As an English major, I feel that it is my sworn duty to promote literary education. To that end, I'm introducing a new section of my website dedicated to book recommendations. I'm going to give you the author, title, and a brief blurb about why I'm recommending this book. If you do read this book (or if you read a book from this list that I recommended to you previously), please E-mail me your comments after you get through with it, and I'll post them on here for others to see. Sound cool? Ok, get to reading people!

Christie, Agatha, The Mysterious Affair at Styles: I highly recommend this book, the first Poirot novel by Dame Christie, for anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel. This is the first novel with the ever-delightful Hercule Poirot, his sidekick Capt. Hastings, and Poirot's infamous little grey cells. A good mystery novel, a quiet night, and a nice glass of wine always makes for a good evening, methinks.

Forster, E.M., Maurice: the very personal journey of Maurice Hall through self-discovery, love, and betrayal, Maurice is a very accurate portrayal (in my opinion) of some of the stresses and concerns of gay people throughout the ages. Forster's writing style flows very quickly, so this is not a difficult read, though it does bring up numerous issues and really gets you to thinking. The ending is definitely one of the best I've ever seen. Very highly recommended because Forster rocks!

Gide, Andre, Les faux-monnayeurs (The Counterfeiters): of course I had to put some Gide in this list. Gide is definitely one of the best authors I've ever read. His writing style is absolutely amazing, and I love how he piggybacks from character to character in this narrative centering around the attraction between Bernard and Olivier, two men trying to find their place in the world. Highly recommended because of the rich storyline and the excellent writing style!

Kristof, Nicholas, and Sheryl Wudunn, China Wakes: though this is a non-fiction book, I am recommending it because it definitely helped me to understand China a great deal better. Written by a married reporter couple who were present for the Tiananmen Square massacre, this book takes the reader through China, a land with a rich past which continues to bear down on an uncertain future. Very profound story.

Lorde, Audre, Coal: a wonderful book of poetry by this amazing author who, amazingly, came out of Jackson, MS. Lorde's poetry, which is highly personal, describes being a mother, discusses being a lesbian, and postulates about finding a place in the world. Wonderful stuff.

Naipaul, V.S., The Mystic Masseur: one of many books from Post-Colonial Lit that I really enjoyed. This one is the story of Ganesh Ramsumair, a man from Trinidad, who starts his career as a mystic healing people to become a public servant. I love Naipaul's style of writing. I constantly found myself surprised and amazed. Highly recommended!

Rowling, J.K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: this is a book for the young at heart and anyone seeking some lighter reading. While Rowling does perform some amazing literary feats in this book, the big draw is the story -- a young boy orphaned and forced to live with an evil uncle and aunt who discovers that he is, in fact, a wizard. The reader is taken along with Harry Potter as he discovers the wonders and delights of the wizarding world while, under the surface, dark forces plot against him.

Rushdie, Salman, Midnight's Children: the style of this novel fits perfectly with the description of and musings about postcolonial India which Rushdie centers the narrative around. A fascinating blend of reality and fantasy, this book about Saleem Sinai quickly becomes a novel about the entire nation of India, if, as Rushdie asks, such a thing can ever truly exist.

Walker, Alice, The Color Purple: I had actually seen the movie before I read the book, but it did not hurt the reading in the least. The book actually explained the movie a lot better to me and built upon the Spielburged plot (which removed some of the substance that makes this a literary masterpiece). Written in an epistolary form (series of letters), this is a must-read!

Ok, that's all I can think of for now. Click here to go back to the main index.