There is hope.

I have a literature degree. I love to read and I love to talk about books. I'm skittish about recommending things but I have read a lot and there's a lot of stuff out there that people don't know about. I'm not really about classics and shit. I'm more about diversity and adventurous story telling. I lean towards female writers and I am in love with non-linear stuff. You've been warned. So. Here's some books and authors I like.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
My favorite book ever. There are too many reasons for this to list but if you haven't been required to read this, then your school is sadly lacking. If you haven't read it, I insist you do so. Immediately.

The Color Purple - Alice Walker
This is book is great. It's haunting and uplifting at the same time. I have issues with some of it, but, generally, it is a classic.

The Mixquiahuala Letters - Ana Castillo
I love this book. It's a series of letters from a Mexican American woman to her white American friend. I had a forward-thinking professor who assigned this book when I was in college. Beautiful.

John Irving and Larry McMurtry
I love every book of theirs that I've read. I usually don't read men anymore but they are truly great story tellers. Their books are weird and funny and wonderful. The World According to Garp and The Water-Method Man are great; and The Last Picture Show and The Desert Rose are fantastic.

Mystery series
I really like mysteries and I disagree with people who think they're trash or fluff. Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Lauren Henderson, and Sparkle Hayter, among others, write exciting stories with strong female characters. They all write series; start at the beginning! Of course there are varying degrees of competency and talent but mysteries shouldn't be dismissed simply by virtue of being mysteries.

Barbara Kingsolver
Again, a top-notch storyteller. She is also socially conscious and feminist. Plus, she's pretty funny. I like every book of hers I've read. Bean Trees and its sequel Pigs In Heaven are good places to start.

Armistead Maupin
I first read him when someone recommended Maybe the Moon to me in college. I didn't even realize that he had written the Tales of the City books. It was more than a pleasant surprise, I can assure you. Fun, serious soap opera stuff. And I don't mean 'soap opera' in a condescending way.

Edith Wharton
I find her hard to read but it's worth it. Like Henry James, people rarely end up happy in her books, but most people don't end up happy in life. Especially not wealthy women at the turn of the century. Custom of the Country and The House of Mirth are my favorites.

Toni Morrison
She's just fantastic. I haven't read all her books but Paradise and Beloved are terrific.

Fannie Flagg
Yes, the Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe lady. All her books are beautifully crafted stories. You just don't want to leave her worlds. I love all her books a lot but Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! is my favorite.

Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
I love love love Jackie Susann books. They are full of sex and drugs and Hollywood and they're just the funnest ever.

Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary
I grew up with these women. No, they helped me grow up. These stories will stay with me always. Every girl (and boy) should read these. And then again, when they're adults.

JK Rowling
I'm so jealous that I didn't get to be a kid when the Harry Potter books came out. Because then I could have gotten a kid impression of them when I first read them and then an adult impression when I read them again later. Sigh.

Kinky Friedman
I know I have a 'mysteries' category above but The Kinkster really is in a category all his own. He's not very woman-friendly and the actual mystery is the least important element of the stories but I love him and desperately want to be one of his Village Irregulars.

The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
I don't know anything about him and it's the only book of his that I have read but it's fantastic. It's really long but that's because every single thing about it is fully developed. It's like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way.

David Sedaris
I generally don't read a lot of non-fiction either, but his essays are brilliant. He's funny and depressing and insightful and odd. His writing is everything wonderful and good.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
This is a great piece of literature. Her other books are good too, but this one just really seems to speak to people. It's about strong women making their lives as good as they can with virtually no say in the matter. Great stuff.

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
This book is so good. Great storytelling, social commentary, and consciousness raising about the lives of Black people. Brilliant for its time, and now.

The Catcher In the Rye - JD Salinger
I know everyone says this book is the greatest but I really liked it anyway. I haven't read any other Salinger so I don't know if it's his writing or the content or what, but this is a book I keep re-reading.

Marian Keyes
Okay, so this isn't exactly literature but I love things set in Ireland or about Irish people. Her books are entertaining even though they are a bit "man-chasing." And they aren't totally anti-feminist. I really like the Walsh sister books (Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday, and Angels) and The Last Chance Saloon.

Margaret Atwood
I haven't read as much of her as I would like, but The Handmaid's Tale and Cat's Eye are enough to tell me that I will definitely be reading more.

My Year of Meats - Ruth Ozeki
I loved this book so much I practically cried when it was over. Its subjects are so numerous and varied yet the narrative is tight and nearly flawless. If I explained to you what the book was about, you wouldn't read it. And you have to. So go do that.

Dreaming In Cuban and The Aguero Sisters - Cristina Garcia
I love stories about Latinas. I know that sounds a little patronizing and other not nice things but I do. I don't know why, I can't help it, and I don't want to help it. They're just more interesting than stories about white people.

Back When We Were Grownups - Anne Tyler
I haven't even finished it yet and I know I have to read every other book she has written. I'm a little late on the Anne Tyler bandwagon too but I kept getting her mixed up with Anna Quindlen and I thought the books might be a little weepy. But this book is wonderful! I can't wait to read the rest.

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