(Alainn Sorcha took time out of her busy schedule to list five books. Number five is a particular favorite of mine, especially since I purchased TEA the Young Readers Edition.)
1. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I know, I know. Most people are forced under threat of blemished permanent records to read this book in high school and wind up hating it. But I swear that Fitzgerald really was amazing writer with a complex understanding of all the ways we choose to destroy ourselves. Self-destruction is seductive, and Fitzgerald knows exactly how to capture that particular romance. "Gatsby" is his most accessible novel, and the best place to start in his work.
2. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
Shifting gears a little bit. Please ignore the fact that this was an Oprah book and is now a movie staring Julia Roberts. If you've ever gone through an intense period of flux and heart wrenching change in your life, and we all have, this book is tremendously relatable. I've read it several times, and it's full of beautiful insights about heartache, becoming unafraid of your true self, and what it means to be happy and satisfied in life.
3. "Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable" by Mark Dunn
Seriously, the most hilarious novel you will ever read in your life. Ever.
4. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
A beautifully written, sophisticated and sympathetic novel about the relationships between women in the Deep South in the 1960s. This was my favorite book of 2009.
5. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
This book is a gentle and nonconfrontational exploration and analysis of American food options. I think it helps that Pollan is a food lover.
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