Lisa's Top 10

Well, let's get this party started! Here's my top 10 (in no particular order):

The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien): It's hard to imagine anyone not loving this book, fantasy geek or not. It’s a great piece of literature—universal in theme, epic in scope, and I dare anyone to find a fictional world more thoroughly and brilliantly brought to life than Middle Earth.

The Mill on the Floss or Middlemarch by George Eliot—I couldn’t pick. Middlemarch is the better book, but The Mill on the Floss was one of the first Victorian novels I read as an English major, and it solidified my decision to focus on the 19th century. It’s a tragic novel that demonstrates the powerlessness of the unwed Victorian woman like no other.

Except this one: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This novel, like many of Edith Wharton’s, is about a woman struggling against rigid social conventions (you'll notice a theme here...). The language is remarkably beautiful (if you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s Age of Innocence, you know what it’s like to read Edith Wharton), and the heroine, though she really screws up, is sympathetic. I love Edith Wharton, and this is my fave.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck How did I get through six years as an English major without reading this book?! I just finished it a few weeks ago, and if I had to pick the American novel, this would be it. The language is so poetic and rhythmic--totally unique--yet I can't think of a more hard-boiled representation of America’s “have-nots.” The Joad family’s insistence on human dignity, no matter how desperate their situation, is the book’s most compelling theme.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I’ve read quite a bit of Latina "chic lit" in my time, and this one stands out from the crowd. Earthy, magical, and wildly passionate. Super fun to read.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: I haven’t read this one since high school, but it’s stuck with me all these years. A must read for kids from 1 to 92. Well maybe 12 to 92. It’s an inspiring story about a quiet hero standing up to injustice while his children learn not to judge Boo Radley by his creepy cover.

Persuasion: This is the first Jane Austen book I ever read, and it remains my favorite. Anne is her best protagonist, I think. She is older and wiser than Emma or Elizabeth Bennet, and such a good soul you can’t help but root for her.

House of Spirits: Isabel Allende is a prolific author, and not everything she writes is particularly good, but I really loved this book—her first novel. Wonderful, strong (and strange) female characters colliding with a tyrannical patriarch—what could be better? This book is powerful and totally captivating.

Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston A book about a black woman’s quest to discover herself and to live on her own terms, not as one man’s mule or another’s ornament. It's a rich and reflective novel, and an unusual love story.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville: I had so many girly books on my list I thought I better throw in something with a little more testosterone. Moby Dick is one of the most impressive books I’ve read. Even though I didn’t find it all that gripping, it’s really REALLY cool. Captain Ahab’s mad quest for revenge against the white whale is a great story, and the historical details of the whaling ship alone are (surprisingly) interesting enough to make the book worth reading.