Books I'm Reading, or that I have Read and Recommend

A friend recently asked if I ever posted a list of books I'm reading, or ones I read and loved. So, here is a list of current/recent reads I thought were well worth the trip to the library or book store.

Here is what is currently on my bedside table:

Two books by Michael Ondaatje: The Cat's Table (his newest), and Running in the Family (his semi-biography).

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (a great read for the less hard-core literary reader)

A Large Harmonium by Sue Sorensen (new release)

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (her newest, I'm about half way through this one now)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Stories about storytellers : publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and others by Douglas Gibson

Here is a list of books I've read and loved and recommend:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (read this book. Just do it. Go. Get. It.)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (her other two novels are wonderful. If you want to read her novels in order of writing: Housekeeping, Gilead, Home).

Two novels by Ann Patchett: Bel Canto, and State of Wonder (State of Wonder requires some patience on the part of the reader, but the pay off is, in my opinion, worth it).

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (a gentle read about three sisters named after Shakespearian characters. It sounds literary, but it's totally accessible reading. You don't have to know Shakespeare cold to enjoy the story).

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

The Book of Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

And, for my poetry fix, I often pick up one of the books complied by Garrison Kellior: Good Poems, and Good Poems for Hard Times.

What books do you recommend? There's nothing so fun as to sharing stories that moved us!

I bid you good writing.