JOHN KNOWLES

-      A Separate Peace (..jealousy, irresponsibility, denial and insecurity; two boys in an interesting plot..) 

 

YANN MARTEL

-      Life of Pi (A modern classic. A boy and a tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?) 

 

ALICE WALKER

-      The Color Purple (No wonder this classic won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.  Superb!) 

 

PAOLO COELHO

    - The Alchemist (a lovely masterpiece!)

    - Eleven Minutes (excellent concept)

    - By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

    - The Valkyries (finding angels)

    - The Pilgrimage (seeking for the sword)

    - The Fifth Mountain (a trial of faith)

 

DAVID BALDACCI (He writes with so much passion)

-      The Simple Truth

-       Wish You Well

-      The Christmas Train

-       Last Man Standing

- Split Second

 

 

DAN BROWN

-         Angels and Demons (A breathless adventure)

-         The Da Vinci Code (It is true.  This one is the master of thrills!)

 

 

MITCH ALBOM

-  Five People You Meet in Heaven   (Great writing approach. The last person the lead character meets is a Filipina girl...)

 

-  Tuesdays with Morrie (A little book full of insights)

 

JOHN STEINBECK

(I like these classics)

-         To a God Unknown

-         Of Mice and Men

 

DAVE PELZER

(A true-to-life story; very moving.)

-         A Child Called It (1^st book)

-         The Lost Boy (2^nd book)

-         A Man Named Dave (last book)

 

ROBERT JAMES WALLER

-         Puerto Vallarta Squeeze

-         Border Music

-         Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend

 

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

(There's power in his writings)

-         The Old Man and the Sea

-         Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises

 

ARUNDHATI ROY

-         The God of Small Things (Winner of the Booker Prize)

 

MARK KRIEGEL

-         Bless Me, FATHER

 

JOHN GRISHAM (I know why people love his books)

-       A Time to Kill

- The Summons (wonderful plot)

-       Bleachers

 

DAVID GUTERSON

(I like the details; impressive)

-         East of the Mountains

-         Snow Falling on Cedars

 

EMILY GRAYSON

-         The Gazebo (If you are into love stories, try this book)

 

DUONG THU HUONG

-         Memories of Pure Spring

 

DAVID SEDARIS

-           Me Talk Pretty One Day (quite cool)

-  Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (great collection of essays)

 

PETER CAREY

-         True History of the Kelly Gang (Winner of the Booker Prize)

 

HAMPTON SIDES

-         Ghost Soldiers

 

VENERO ARMANNO

-         Strange Rain

 

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

-         One Hundred Years of Solitude

 

JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE

-          A Confederacy of Dunces

 

ROBERT NEWTON PECK

-         A Day No Pigs Would Die

 

ARLENE CHAI (A Filipina Writer from Sydney Inspired by Life in the Philippines)

-   The Last Time I Saw Mother

 

PETRU POPESCU

-  Almost Adam (Finding the missing link and the ascent of humankind)

 

GEORGE ORWELL

-         1984 (I never imagined I would love this classic..)

 

VICTORIA HOLT

-         The House of a Thousand Lanterns (A thousand? It is a quality story-telling)