The Book List

I’m looking forward to the break for this same reason. I think the last book that struck me with awe was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It’s a dark, poetic journey in the post-apocalyptic world. The only thing of color is the bond between a father and his son. They hold “the fire”. It’s art, to me.

My favorite book is White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The language of the story is so powerful. Every time I read it, I find it hard to put down. It's sort of heavy though, so if you prefer something lighter, while also intelligent, I recommend the Sloppy First series by Megan McCafferty. Those books are hilarious. If you're in the mood for poetry, one of my favorite authors is Olena Kalytiak Davis. Her style is postmodern confessional, really great stuff. :)

Thanks for sharing, guys. I have heard of these titles before.
In fact, Matthew, I'm pretty sure I've seen the movie version of "The Road." It was poignant ... sad. The book is in all likely hood better, the book version always beats the movie.

I love _White Oleander_, too - and to go along with the somewhat heavy theme, have you read _The Red Tent_ by Anita Diamant (http://www.anitadiamant.com/theredtent.asp)? It's one of my favorites.

Another really wonderful and also somewhat sad pick is _Blankets_ by Craig Thompson (it's a graphic novel, so it looks huge but I read it in one sitting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blankets_%28comics%29).

I hope you get some time to relax and read for fun over break! That always was (and still is) the best part of time off :)