone was when they re-emerged in the story. Few authors achieve this kind of scope and crystalline storytelling within a single, vast novel. Scary, gross, realistic, moving and funny all at the same time. This is the way the world ends. M-O-O-N spells "good read." - READING EASE: A
The Watchers by Dean Koontz
I have not had one person I've recommend this novel to not like it. The appeal of this story is universal. A scientific lab has created two creatures, one you'll like, one you won't. It has Koontz's standard archetypes: the lonely, single man; the lonely, widowed woman; the kid (of the woman or man); the dog; and the killer. - READING EASE: A
Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz*
Koontz's most epic work yet. This novel has the most chilling evil character I have ever read about. And the ending is all the more frightening in that it's based on actual technology. The Koontz archetypes are all here, too. - READING EASE: A
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace*
A hilarious and challenging novel about a father trying to reach his son via the most entertaining movie ever made. The writing does fulfill the promise of the title. Big hint: The ending is there if you look. The title, again, is a guide. Here's an excerpt from it. - READING EASE: C
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
If you like Monty Python, Dilbert, and science fiction, you'll love this. Perhaps one of the funniest novels ever written. The earth is destroyed to make room for an intergalactic highway, and Our Hero, Arthur Dent, must hitchhike around the universe as the second-to-last human left, searching for the meaning of it all. - READING EASE: A
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
A continuation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Picks up right where Hitchhiker leaves off. There are two more books in the series, but these two are the best. - READING EASE: A
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Have you ever noticed that a LOT of computers out there on the net have names like Bilbo, Frodo, Sauron, Gollum, and Gandalf? Well, the Lord of the Rings is a classic sword and sorcery tale that resonates unlike anything else you will ever read. This set the mold and broke it. I'm not much of a fan of fantasy, but I end up re-reading this about every 10 years, like nearly every one else who has ever picked it up. There is nothing else in the world like this epic. Frodo, the hobbit, must return his uncle Bilbo's ring of invisibility to the mountain where it was forged to destroy it and save all of middle earth from the evil Sauron. (Of course, that's like describing Star Wars as a sci-fi movie where Luke Skywalker saves the galaxy from evil Darth Vader; it just doesn't do it justice.) - READING EASE: B
The Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business/The Manticore/World of Wonders) by Robertson Davies
This is one of the most satisfying reads I've ever had. The depth and complexity of the characters and concepts in this trilogy has no parallel in fiction that I'm aware of. This is a dense, complex read, however, so set aside some quality reading time when you attack this wonder. - READING EASE: C
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.*
Kurt Vonnegut writes novels in "setup-punchline" format. However, every one of his novels has a sad, wonderful heart. Start with Breakfast of the Champions or Slaughterhouse Five. After that, read the rest. - READING EASE FOR ALL: A
- Here's a list to choose from:
- Bluebeard
- Breakfast of Champions
- Cat's Cradle
- Deadeye Dick
- Galapagos
- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine
- Hocus Pocus
- Jailbird
- Mother Night
- Palm Sunday
- Player Piano
- The Sirens of Titan
- Slapstick or Lonesome No More!
- Slaughterhouse Five or the Children's Crusade : A Duty Dance With Death
- Timequake
- Wampeters Foma and Granfalloons
- Welcome to the Monkey House
The Conan stories by Robert E. Howard
Other authors tried to pick up where Robert E. Howard ended, but have not succeeded. The Conan stories can be found in the series of books that contain the short stories. According to Amazon.com, these seem to be out of print, but I'm sure you can find them at the local library. The Conan stories are the finest example of action writing I've come across. You'll find yourself tearing through the pages just to find out what happens next. Robert E. Howard purposely set out to achieve this effect and he succeeded. - READING EASE: A
The Uplift Trilogy by David Brin
Brin's Uplift Trilogy has so many fantastic Science Fiction ideas in it, your brain will bulge when you've finished it. The concept is there are races that raise other races to sentience, and as payment for that gift, the newly sentient race must remain in servitude to the race that "uplifted" it for thousands of years. Well, when humans were discovered by these master races, we were already "uplifted," but no one knows by whom. Further, we have "uplifted" dolphins and chimpanzees, so we are automatically considered, by law, a master race, which makes the other master races, who have had to go through servitude, a little crabby. - READING EASE: B
- Sundiver
- Startide Rising
- The Uplift War
The Belgariad by David Eddings
The Belgariad is the only pretender to the throne of The Lord of the Rings. I am not much of a fantasy fan, but this is so well written, and the story has such scope, it won me over. The only other sword and sorcery series I ever recommend. A memorable read. - READING EASE: B
- Here's the cheapest way to get it:
- Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, Book 1)
- Queen of Sorcery (The Belgariad, Book 2)
- Magician's Gambit (The Belgariad, Book 3)
- Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad, Book 4)
- Enchanters' End Game (The Belgariad, Book 5)
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
The Harry Potter books are as good as you have been lead to believe. Though they can be read by kids as they are refreshingly free of profanity and sex, and have been written for kids to an extent, don't be fooled into thinking you won't enjoy these yourself or that they are beneath you. Unless, of course, you consider "The Lord of the Rings" a kid's book. (However, your child should be at least 8 years old before you start the first one, according to the author. I agree; the climax gave ME the chills at thirtysomething.) The New York Times best seller list may be taking them off their main lists and relegating them to a children's books listing, but that's merely for business reasons. The reasons being that other authors are squawking about the fact that their books can't get into the top spots because of Harry Potter. I don't know why even authors have fallen into the trap of thinking it's some sort of competition like a horse race, but I digress. There's also been some silliness about these books not being appropriate for Christians because they deal with witchcraft. Tell you what, if you think the TV series "Bewitched" was inappropriate for Christians, then you'll think the same about Harry Potter. Keep in mind that one of the best Christian writers ever, C. S. Lewis, wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia," which also had witches as characters. Further, four words: "The Wizard of Oz." Personally, I've found I have to read a book I know isn't going to be that good after I've read a Harry Potter book because they are written and plotted so well, even a good book doesn't seem that good after Harry. - READING EASE FOR ALL: A
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
Illusions by Richard Bach
What if one day Jesus decided to quit his job? This is explored in this clever and uplifting story. My only objection to this novel is that the philosophy it espouses is a little self-centered, but sometimes being self-centered is OK. - READING EASE: A
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game is probably one of the most fun sci-fi (sorry Harlan) novels ever written. If you read only two science fiction novels in your entire life, this should be the second one (after Robots of Dawn, above). The earth has been attacked by an alien race. We were just barely able to defeat them. All of earth society readjusts to the spectre of a certain second invasion that will happen just as soon as their ships can reach us from their home planet, a few years from now. A way must be found to defeat them. - READING EASE: A
Who Stole Feminism by Christina Hoff Sommers
This book will save any college student time, angst and money. Back in college, I took a class called "psychology of women" with the naïve idea that I would learn a little more about the mystery of women. Boy, I gotta tell ya, what the class was really about was "militant/gender feminist indoctrination." I was told that as a white european-descent male, I was the sole cause of all that is evil and bad in the entire history of the world. I grappled with the stuff forced on me in this class for years, because I saw its messages echoed in the National Organization for Women, and other militant feminist organizations, and the propaganda those organizations produced. Until I found this book, I had no way to articulate that what I had been told was as, if not more, sexist and hateful than the very male sexism it was trying to combat. Ms. Sommers does a brilliant job of defining two classes of feminists: "gender feminists" - the militant feminists who hate everything male; and "equity feminists" - those of us who know that equal pay, equal access, and equal status for women are required for a healthy, happy society. Not only does she cut through, delineate and define the morass of concepts of various flavors of feminism, but she comes up with practical solutions to the problems. As an added bonus, Sommers' writing style is breezy and humorous. This book should be required reading for all high school and college students. This may whet your appetite: "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" is based on an inaccurate and blatantly misinterpreted study. These days, entire college departments have formed around the vaguely Marxist ideas engendered by gender feminism, and other groups have latched on to these dubious anti-academic tactics to form an entire scholastic arm called "Identity Politics." For those of you in college or those who have kids in college, there are probably requirements to take some of these scandalous courses. This book will give one the tools to understand and fight back against these shoddy teachings. - READING EASE: B
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
I have never read a non-fiction book with this much scope and breadth of knowledge in all my life, including my four years in college. I was constantly astounded by the sheer amount of data employed to make the point of this book. This book is, by sheer necessity of its topic, a history of the entire world, covering everything that ever happened that mattered (with the exception of heavyweight individual historical figures - like Jesus, Alexander the Great, Napoleon or Ghandi). What's this book about? The blurb goes like this: "Why did Eurasians conquer Native Americans, Australians, & Africans, instead of the reverse? Diamond dismisses racially-based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors responsible for history's broadest patterns." Besides answering the main question(s), this book gives you a wonderful "you are here" perspective on the map of human history. Every college student should be required to read it. Get this book. There's a reason why it won the Pulitzer Prize. - READING EASE: C
Iron John: A Book About Men by Robert Bly
Iron John is an exploration of the emotional and mental life of a man (specifically, you) using the vehicle of an old Grimm fairy tale. Everyone I've known who's read this was profoundly affected and claims a better understanding of themselves. Now, I'm not one of those guys who'll go out into the woods with a bunch of other guys and beat on home-made drums wearing a loin cloth, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I do think this book goes a long way in helping any man better understand how his past formed him. - READING EASE: B
And don't forget the companion volume, Iron Joe Bob by Joe Bob Briggs - READING EASE: A