As I've been looking into MFA programs, I've noticed a trend among the programs that top my lists. While all require extensive reading, nearly all also allow you, the student, to compile your own reading list. That way, each student is able to tailor their own reading to the genre in which they write, peppering it with contemporary bestsellers as well as literary classics.
I think that's brilliant! And in the optimistic hope that I will soon need to be compiling one of these lists, I've been trying to think of great books to put on it.
Sadly, I'm having difficulty. So I'm asking your help. What are some great books you've read that you'd definitely pass on to a friend?
They need to fit into one of the genres I write, which means general or literary fiction (to include women's fiction) or Christian fiction.
Surely even those of you MG/YA writers have read something aimed at adults you can add!
Okay, I'll start you off with some of my favorites:
To Kill A Mockingbird (a classic)
Barefoot and Summer Affair (by Elin Hilderbrand)
The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffeneger)
The Blue Bottle Club (Penelope J. Stokes)
You Belong To Me (Marisa de los Santos)
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Schafer)
Blue Water (A. Manette Ansay)
Lottery (Patricia Wood)
Okay, blogging buddies. I'm counting on you! I need 60 books! Get at it! :)
(And if you want something just fun to do, with possible prizes, head over to Sharon Mayhew's blog or Jackee's blog for their Really Random Double T-800 Blog Party. What a blast to just peruse the comment section, but by all means, become a follower and join the party!)
Awww, thanks for giving Jackee's and my blog party a shout out....I'll hop over to my form and add an extra entry for you. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of women's fiction, but my friend Judy Larsen wrote ALL THE NUMBERS, it's a wonderful chick lit book. It's about the loss of a child and a woman (mc) surviving her grief. It's really good. I cried every time I picked it up...I don't know if that's helpful????
The Red Tent, Birth of Venus, The Moon Under Her Feet, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, The Usual Rules(Maynard)...
ReplyDeleteI would say A Thousand Splendid Suns (same author as the Kite Runner),and I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (both start slow, but are worth sticking with)
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you ever read anything by Amy Tan? I've really enjoyed many of her books. (Joy Luck Club, Kitchen God's Wife, One Hundred Secret Senses
Stones for Ibarra, The Color Purple, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Sometimes I Dream in Italian, Places in the World A Woman Could Walk, Enemy Women, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, The Mists of Avalon, The Poisonwood Bible (or other titles by Barbara Kingsolver).
ReplyDeleteAnything by Virginia Woolf or Jane Austen.
Take a look at books by Patricia McKilip to see if any of her fantasies fit your list.
Good luck!
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
ReplyDeleteChristian fiction, I read Love Begins with Elle by Rachel Hauck and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you-- I hated time travelor's wife and wanted to read it so badly. As I said before--pick up any Jodi Picoult book and you will love her:)
ReplyDeleteI will second Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as well as the Poisonwood Bible
ReplyDeleteAlso, Snow Falling on Cedars
Water for Elephants
Just for fun? The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
Good Luck with your list.
Water for Elephants and The Red Tent get my vote from the other suggestions. Also, The Help, The Lovely Bones, Family History and anything by Alice Hoffman. (And I LOVED Belong to Me!)
ReplyDelete