On a recent radio program, I was asked to name some of the books I find myself recommending to other people. Needless to say (?) I choked. The only book I could think of was the Song of Solomon, which is part of the Old Testament. It’s the BEST part of the Old Testament, in my opinion, but it’s still a bunch of Bible verses. The radio interviewer managed not to roll her eyes, which was nice of her. I do recommend the Song of Solomon, but here are some other titles I could have mentioned:
WHITE TEETH (novel) by Zadie Smith
ON BEAUTY (novel) also by Zadie Smith—very entertaining, and the audio versions are terrific
PARTING THE WATERS, PILLAR OF FIRE and AT CANAAN’S EDGE (trilogy) by historian Taylor Branch
INVISIBLE by Hugues Montalembert (skinny little memoir refined from what could have been a tome: extraordinary)
NONZERO by Robert Wright (brainy, with humor)
ENDURANCE by Alfred Lansing (good read-aloud with older kids, too)
CHIMPANZEE POLITICS by Frans de Waal (actually, almost anything by Frans de Waal)
Mysteries by Ngaio Marsh
That’s a start, anyway: If I think of any more, I’ll try to remember to post them…