Reading for Pleasure

 

                         

Angela's Ashes
 A memoir by Frank McCourt

 This book may have won a Pulitzer, but I couldn't  

  wait to finish it.

 

 

 

Running with Scissors
  A memoir by Augusten Burroughs

  Out of the last ten memoirs I've read, this one is   

  the best. Some people are horrified by Burroughs' 

  detailed account of his dysfunctional childhood,

  but I find his honesty refreshing.

 

 

Ben Franklin’s Almanac of Wit, Wisdom, and Practical Advice
By the editors of The Old Farmer’s Almanac

This book is great if you only have time to read a few paragraphs. I skip the recipes, but the household tips are terrific. For example, improve the smell in your refrigerator by soaking a cotton ball in vanilla extract and leaving it in the fridge overnight.

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time
By Stephen Hawking

I’m not a scientist, but I’m fascinated by the concept of quantum physics. The material in this book is dense so I only read about half a chapter at a time. I may not understand every concept, but I am always thrilled by the information.

 

Atlas Shrugged

By Ayn Rand

One survey says this book is the second most read book in the world after the Bible. I highly recommend it!

 

 

Reading for Writing

The Freelance Writer’s Bible
By David Trottier

The exercises in this book are outstanding. I recommend this workbook to anyone pursuing a freelance writing career.

 

Guide to Literary Agents (2007)
Edited by Joanna Masterson

Want to find an agent? Then you have to read this book.

 

78 Reasons why your

book may never get

published and 14

reasons why it just might
By Pat Walsh

Literary agent Lisa Cron recommended this book to me. It's entertaining and enlightening.

Reading for School

Middlesex

By Jeffrey Eugenides

 

 One of the best books I've read in a long time. So 

 engaging, one wonders if the novel is actually 

 disguising a deeply, touching true story.

 

 

Double your creative power!
By S. L. Stebel

An excellent book on writing and an easy read. Required reading but worth it!

 

Nine Stories
By J.D. Salinger

I liked Catcher in the Rye, but these nine short stories by the same author left me cold.

 

 

All the King's Men
By Robert Penn Warren

 At first, I wasn't enthusiastic about this book. I'm 

 not fond of required reading even though it's 

 common in academia. After the first 200 pages, I

 started to appreciate the depth and scope of

 Warren's story, which is a loosely fictionalized

 account of Governor Huey Long from Louisiana.

 Don't watch the movies though (two were made); the book is by far better.