I am currently reading the book below:

+ = A Plus Sign Denotes a "Must Read"

Reading in the Dark +
by Seamus Deane
buy it

Maybe it shouldn't be in the "Must Read" section, but its small chapters, ease of read and blend of dark, shame, and humor, make it deserving of an +.

Northern Ireland still isn't an easy place, but this book is written with such detail to time, place, and spelled-out-emotion, that it's beautiful. The ending did, however, leave me a bit empty, whereas I like endings that end or at least leave me with more, whereas this one ended like the end of a chapter with the rest of the pages of the book lost. I wanted him to grow old and not repeat the family mistakes or put to rest those shadows that occasionally stood there on the stairwell.

The Name of the Rose +
by Umberto Eco
buy it

How does one write a book like this? A murder-mystery with early Catholic religious twists. Did Jesus laugh? Did his disciples have property? Since war, famine drought, and basically end-time-esque things were happening in the 1300s, did it mean that the time of the return of the lord was at hand? (Parallel that to modern times!) Is wearing such a thing as glasses going agaist the will of God who actually allowed you to lose your sight? Should the simple stay simple or become educated?

This book was a pleasure to read. A bit heavy at times with doctrine and chunks in Latin. But an amazing story which makes one want to search for the grave of the monk from Melk.

Hood +
by Emma Donoghue
buy it

Having had it handed to me as a "why not read this" along with a comment of "I don't remember it being that great." I was soon so in to the book that breadcrumbs are now stuck in the seams.

The person who recommended it, soon realized she had to reread it when I started reading out paragraphs that bowled me over. Pages about sex that were so perfectly and truly written, that they were tangible. Pages about loss that I could almost feel. Sentences that were so tragically moving that I had to put the book away, because it confronted me with issues I didn't really want to dwell upon. There were, of course, a few stereotypes to read through, but the book should be on any list about getting over, getting through, or just surviving because it's a story of someone who does.

War and Peace +
by Leo Tolstoy
buy it

This is a book not for the faint of heart. If you can get over the size of the book itself, or the fact that most of your literary friends have probably started it but never finished it, then by all means, read it. It's charming. A soap opera that intermingles the aristocracy of St. Petersburg and Russia raging war to the West fighting Napoleon.

I knew it was supposed to be a good book, but not this good. The characters are familiar and convincing, and the descriptions of them, nearly perfect. (One should use the word perfect sparingly in regards to literature.) Thankfully it's broken up into parts/sections/chapters/books, so one doesn't have to sit for a long time without having a breaking point.

Clan of the Cave Bear +
by Jean M. Auel
buy it

I remember my father reading this when I was a little kid. It's been on the "I should read this someday" list in the back of my head for some time. Out of the blue Eva brought him home for me to read, having only cost .50 Euro at a used bookstore.

Though not the best literature in the world, the story is fantastic. The characters, pre-modern man, are so well developed, and their daily goings on so well described that you are sucked in without realizing it. I ended up reading it in less than a week and then Eva started reading it and started dropping sentences like, "I should put that in my amulet" or "I used to make arrowheads too." :)

To Sir With Love
by E.R. Braithwaite
buy it

Apparently it's supposed to be a modern-day classic; something on book-lists for schools. I, however, found the book to be rather alarming in some of its references. An educated black man teaching in a notoriously bad London school.

I suppose the evidence of racism along with his newly found skill at teaching and the respect he both gives the students and receives makes the book a good read. (I read it in one day, so yes, I was moved to turn page after page) It wasn't, however, what I had expected, that's all.

The Wise and the Foolish Virgins +
by Marguerite Steen
[I don't know where you can buy it, it's not the one listed on Amazon. This one was an old copy; 1946]

I saw this at a second hand store and was intrigued not only by the title, but the book itself. As older books always look more precious than the glossy-covered versions of today, it was only 1 Euro, so we bought it.

The story is that of a poor girl in a English port town who works desperately to please an old-maid teacher of hers who is un-pleaseable. The tale takes on all matters of hysterics and issues, prostitution, loneliness, and the life expectations of both the teacher and the child. If you can find it, it's a nice read for a day on the plane or a rainy day.

Adrian Mole, the Cappuccino Years
by Sue Townsend
buy it

The continuation of Adrian Mole's life and his ups and downs. All of a sudden you realize he was married and has a half-black child as well as a 12 year old love-child who can't read. His family is as odd as ever, and Adrian's lost love interest (Pandora, who becomes a political force in England) is always an interesting character.

What struck me about this book, was that Adrian finally gets his act together. I never expected it, but sure enough, by the end (which ends too early since you now like him) you are proud that's he's survived the roller-coaster life he's lived thus far.

Adrian Mole, the Cappuccino Years
by Sue Townsend
buy it

Not a must read, but a good read. If your better half is English, then this will be a good book to read to get you up to speed on Englishisms; the school system, the NHS, and strange words you probably don't know unless you are English.

Adrian starts out as someone whom you want to root for, though as time passes he becomes quite a strange character, one you have a love/hate relationship with.

Dick for a Day
by Fiona Giles, Editor
buy it

What woman wouldn't want to read this book? Though it's not the best book in the world, or the most interesting, it's got several gems hidden in its pages. Several famous women, and not so famous ones, were asked the question, "What would you do if you had a dick for a day?" and this is a compilation of their responses. You've got poetry and short stories; my favorite has to be the two-liner by Jenny Holzer (an text artist who I have been researching lately):

"Many thanks for thinking to invite me. I am flattered to be asked, but I don't want a dick even for one day."

Road Fever +
by Tim Cahill
buy it

Originally this was a Christmas present for Eva. I figured that a book about traveling across South America might interest her. I'm sure it does, but the fact that three people have read the very book I bought for her for Christmas before she has...well I guess it must be pretty good.

Being serious now, I thought this book was wonderful. It's got little chunks you can read while sitting on the toilet, or you can read it in big settings. It's flexible, and the writer did a great job of mixing funny roadtripping stories along with the more serious comments on politics and natural beauty. I highly recommend it.

The World's Religions (I'm still reading it)
by Huston Smith
buy it

Eva never finished it, and perhaps it's a bit dry to be something I am reading for entertainment. But I figure it is high time I found out a bit more about the religions of the world around me. I know a bit of the characters and such, but basically I'm pretty unlearned in their practices and what they believe.

Perhaps this will help. If you have a suggestion for a better, lighter text about the religions of the world, please let me know.

Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
buy it

This is a soap-opera from beginning to end. It's about two farms less than 10 miles apart that are entwined at the root but bitter at the bud. (Nice use of language, eh?) It's one of the best "tellings" of a story because you don't hear the story from the characters themselves, but from one of their maids.

But the passions involved? They are extraordinary. Extraordinary to the point of exhaustion. Yes of course, it is a story of love. Of whose, I'm still not sure. Is it a good read? Absolutely...but only you can get through the characters and their fits.

Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
buy it

A story of adventure, Heart of Darkness is about the massiveness of Africa--the conquering of and the conquering by. Consider this sentence...

"...the muzzels of the long six-inch guns stuck out all over the low hull...In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent."

Something about this line struck me as almost the essence of this book. "Firing into a continent" explains in just a few words the absurdity of the well-tailored white man or missionary even, entering into a land to make it his own.

Gut Symmetries
by Jeanette Winterson
buy it

In this book, Winterson writes as if her life is on fire, as if the reasoning behind birth and death exist inside us, like the galaxy inside the collar of the cat in the movie Men In Black. Though overwhelmingly weighted down by atoms and parallel universe theories, the story behind the particles is fascinating.

A seaman, his alcoholic wife, their daughter, a bible-beating grandmother, a mystical Jew, a German, an Italian diner, a researcher, and a poet-- I had to watch myself there, because the obviousness of the story didn't hit me until I wrote them all down. I could have just ruined the ending. But I didn't.

If you can handle the lines about time/space and their relative qualities, then this deserves a +. If not, I'd stick with the one listed below.

The Passion +
by Jeanette Winterson
buy it

Wow. I'm learning to appreciate the sort of book that doesn't follow an obvious route. People weave themselves into a story only to reappear in the end as the missing puzzle piece. This book is a story with stories layered on top of each other.

Things that you know cannot be true you believe in wholeheartedly because you have no choice in the matter. You're taken through history as a part of history--wringing the necks of chickens, and finding yourself walking on water--at least I did.

And trust me, by the end, you'll want to visit Venice.

Ragtime +
by E. L. Doctorow
buy it

Historically speaking, I have no idea how accurate Ragtime holds its own--whether the families existed and even ever interacted. What I do know, is that the story built on the facts that present themselves from this time period, is wonderful. Ragtime is like a concise entertaining history of the US at the turn of the century. Entertaining for all of its details. The well-off white family raising a black child, the immigrant man keeping his child on a string, the slightly mad rich man preparing for his adventure in Africa. This happens over the backdrop of the mechanization of America--strikes, the assembly line, and pre-depression spending.

In light of Ragtime's pocket size and small cost, I recommend you seek it out.

1984
by George Orwell
buy it

How I made it through high school and college without ever having to read this book, I don't know. But now I have and I'm better for it. Though to me this book seems a little dated (obviously) in it's appraisal of what the world will end up being like, it's dealings with language are really amazing.

Eva questioned me by asking me one thing...could I still have a feeling if I didn't have a name/word for it? Ideas, concepts, freedoms, emotions completely wiped out for lack of a term. We are bound by our language and our lack of 20 words for different types of snow.

If language interests you, I give it a +, if not, I'd stick to something less damning, after all, I still believe in human potential for goodness.

Underworld +
by Don DeLillo
buy it

Of course the cover is a bit disturbing. A bird-like object hovering dangerously close to one of the WTC towers. I'm sure it caused his book to sell even better, or worse if you're sick of being reminded of it.

Regardless, this book is a masterpiece. Story after story run in parallel. Some of the stories jump between past and present, it would be much like reading about neighbors you don't realize are neighbors until you read that they see each other every day.

There is no great problem that is solved here, simply people living their lives. Some you get to know intimately, others you know about them third person, and some are dropped off along the way. I guess in that sense, it mirrors our lives--it boils down to a network of acquaintances which make the world seem like a smaller and more affected place.

Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
buy it

After shelving this book over and over again for a year, when I worked in a bookstore in college, I figured there was something about the title that screamed to me," Read me."

Unless you have read the paperback edition, you have no idea what an undertaking this was. The smallest print legally available, I'm sure, and half of the book dealing with Rand's personal philosophy. All of this aside, the story line is truly gripping. And if you stay with it long enough, you are so involved with the characters, they are hard to let go. When you see a train, you think of Taggart Transcontinental, and if you live in the states, you imagine the continent crisscrossed with train tracks and curse it's demise.

The philosophical parts are, however, hard to deal with. Also the extreme clashes of 'a human and his personal ability' versus the 'good of the people' get a little daunting. However, if any book has made me think in the last year, this would be the one.