Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Written by Frederick Douglass, this book is a very well written account of his struggles to escape from slavery.  It is brilliantly written because as he tells his life story, he is simultaneously building an anti-slavery argument.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister  This is the story of Cinderella from the point of view of her stepsister, who was not so much ugly as unbearably plain.  This tells of how she was forced into poverty and how her mother marries them out of it.  It is an exceptional story and fun to compare to Cinderella and see how they match up.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West By Gregory Maguire is the story of the wicked witch of the west.  Very different from the play, the book is still very good.  It is supposed to be very political, but since I don’t understand politics, I can tell you that it is an excellent story.

Nineteen Eighty-Four By George Orwell is about a communistic world in which war is peace, ignorance is strength, and freedom is slavery.  The government controls everyone and when someone tries to break away or say that two plus two isn’t five, they would be sent to room 101 to be tortured, after which they would return to society completely satisfied to live under the eyes of the government.  This is a great book that I highly recommend.

The Mermaid Chair  Another book by Sue Monk Kidd, this is a great novel about a woman falling in love with a monk on her vacation from her family and all the impossible implications this leaves the two of them with.  A book you should definitely read.

Goodbye Lemon Written by Adam Davies is the story of a man who, after years of separation from his family, is forced to return home to his dying/very ill father.  This brings up childhood memories he doesn’t want to relive, like that of his brother-who was nicknamed Lemon- dying years ago.  This book provides good reading and is well written. 

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America  Firoozeh Dumas’ memoir is a collection of the funny occurrences she experienced in her life living in a culture her parents didn’t really understand.  It’s a good book to read, but not a very high recommendation. 

The Ha-Ha Written by Dave King is about a man who lost his ability to speak from an injury from the Vietnam war.  He has found a way to live a reasonably normal life until his ex-girlfriend-who he still loves- asks him to take care of her son while she goes to rehab.  He now has to make a relationship with this boy and find a new routine. 

The Pearl  This Steinbeck story is about a man who finds the largest pearl he could have imagined and his journey to get what he believes he deserves for it.  A good story.

Of Mice and Men  Another by John Steinbeck, and considerably shorter than the others, is the tale of two men/friends working together, and living together and their tragic ending.

East of Eden  By John Steinbeck is a brilliant novel (although a little long) that takes the reader through multiple generations of the same family and all their scandals and hardships.  A million times better that The Grapes of Wrath.

Indecision By Benjamin Kunkel is a funny story of a man who has extreme difficulty making decisions of any kind.  When his friend gives him some pills his company made to cure indecision he finds himself on an adventure through the Amazon that he never could have imagined.  

Jitterbug Perfume  By Tom Robbins is a clever story of two people who decide to become immortal and they succeed.  They meet many unusual people and creatures and it is an exciting adventure from start to finish.

Five Quarters of the Orange  Written by Joanne Harris this is the story of a woman who grew up with her mother being the scandal of the town.  She has now returned to town as an adult to open her own restaurant, and no one seems to recognize.  However, she is then being blackmailed about her past and she struggles to figure out what happened and what she should do now.  A good read.

The Ladies of Garrison Gardens This novel by Louis Shaffer is about a woman who inherits a huge estate and business from one the Miss Margarets who passed away.  Not knowing how to run a business she struggles to find out what is really going on and decide whether or not to keep her responsibilities that came with the inheritance.  A good book to read in your free time. 

The Book of Bright Ideas  By Sandra Kring is a story of how two young girls who are completely different and how they become best friends.  They try to understand all the complicated happenings in their lives that the adults are fretting about and solve them for themselves.  A good story that I recommend.

Best Friends  By Martha Moody is about these two girls who meet as roommates in college and they get to know each other and watch the other change.  They are friends for life and experience family deaths and hardships together, are with each other when they have children, and all other life experiences.  A great book.

The Lake of Dead Languages Carol Goodman’s novel is a gripping story about a woman who returns to her high school to teach and has to relive all the horrors of her senior year and prevent them all from happening again.  A good book, parts of it probably shouldn’t be read right before bed, though. 

The Five People You Meet in Heaven  This clever novel by Mitch Albom is the story of a man who, once dead, meets five different people from his life who reveal to him things that he missed and show him how he affected people, some he barely even knew.  This is a must read.

Fly Me to the Moon  This novel by Alyson Noel provides a very entertaining read about a flight attendant who wants to be an author and is trying to cope with all the nuisances involved with her job.  She meets plenty of new people who add to her ever-changing perspectives and has many little adventures.  

Light on Snow  By Anita Shreve this novel is about a girl and her father who find a baby abandoned in the woods outside their house.  They are then questioned by the police and end up taking in the mother of the child.  Bonding them together in a way they had been lacking.  This is an excellent book and I recommend you read it.