As if I could even scratch the surface of adult fiction! These are just a few of my favorites, the ones that I would highly recommend. Everything on this page fits into the “highly recommended” category, further subdivided into two categories: one is what I consider to be required reading and the other is everything else. Listed alphabetically by title, because I don’t know how else to do it. (Compiling all this stuff takes time! So the list will start small and grow as I find time to add to it and dust off my memory.)
Disclaimer: These are not recommended for children. When do children become adults? I have no idea. Consult your own intuition for that one.
Required Reading
- Go The F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach. This is a book for anyone who has tried to get a child to sleep. And for expecting parents with a sense of humor. It is hysterical and helpful to know that there are others in the world struggling with the same ridiculous things. Important note: Do NOT give this to the worry-wart type pregnant/adopting lady! It will only give her one more thing to fret about. Oh yeah, as you may have deduced from the title, there are four letter words in this book so don’t give this to people who freak the fuck out over that shit.
Everything Else Highly Recommended by Yours Truly
- Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
- Aleph by Paulo Coehlo
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — Also available in Spanish: Americanah
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende — Also available in Spanish: Hija de la Fortuna
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
- Little Bee by Chris Cleave
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — Also in Spanish: El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera
- Maya’s Notebook by Isabelle Allende
- The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- News of the World by Paulette Jiles
- Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamond
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini