Claire’s Must Read Recommendations
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At D&D night last week, we got on the conversation of books. Nicole confided that she hadn’t read most of the books we were talking about, including a lot of books I consider essential reading. I’m opening my bookshelf to her and putting together a reading list together.
The Scott Pilgrim Series- Graphic novels, insane characters and plenty of video game references- what’s not to love?
The Once and Future King- One of the classic Arthur novels. A must read.
Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures- Despite the title, this is a fantastic story of 3 UN workers in the 1990s. Incredibly moving and eye-opening.
The Mists of Avalon- The story of the women behind Arthurian legend. There are two others as well, but Mists is my favourite.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist- The original book that the movie was based on, one of my go to books when I want to escape for an afternoon.
Pride and Prejudice- Elizabeth Bennet is kick ass and Mr. Darcy is… well, he’s Mr. Darcy.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- My favourite story ever.
The Shopaholic Series- Girly brain candy for when you don’t want to think.
The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works- Because who doesn’t want know how close we could really come to the magic of Hogwarts
A Wrinkle in Time – A classic sci-fi/fantasy novel that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.
Any book written by Tom Robbins- He’s fantastically weird
Lord of the Rings- It took a while for me to get in to it, but it’s totally worth it.
The Hobbit- Hated it as a kid, love it as an adult.
The Catcher in the Rye- Holden Caulfield is a shit, but this is a classic must read.
On the Road- Don’t let Kristen Stewart in the terrible movie version ruin this book.
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded- HIlarious entries from John Scalzi’s blog Whatever. Easy to read in short bursts.
This is by no means a comprehensive list and I left off books Nicole has already read (like Harry Potter). What else do you think she should read?
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Claire is a self proclaimed books and movies nerd, and spends her free time watching way too much TV and playing with her daughter who loves Doctor Who. By day she’s a grad student studying sustainability, by night a geek mom making the next generation awesome. She drinks too much coffee (if there is such a thing) and enjoys relaxing with her dog Judy and a good book.
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I think that you should throw in a “Choose your own adventure novel” for good measure – ever read one of those?
I read every one in our public library when I was a kid. The most memorable one was when I got stuck inside the orbit of a black hole to slowly die. Scared me as a kid.
Yes I love those- I actually have an adult version where you die at the end of every story, your actions just affect how.
Oh geeze, its going to take me all year! I’ll start after I finish Cory Doctorow’s Pirate Cinema.
I think “Must-Reads” are hard because everyone likes different types and genres of books. I also spend too much time reading romance novel that I would suggest to no one. Not sure what you have already read, but I would suggest:
Classics: “Wuthering Heights”, “Great Gatsby”, “To Build a Fire”, and “Of Mice and Men”
Children’s: “The Giver” and “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”
Contemporary: “Water for Elephants” and “We Are All Welcome Here”
I loved the Shopaholic series, but remember liking “Can You Keep a Secret?” just a little bit more.
I’m fairly certain The Giver was what started my love of dystopian fiction. I found out recently its the first of a trilogy, which really has me intrigued.
Books that need a good read, for the geek inside all of us: H.P. Lovecraft – The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Philip K. Dick – The Man in the High Castle (anything by him, really), Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time (I lost interest towards the end, but the first books were really good), Neil Gaiman – Sandman, Terry Pratchet’s Discworld Novels, Michael Cisco – The Divinity Student, and Dan Abnett – Eisenhorn (even if you’re not into Warhammer 40k).