MISS LONELYHEARTS
by Nathanael West
W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0811202151
Very dark, very funny and very powerful, this cool little story revolves around a newspaper advice columnist who becomes a tad too involved in the lives of his readers --- even as his own life is a total, falling-apart mess.
THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY
by Ambrose Bierce
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195126270
Incredibly smart author Bierce wasn't content with the good old Webster's Dictionary, so he created this series of caustic, cynical and hilarious word definitions. The witty aphorisms (another SAT word) make this the perfect book to pick up and browse through again and again.
BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA
by Dorothy Allison
Plume
ISBN: 0452269571
In this harrowing yet ultimately inspiring novel, Bone --- a sensitive young girl in rural South Carolina --- must confront poverty, her vicious stepfather, and the stigma of being considered "white trash."
THE HANDMAID'S TALE
by Margaret Atwood
Anchor Books
ISBN: 038549081X
Both a scathing satire and a dire warning, this novel is also a really absorbing page turner. The premise: near the end of the 20th century, birth control and the effects of nuclear fallout have caused fewer births, so the Biblical story of Rachel is invoked to increase the birth rate.
THE AWAKENING
by Kate Chopin
Avon
ISBN: 0380002450
This revolutionary and revelatory novel is one of the first examples of feminist fiction. But don't let that scare you away; the sympathetic character at the heart of the novel is Edna, an unhappy wife and mother, and her search for herself is one all readers will understand.
ELLEN FOSTER
by Kaye Gibbons
Vintage Books
ISBN: 0375703055
Oprah likes this, so why shouldn't you? Eleven-year-old Ellen uses her wit and courage to survive her mother's death, an abusive father, and uncaring relatives --- and readers will be engrossed in her search for a loving home and a new mama.
GRENDEL
by John Gardner
Vintage Books
ISBN: 0679723110
So you read BEOWULF for class and thought it was weird and boring. Much more fun to read is this retelling, narrated by the monster Grendel, who relates his struggle to understand the ugliness in himself and mankind.
IN COUNTRY
by Bobbie Ann Mason
Harperperennial Library
ISBN: 0060913509
Samantha Hughes --- called Sam --- never got to know her father; he was killed in the Vietnam War before she was born. This lovely and lyrical novel follows Sam's story as she tries to learn from the past while looking towards the future.
THE GRASS DANCER
by Susan Power
Berkley Pub Group
ISBN: 0425149625
This multi-generational tale focusing on the Sioux of North Dakota tells the layered and complex history of the Thunder family and friends. Author Power writes the voices of the living and the dead, and the end result is stunning and affecting.
THE MOTHER TONGUE: English and How It Got That Way
by Bill Bryson
Avon Books
ISBN: 0380715430
A book on the history and usage of the English language could be a big snooze, but author Bryson tells the story as if it were a comic novel. A must-read for all future English majors!
