[Surfah]

Originally Posted by Clark Addison

My top 3 suggestions that I can think of right now:

I will third Huck Finn. Great book. Easy to read, fast moving, funny, and, in its way, one of the most powerful books written.

Catch-22: one of the funniest books I've ever read. I often laughed out loud, which I almost never do while reading. Full of great, quirky characters. A little didactic with the anti-war message, but when I first read it, I was far from anti-war, and it didn't bug me.

My Antonia: I drove across I-80 dozens of time in my life and always hated Nebraska. Willa Cather can make it seem like the most magical place on earth. She could write a book where nothing at all happens, and it would still be interesting. My Antonia is a beautiful story, beautifully told.


Honorable Mention:

Anna Kerenina: Bogs down a bit at times, but a great look at family, lust, and integrity.

Invisible Man: Ralph Ellison version, not the one with the guy who wraps bandages around his face. A story of a black man finding his way through, and out of, society in mid-20th century America. Not sensationalistic or preachy, but very powerful.

Awesome list. I love Cather.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird every summer.

Try the short stories of Flannery O'Connor and her novel Wise Blood.