It’s the holiday week. Business has all but shut down. And I know precisely how I’m going to spend much of my time. I have a stack of books I’ve been dying to read, so, baby, here I come. Which got me thinking…which books might I recommend for your reading pleasure?
Long ago, the private high school my daughter attended had a wonderful yearly tradition. At the beginning of summer, they’d mail a reading list–a compilation of each teacher’s favorite books–to the house. Now, I’m sure the design was to encourage students to read quality books during vacation, but the only one (and I could be wrong here) who took that idea and ran with it was me.
Though I’m a fool for reading lists in general, I loved that particular one. I’d take it with me each time I visited the library to load up on books. Summer after summer, I discovered authors and genres I would have walked right past had that list not clued me in.
My whole world opened up.
To be a good writer, you have to read lots of books. Good books, not trash. Books in your genre, and across the board. That’s how you discover your voice, your topic, how to construct a story, or weave in just the right lesson.
So I thought I’d share a reading list of my own during this holiday season, that way you can load up on all the books you probably won’t receive from the people you love AND find a last minute gift for someone other than yourself. I’ve left out the subtitles but given you the links so you can find a book easily enough.
I’d love to hear what you’d add to a particular category. I know I had problems narrowing my choices down to just a few. Like, right now, I want to include 18 more.
Enjoy.
Five Favorite Novels
Little Bee by Chris Clive (all his books)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (can’t go wrong)
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (all his books)
The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (everything the man has touched)
Five Favorite YA books
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Twopence To Cross The Mersey by Helen Forrester (memoir series)
All Creatures Great And Small by James Herriot (memoir series)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (series)
Five Favorite Memoirs
Lit by Mary Karrn (all of her books)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggars (ditto)
Let’s Not Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Truth and Beauty by Anne Patchett
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
Five Favorite Classics
Travels With My Aunt by Graham Green
The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Five Favorite Adventure Books
West With The Night by Beryl Markham
A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush by Eric Newby (also hysterical)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (all of his books)
Minus 148 Degrees by Art Davidson
Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead Diaries by Anne Marrow Lindbergh
Five Favorite Miscellaneous Books
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Daily Afflictions by Andrew Boyd
I Remember by Joe Brainard
The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan
Five Favorite Habits And Mindset Books
The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg (all of his books are fabulous)
Switch by Chip and Dan Heath (ditto on their other books)
Deep Work by Cal Newport
The Way of The Seal by Mark Divine
Do The Work by Steven Pressfield (read all of his books)
Five Favorite Business Books
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
Start by Jon Acuff (all 3 of his books are fabulous)
The e-Myth by Michael Gerber
Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
Five Favorite Writing Books
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne
The Situation And The Story by Vivian Gornick
Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Building A Story Brand by Donald MillerF
Five Favorite Running Books
Running To Win by George Sheehan
Running And Being by George Sheehan
Born To Run by Christopher McDougal
The Runner by Markus Torgebuy
Run, Fat Bitch, Run by Ruth Field
Five Books I Love For Their Language
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz (all of his books)
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
No Country For Old Men by Cormack McCarthy (all of his books)
A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (all of her books)
Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson
Five Favorite Big Idea Books
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Havari (all of his books)
Quiet by Susan Caine
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (all of his books)
Boomerang by Michael Lewis (all of his books)
Stiff by Mary Roach (also hysterical)
Five Favorite Personal Development Books
The Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
The Gift Of Imperfection by Brene Brown (all of her books)
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Man’s Search For Meaning Viktor Frankl
Five Major Pieces To The Life Puzzle by Jim Rohn (all of his books)
