Recommended Reads from Past Years...

So, I realized that while I'm giving reviews of current reads that I enjoy...I haven't covered books that I've previously read that should definitely be on your "Must Read!" list (seriously...go run to your library and snatch these suckers up)!  A quick rundown of books that come to mind that cannot be missed:

• Mary Stewart's series on Arthur/Merlin beginning with: The Crystal Cave
• Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
•  Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
• Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy 
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• The Broken Chord by Michael Dorris
• Anything by Herman Hesse...especially Siddhartha
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenger (some great Chicago backdrops)
• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
• The Child from the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge
• Turn, Magic Wheel by Dawn Powell
• Caucasia by Danzy Senna (a less obvious choice...but sadly overlooked novel)

Young Adult Books (I mean, people read Harry Potter so why not check these out too? Or, at least you know what to buy your kid/neice/grandchild for their birthday):

• Anything by Robin McKinley (my favorite was The Blue Sword...gotta love strong female heroines)
• Anything by Lloyd Alexander (especially The Chronicles of Prydain series)
• Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (don't judge the books by The Golden Compass movie...it didn't come even close to matching the awesomeness of the books...in fact, it sucked)
• I always loved Madeleine L'Engle books (A Wrinkle in Time (and sequels) as well as any books featuring Vicky Austin)
• Lois Lowry novels (especially The Giver)