Book List of Recommended Titles

The books on this list have been read and enjoyed by students around the world, but you

may choose a title that is not on the list. What matters most is that you find a book at an

appropriate level that interests you.

(*) This author has written other books that might be of interest.

(**) This book may be easier to read.

Note: The number of pages is included to give you an idea of the approximate length.

Other editions may be of slightly different length.

Fiction

Things Fall Apart. Achebe, Chinua. A classic African novel about how a Nigerian faces

conflict within his society, as well as the effects of British colonialism. (215 pages)

Little Women. Alcott, Louisa May.* The classic novel of the joys and sorrows of the four

March sisters and their mother in New England in the 1800s. (561 pages)

If Street Could Talk.** Baldwin, James. A talented New York musician is falsely accused

of a crime and put in prison. His girlfriend is determined to free him. (213 pages)

Sacajawea. Bruchac, Joseph. A novel about a young Native American woman in the early

nineteenth century who helped two explorers find a safe route across North America to

the Pacific Ocean. (199 pages)

My Antonia.** Cather, Willa.* A young woman who is the daughter of an immigrant from

Bohemia faces loneliness and other challenges as an early settler in the American West.

(175 pages)

Disgrace. Coetzee, J. M.* A brilliant tale of loneliness and violence in post-apartheid South

Africa. (220 pages)

The Chocolate War. Cormier, Robert.* A high school student fights against a secret society of

other students and becomes a hero in the school. (191 pages)

Bridget Jones's Diary. Fielding, Helen.* A funny and realistic novel (in the form of a diary)

of the life of a single young woman today in search of self-improvement. (267 pages)

Tender Is the Night. Fitzgerald, F. Scott.* Set in the 1920s on the French Riviera, this is the

story of a psychiatrist and his wealthy wife, who is also his patient. (315 pages)

Johnny Tremaine.** Forbes, Esther. The American Revolution and life in Boston in the

1770s, as seen through the experiences of a youth. (269 pages)

A Lesson Before Dying. Gaines, Ernest J. The moving story of an unusual friendship between

a young teacher and a man in prison for murder, waiting to be executed. (256 pages)

Choosing a Book for Extensive Reading

Father Melancholy's Daughter. Godwin, Gail. A young woman's search for an understanding

of the mother who left her when she was six years old and died soon after. (404 pages)

Snow Falling on Cedars. Guterson, David. During World War II, the Japanese-American

community on an island near Seattle is sent to a prison camp in Montana, and after the

war, a young Japanese-American is accused of murder. (460 pages)

The Friends.** Guy, Rosa.* A family moves to the United States from the West Indies and

finds love and friendship. (185 pages)

For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway, Ernest.* This famous romantic novel is set during the

Spanish Civil War, when a young American volunteer falls in love with a Spanish girl.

(471 pages)

Jazz Country. Hentoff, Nat.* A white youth in New York plays his trumpet in a jazz club in

Harlem. (146 pages)

About a Boy. Hornby, Nick. The hilarious account of a friendship between an adolescent

and a thirty-six-year-old man. Through their relationship, they both grow up and learn

to cope with their lives. (307 pages)

The Kite Runner. Hosseini, Khalid. Narrated by a young Afghani, this novel gives a vivid

picture of contemporary Afghanistan and the conflict and hardships endured by the

Afghan people. (371 pages)

A Pale View of Hills. Ishiguro, Kazuo. A novel that reflects the author's own experience as a

Japanese person in England. The story shifts from Nagasaki and the atomic bomb during

World War II to England twenty years later. (183 pages)

The Metamorphosis. Kafka, Franz. The story of a young man who wakes up one morning to

discover that he has turned into a beetle-like insect. (55 pages)

Flowers for Algernon. Keyes, Daniel. A sad tale of a mentally challenged man who is given an

experimental drug. For a short time, he becomes normal. (216 pages)

Annie John.** Kincaid, Jamaica.* A young girl growing up on the Caribbean island of

Antigua tries to escape from her close emotional ties to her mother. (148 pages)

The Bean Trees. Kingsolver, Barbara.* Driving west to start a new life, Taylor stops for gas. A

woman gives her a little girl. The touching story of how they grow to love each other.

(323 pages)

A Separate Peace.** Knowles, John. Friendship and tragedy in a private boys' school in New

Hampshire during World War II. (186 pages)

Being There. Kosinski, Jerzy. A simple gardener inherits a fortune, becomes adviser to the

U.S. president and a popular TV personality. (140 pages)

The Namesake. Lahiri, Jhumpa.* A sensitive and vivid account of how the son of a family

from Bombay deals with the difficulties of being both Indian and American. (291 pages)

To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee, Harper. Racism in the southern United States in the 1960s, as

viewed by a young white girl, whose lawyer father defends a black man unjustly accused

of a crime. (323 pages)

The Grass Is Singing. Lessing, Doris. A novel about racism and the inability to accept

another culture in white South Africa during the 1950s. (245 pages)

The Call of the Wild.** London, Jack.* In this classic account of life in the Alaskan

wilderness, Buck, a family pet, is kidnapped and taken to work as a sled dog. (143 pages)

The Daydreamer.** McEwan, Ian. In his daydreams, a boy becomes a cat and then the

dreams seem to become real. (137 pages)

The Secret Life of Bees. Monk, Sue Ellen.* Lily Owens, a fourteen-year-old white girl from

South Carolina, and Rosaleen, her family's black housekeeper, run away and are taken in

by a family of beekeepers. (302 pages)

Anne of Green Gables.** Montgomery, Lucy Maud. An orphan girl is accepted into a loving

family and small community on Prince Edward Island, Canada. (309 pages)

The Glory Field. Myers, Walter Dean. An African-American family's history from the time of

slavery. Their farm unites them in this story of pride, determination, struggle, and love.

(196 pages)

Chain of Fire.** Naidoo, Beverley. The story of two young people who struggled against

racist policies in South Africa under apartheid. (242 pages)

Bel Canto. Patchett, Ann.* The complex relations that develop among a group of hostages,

including illustrious foreign guests, and their terrorist captors in a South American

country. (318 pages)

The Bell far. Plath, Sylvia. In a semiautobiographical novel, a brilliant young woman slides

into a depression that almost takes her life. (264 pages)

All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque, Erich Maria. A classic antiwar novel that describes

the horrors of trench warfare in Europe during World War I. (236 pages)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Smith, Betty. The dreams and trials of a girl growing up in

Brooklyn, New York, in a poor, but proud family. (483 pages)

The Pearl.** Steinbeck, John.* A poor man finds a big pearl in the sea and hopes to get rich

by selling it. Can a pearl bring happiness to his family? (118 pages)

The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck, John.* A poor farming family is forced in the 1930s to leave

Oklahoma and move to California, where they face hardship and more poverty. (455

pages)

The Kitchen God's Wife. Tan, Amy.* An immigrant from China tells her American daughter

about her past, painting a vivid picture of Chinese life and tradition. (530 pages)

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Tyler, Anne.* Three siblings return home as their mother

is dying, and they try to make sense of their past. (303 pages)

The House of Mirth. Wharton, Edith.* Lily Bart, a poor relative, lives with rich New Yorkers

at the end of the nineteenth century and learns to love luxury, but not the vulgar social

values she finds. (354 pages)

The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde, Oscar. Dorian Gray remains handsome and young, but

his portrait, hidden in the attic, shows his age and the effects of his evil. (165 pages)

Mystery and Suspense

The Da Vinci Code. Brown, Dan.* A murder in a museum and a mysterious symbol lead

Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu on a hunt to find a secret before it is lost forever.

(467 pages)

And Then There Were None. Christie, Agatha.* Ten weekend guests who don't know one

another meet on a private island. All they have in common is a secret, evil past. One by

one, they die. (275 pages)

Whiteout. Follett, Ken.* Samples of a deadly virus are missing, and scientists meet at a

lonely cottage during a fierce snowstorm to find a cure amid jealousy, distrust, and

attractions. (474 pages)

A is for Alibi.** Grafton, Sue.* After serving a jail sentence for a crime she didn't commit,

Nikki hires Kinsey Mulhone to find out who was really her husband's killer. (214 pages)

The Tenth Man. Greene, Graham.* During World War II, men held prisoner by the

Germans are told that three of them must die. One man trades his wealth for his life—

and then has to pay. (149 pages)

The Broker. Grisham, John.* A master of finance knows too many secrets. Released from

prison by the American president, he flees to Europe and begins a new life in order to

stay alive. (357 pages)

Night Shift. King, Stephen.* Twenty short stories guaranteed to scare the reader: Hidden rats

in deep lower cellars, a beautiful girl hanging by a thread above a hellish fate. (326

pages)

The Night Manager. Le Cane, John.* After the end of the cold war, spy Jonathon Pine is

enlisted to help bring down Roper, a notorious kingpin in the world of arms smuggling

and drug dealing. (474 pages)

Tunnel Vision. Paretsky, Sara.* Chicago private detective V. I. Warshawsky finds a prominent

attorney's wife dead in her office while a homeless family disappears. She finds that

these events are connected. (470 pages)

The Rottweiler. Rendell, Ruth.* The killer is called "The Rottweiler" because he bites his

victims when he murders them. A victim's belongings are found in an antiques shop and

everyone who knew her is a suspect. (339 pages)

The Sky Is Falling.** Sheldon, Sidney.* This thriller is about the mysterious death of Gary

Winthrop, the last of five people in his family to die in a single year. (398 pages)

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.** Smith, Alexander McCall.* As the first woman to run a

detective agency in Botswana, Africa, Precious Ramatswe solves delicate and complicated

mysteries. (235 pages)

The Secret History. Tartt, Donna. As a new student at Hampden College, Richard is accepted

by a circle of friends who share a terrible secret. (559 pages)

Science Fiction and Fantasy

I, Robot. Asimov, Isaac.* Tales about how robots can be developed and taught not to harm

humans. Includes the "three laws of robotics." A classic. (224 pages)

Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury, Ray.* A classic of science fiction about a society in which books

are prohibited and television dominates people's lives. (180 pages)

Island of the Aunts.** Ibbotson, Eva.* Two children are snatched by three elderly aunts and

taken to a distant island populated by mermaids and strange creatures whose mission is

to swim the world humming and healing the oceans. (281 pages)

The Left Hand of Darkness. LeGuin, Ursula K.* On a strange planet called Gethen, people do

not see each other as men or women. This poses a challenge to an explorer from planet

Earth. (304 pages)

Animal Farm.** Orwell, George.* The story of what happens when overworked, mistreated

animals take over a farm. A story that reflects any place where freedom is attacked. (139

pages)

Harty Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Rowling, J. K.* This book tells of the beginning of the

many adventures of a young boy who goes to a school for wizards. (312 pages)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien, J. R. R.* This is the first of three books

in an epic tale about good against evil. A small creature with hairy feet has a gold ring

that belongs to a creature called Gollum. (400 pages)

Nonfiction

Nonfiction books are factual. Books about history, biography, and science are examples of

nonfiction. Reading nonfiction can help develop your vocabulary and knowledge in a

specialized area.

Biography and Autobiography

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou, Maya. A prize-winning American poet writes

about her childhood experiences and how she survived violence and racism. (246 pages)

Go Ask Alice.** Anonymous. The true story in diary form of how a fifteen-year-old girl

became addicted to drugs. (188 pages)

Growing Up. Baker, Russell. The memoir of a journalist and humorist growing up in

America during the Depression and World War II. (278 pages)

J. R. R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created the Lord of the Rings.** Coren, Michael. Tolkien's life

experiences as an orphan, a scholar, a soldier, and a professor and how they helped him

to create his famous trilogy. (125 pages)

Boy.** Dahl, Roald. The funny and sometimes shocking childhood and school experiences

of this famous writer of children's books. (160 pages)

An American Childhood. Dillard, Annie.* The author's childhood in 1950s Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, described in fond detail. (255 pages)

Out of Africa. Dinesen, Isak. The author's experiences from 1914 to 1931 running a coffee

plantation in Kenya, first with her husband and later alone. (288 pages)

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Fadinan, Ann. A Hmong family settles in

California and comes into conflict with American doctors. (300 pages)

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.** Frank, Anne. The diary kept by a thirteen-year-old

Jewish girl hidden in an apartment with her family for two years in Amsterdam,

Holland, during World War II. (308 pages)

Homesick.** Fritz, Jean. The author's childhood in China and the dramatic escape of her

family at the time of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. (140 pages)

Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Hillenbrand, Laura. The story of a racehorse named

Seabiscuit who became a winner, and the people who believed in him. (377 pages)

Mountains Beyond Mountains. Kidder, Tracy.* The inspiring life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer,

who has dedicated himself to the idea that "the only real nation is humanity." (304

pages)

Into the Wild. Krakauer, Jon.* How and why a young man walked into the Alaskan

wilderness alone and died there. (207 pages)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X with Alex Haley. The dramatic life story of an

important figure in African-American history, as told by Malcolm X himself. (350 pages)

Long Walk to Freedom. Mandela, Nelson. Mandela's life story, written while he was in a

South African prison. (544 pages)

Rosa Parks: My Story. Parks, Rosa, with Jim Haskins. A key figure in the civil rights

movement tells how she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. (188 pages)

I. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter.** Shapiro, Marc. This is the life story of one of

the most successful writers of our time. (163 pages)

Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. Shostak, Marjorie. The remarkable story of an

African woman and her people in the Kalahari Desert, as told by an anthropologist. (402

pages)

Almost Lost. Sparks, Beatrice.* The true story of an anonymous teenager's life on the streets

of a big city. (239 pages)

Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science. White, M., and G. Gribbin. A biography of Stephen

Hawking, the English scientist who is often considered the smartest man alive. (304

pages)

Helen Keller: From Tragedy to Triumph.** Wilkie, Katherine E. Helen Keller became deaf and

blind when she was a small child. This is the story of her success as a student, a writer,

and a lecturer. (192 pages)

Other Nonfiction

How Did We Find Out About Outer Space?** Asimov, Isaac. Clear explanations of scientific

principles, with references to mythology and literature by this famous writer. (59 pages)

Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. Fonseca, Isabel. A striking portrait of the life

and history of the Roma (Gypsies) in Eastern Europe. (316 pages)

An Inconvenient Truth. Gore, Al. Pictures and text showing the consequences of climate

change are accompanied by personal essays. Gore makes a complex and serious issue

easy to understand. (327 pages)

October Sky. Hickham, Homer. How Hickham and his friends were inspired in 1957 by

Sputnik, the Russian satellite, to spend their lives working on rockets for space launches.

(428 pages)

Field Notes from a Catastrophe. Kolbert, Elizabeth. This book brings the science of climate

change to life. The author describes how global warming threatens the traditional way

of life in a small Alaskan village. (210 pages)

Never Cry Wolf. Mowat, Farley.* How a young scientist in northern Canada learns to

respect and understand wolves. (242 pages)

Homage to Catalonia. Orwell, George.* In 1937, Orwell joined the fight against Fascism in

the Spanish Civil War and wrote this classic report of the ridiculous, pathetic, and, above

all, tragic aspects of war. (232 pages)

The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan, Michael. Pollan follows the journey of four meals from

farm to table, weaving together literature, science, and hands-on investigation. This

book shows the serious consequences of the way we eat. (464 pages)

Why Birds Sing. Rothenberg, David. This book explores the tweets, squawks, and flute-like

songs of birds to investigate the scientific mysteries of bird song and how it sparks the

human imagination. (256 pages)