read this!



My friend, Joanne, gave me this book: Read This! It's composed of lists of favorite books by employees of independent bookstores across the country. I read through it once, then went back to check off the books I had read, then went through it again and marked the ones that were my favorites, too. Here is my list of 50 favorite books.

1. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

3. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

4. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

5. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

6. The World According to Garp by John Irving

7. Cider House Rules by John Irving

8. Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving

9. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

11. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

12. Dalva by Jim Harrison

13. True North by Jim Harrison

14. Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison

15. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

16. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

17. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

18. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

19. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

20. Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck

21. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

22. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman

23. What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman

24. Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

25. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

26. Three Junes by Julia Glass

27. The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese

28. The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth by Bill Holm

29. Coming Home Crazy by Bill Holm

30. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

31. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott

32. The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf

33. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

34. Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

35. Oranges by John McPhee

36. Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

37. Coming into the Country by John McPhee

38. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurston

39. Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon

40. River Horse by William Least Heat Moon

41. Sea Biscuit by Laura Hildebrand

42. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

43. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

44. Bring Up the Bodies by Hillary Mantel

45. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich

46. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

47. The Road Home by Jim Harrison

48. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

49. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

50. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

I'd love to know what's on your list of favorite books!

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