My top desk drawer is cluttered with tiny pieces of paper, many of which have book titles written on them. Instead of letting these scraps of paper pile up, I’ve written out the book titles below. The list is an expansion of one I created last year for my blog to keep track of books I’ve been wanting to read.
I’d like to get your help in adding to the list. Please feel free to make recommendations in the comments section of this entry.
Phew. I can finally throw away all those scraps of paper! Now I just need to find time to actually read all of these books …
The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz
Same Kind of Different As Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Mexican Enough, by Stephanie Griest
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer
I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby
The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright
The History of Love, by Nicholas Krauss
A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
The Waves, by Virginia Woolf
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
White Noise, by Don Delillo
The Folded Leaf, by William Maxwell
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurty (I should read this one while I’m still in Texas)
The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam
The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers
The World According to Garp, by John Irving
Sickened, by Julie Gregory
All Souls, by Michael Patrick Macdonald
Meridian, by Alice Walker
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder
Word on the Street 
My favourite books are all on my site – check them out. If you like, you could even post your reviews there too!
Love the list! I will definitely check out some of those, too. I’m doing a 50 book challenge this year (modified down from 100 after my last semester at school kicked my butt :). I blog about each one at http://darlacameron.wordpress.com/, though. My favorite recent read is probably Posssession by A.S. Byatt- very literary and awesome.
Thanks, Darla and Helen. That 50 book challenge sounds so great! I’ll definitely check out Possession.
Hey Mallary,
Just finished “A Long Way Gone” and am midway through “Same Kind of Different As Me.” Two books that are true greatness.
I recently read “The Secret Man” by Bob Woodward. It’s a retrospective about how he cultivated his relationship with W. Mark Felt into one that helped him — and others — topple the Nixon administration. It’s a fascinating look at Deep Throat like I never knew him. (And who knew Woodward and Felt met when Woodward was a young Naval officer, making a delivery to the White House? He wound up soliciting career advice from the man who was the FBI’s perennial No. 2 — but shall we say, always a bridesmaid.)
Another I’ve read and loved was The Kite Runner, which has been made into a movie (with large chunks of the text omitted, like is so often the case). It’s about a privileged, motherless boy raised in Afghanistan, but driven out by the Soviet occupation. Many of his later years are spent grappling with decisions he made when he was a boy — a boy who could be rather cowardly and elitist, but was basically good and moral. A really riveting read. (Sorry about the alliteration. ;))
I had a great time with you last time! Hope we can get together again before your marathon drive back to Florida. 🙂
Hey Lauren,
Another friend also suggested I read “Same Kind of Different As Me,” so I’m going to have to check it out! “The Secret Man” sounds good, too. “The Kite Runner” is one of those books that I own and keep saying I’m going to read but haven’t yet. I’ll add it to the list. 🙂
~Mallary
Not sure what the criteria might be, but to inspire the entertainment journalist, I would read anything by Chuck Klosterman and for the reader of the Englsih language, “The Magus” is sublime.
David
My daughter is a journalist. She also asked for suggestions on “must reads” for her growing library. I suggested on which, at first, brought a raised brow and a questioning look. Once she had read it and “saw from a different side” she told me how much the richer she was. I suggest to you “The Light and the Glory” by Peter Marshall and David Manuel. I will keep reading you to find out what comes next….
Great, thank you! I’ll add “The Light and the Glory” to my list.
Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now”
hey mal,
late to this thread via your latest post about “good in bed.” if you haven’t made it to “the time traveler’s wife” yet, move it to the top of your list. one of the best books i have ever, or will ever read. beautiful.