1) Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
2) The World According to Garp by John Irving both b/c they are in-depth life stories that examine different choices, rites of passage, and the learning experiences of one life. Both cover entire lives, with hilarious moments, as well as very touching ones.
3) The Republic by Plato
One of Plato’s teaching manuals, it centers on lessons by Socrates about the organization of a society and government. Plato is someone that used one story to teach on many different levels. I always find a new idea presented each time. His work showed that government is a microcosm of society, and we are a microcosm of government. This was an early paradigm of the study of psychology.
4) Travels by Michael Crichton
The journals that crichton kept while he was researching his books. A person, analytic view of the author himself, plus his adventures thoughout the world. I would chose this b/c where my top three are more thoughtful, this book mixes that with travel, and i love to travel.
5) The Bourne series (3) by Robert Ludlum. International assassination, one of the first to really get me involved in things international, and the study of international terrorism (one of my “emphasis areas” in college)
6) Chronicals of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
7) Little House on the Prarie series. This and the Chronicles series were some of the first i ever started reading. Always good for a heartwarming moment.