Copyright 2005-2007 Sally Jennings at Speak-Read-Write.com
Welcome! Use the links at the left of Sally's Book Shop to navigate through the sections and pages, showing my recommendations for hundreds of books. More links to individual books are below in the tables. There is also a search box which will take you to the entire online Amazon store at the bottom of the page.Just in case you need a little extra something to relax, or toys to occupy your children while you read or study, I have other Amazon ashops set up for toys, family DVD's, calendars and cards, and a flower and giftbasket shop. The links are here:
I recommend the following novels for young adults:
Book Title (click to go to Amazon description and reviews) Author Why I Recommend the Book The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway Simple, basic sentences plus suspenseful story about man versus nature. So Far from the Bamboo Grove Yoko Kawashima Watkins Classic story of wartime love and loss. The Outsiders S.E. Hinton Struggles of teenagers in the 1960's, written from teen point of view. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee Excellent grammatical structure, exposes racism in U.S. south. Shade’s Children Garth Nix Riveting suspense story about robot creatures. Holes Louis Sachar Suspenseful, funny spoof about a correctional camp. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry Mildred Taylor Poverty and the U.S. south, absolutely excellent writing. Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel Avi Politics of the media set in a high school, told by a teen narrator, a variety of writing types. Lord of the Flies William Golding Still one of the best classics ever about a bunch of kids forming their own society. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime Mark Haddon Autism plus family drama plus mystery story. Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson Clean love story about maturing young adults. The Body of Christopher Creed Carol Plum-ucci Good character development, story about the search for a misfit teen who is missing. The Book of the Lion Michael Cadnum Interesting adventure story about a youth who goes off to the Crusades. The Other Side of Truth Beverley Naidoo Absolutely excellent story about Nigerian children of a murder victim. Lyddie Katherine Paterson Historical setting, teen girl leaves home to work in New England factory. Hatchet Gary Paulsen Well written, quick read, suspenseful, good sentence structure. His Dark Materials Trilogy Philip Pullman Fast-moving, intense, very intriguing fantasy story - the first book, "The Golden Compass" is now a new movie. An Acceptable Time Madeleine L'Engle Fantasy plus historical romance, a true escape. Into the Wild Jon Krakauer Fascinating true story of a young man on a quest to return to nature, and the result. The Wild Children (not clickable) Felice Holman 1930's Russian street children on a journey. What a life! The Chrysalids (not clickable) John Wyndham Excellent - telepathy, science fiction, survival and social issues in a teen group.
The following books are mostly for high-intermediate and advanced readers. I read many, many books every year. Recently, I have read the following books, which I highly recommend for adults. (Please note: whenever possible, as a courtesy to you so you may gather more information about these books, I have included links to the authors' official websites, or to the publishers' website pages for author biographies. Speak Read Write is not responsible for content on Amazon, or other external sites.)
| Fiction - alpha by Author | Book Title (click for Amazon reviews) | Why I Recommend the Book | Author's or Publisher's Website |
| Matilde Asensi | The Last Cato | A vatican nun's suspenseful search for the original cross, and a secret brotherhood. Absolutely excellent. | MA |
| David Baldacci | The Camel Club | Witty complex plot about a group of wild and wacky friends who uncover secrets they aren't supposed to learn. | DB |
| Steve Berry | The Alexandria Link---- The Templar Legacy---- The Third Secret | Complex adventure stories about quests for various items from the promised land (A.L), religious society (T.L.) to the Virgin Mary (T.S.) | SB |
| Christopher A. Bohjalian | The Double Bind | Well-written spin-off on Jay Gatsby et al. plus psycho-thriller. Homelessness, mental illness, complex plot and surprise ending. | CAB |
| Dan Brown | The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons | These two riveting tales proved very hard to put down to return to the everyday world. Search, puzzles, twists and turns. | DB |
| Michael Chabon | The Yiddish Policemen's Union | Probably the best written book I have ever read recently, and I read almost all the prize-winners. Set in a fictional Jewish Alaska. At times hilarious. At times puzzling. Always moving. Once you read Chabon, you'll be hooked, too. | |
| Wayson Choy | All That Matters | Sequel to Jade Peony, fascinating story of old Vancouver's Chinatown, told from a boy's viewpoint. | |
| Kiran Desai | The Inheritance of Loss---- Hullabaloo in the Guave Orchard | Hullabaloo is a bitingly funny take on religious extremism in small-town India. Inheritance is also wickedly funny at times, spanning two continents. | |
| Jon Fasman | The Geographer's Library | International mystery/quest for 15 esoteric antiquities. A bibliophile's world. | |
| Charles Frazier | Cold Mountain---- Thirteen Moons | Similar settings, both love stories and journeys. Both also beautifully written and poetic about nature. | |
| Lisa Gardner | Hide | Well written popular fiction thriller. Assumed identity problem, complex story line. | LG |
| Lev Grossman | Codex | Medieval books and book collecting. Lots of tight situations. | LG |
| Michael Gruber | The Book of Air and Shadows | Excellent, complex tale of lost play by Shakespeare. Funny. | MG |
| Sara Gruen | Water for Elephants | Circus retiree in a nursing home reflects on his life under the big-top. Lots of action, both social and physical. | SG |
| Khaled Hosseini | The Kite Runner---- A Thousand Splendid Suns | Both books absolutely excellent. Emotionally moving, well written, interesting, probably historically accurate for social picture. | KH |
| Zora Neale Hurston | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Black dialect and culture from the early 1900's south. This pre-dates Toni Morrison, but reminds me of her excellent writing. | ZNH |
| David Ignatius | Body of Lies | Very interesting CIA spy story set in the Middle East, using a World War II ruse revived. | DI |
| Paulette Jiles | Stormy Weather | Tied for best book I have ever read with Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union. Poetic. Lyrical. Love story set in the oil-boom (or bust) times of the 1930's dustbowl. And horse racing, too. | PJ |
| Wayne Johnston | The Custodian of Paradise | A journalist retreats to a deserted isle off Newfoundland. Creepy at times. Lots of twists and turns to plot. | WJ |
| Edward P. Jones | The Known World | Southern U.S. slavery story. Well written and informative. | |
| Garrison Keillor | Lake Wobegon Days | Excellent, very witty critiques about Lutherans from the radio show host (and writer) of "The Prairie Home Companion". | GK |
| Thomas King | Green Grass, Running Water | Native American world meets the modern world head on. Acid wit, hidden meanings, outrageous symbolism, it's all here. | |
| Barbara Kingsolver | The Bean Trees | Hippie girl becomes foster mother to a three-year-old. At times touching, at times funny. | |
| Lorna Landvik | Oh My Stars | Everything of Landvik's is very good. Emotionally moving bittersweet romance. | LL |
| Jen Sookfong Lee | End of East (available from Amazon.ca) | Multi-generational story of sacrifice in Vancouver's Old Chinatown. | JSL |
| Billie Letts | The Honk and Holler Opening Soon | Very well written. Love story set primarily in an Oklahoma cafe. Vietnam vet. | |
| Andrea Levy | Small Island | Excellent plot. Jamaican immigrants settle in World War II Britain. Reveals social stigmas. | AL |
| Alexander McCall Smith | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Doesn't everyone fall in love with the adventures of the most powerful lady detective in all of Africa? I sure did. Short readable chapters. Culturally interesting. | AMS |
| Audrey Niffenegger | The Time Traveler's Wife | Bittersweet love story which threads back and forth over the years as a couple copes with a husband's (dis?)ability to time-travel. | |
| Tim O'Brien | The Things They Carried | This is the Viet Nam war experience everyone at home suspected, but couldn't confirm this side of the Pacific. Social intricacy. Emotionally insightful. | |
| Ann Patchett | Bel Canto | Absolutely excellent. Hostages form their own society in captivity with their captors. Love and death and love and death and love. | AP |
| Stef Penney | Tenderness of Wolves | 1867 murder mystery set in Canada's north. Lots of trekking out into the snowbound wilderness. | |
| Richard Powers | The Echo Maker | Dementia, capgras syndrome, Nebraska bird refuge and developer issues. Very medical at times, but still a good read. | RP |
| Alice Sebold | Lovely Bones | Bittersweet and tender look at a non-traditional heaven, told by one of its newest residents, a teen murder and rape victim. | AS |
| Lisa See | Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | Interesting story set in historial China about growing up with bound feet, enduring restrictive social class, surviving loss and servitude, and communicating in a women's secret language. | LS |
| Diane Setterfield | The Thirteenth Tale | Absolutely excellent. Part murder mystery, part ghost story, twists and turns until the truth comes out. | DS |
| Javier Sierra | The Secret Supper | Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting decoded in a mysterious quest for the truth. | JS |
| Daniel Silva | The Confessor | Vatican secret society thriller, exposes World War II treatment of Jews. | DS |
| John Steinbeck | Cannery Row | The American classic of Monterey, poverty and depression, dosed with a good dollop of humor. | JS |
| Barbara Trapido | Frankie and Stankie | Nostalgic 1940's and 1950's coming of age novel set in South Africa. Sisterhood. Deals with issues of racism. | |
| Rebecca Wells | Little Altars Everywhere | Dysfunction, alcoholism, child abuse. Sad but believable tale set in 1950's Louisiana. | RW |
| Non-Fiction | |||
| Ayaan Hirsi Ali | Infidel | Powerfully written femininist expose of Islamic oppression of women. Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and escape to Holland and U.S.. | AHA |
| Reza Aslan | No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam | Very good short history of Islam, including the rise of extremism. | RA |
| Ishmael Beah | A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier | Well written but sad story of boy soldier in Africa. Nature of the story necessitates graphic violence. | IB |
| Morris Berman | Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire | An academic social historian critiques America. Good, although very negative. | MB |
| Jung Chang | Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China | Part memoir, part saga, poignant story of family, China, and communism. | |
| John W. Dean | Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush | Deliciously elegant put-downs. Revealing, and sometimes outright wickedly funny. | |
| Timothy Egan | The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl | The dustbowl of the American plains states during the Depression. Physical descriptions of duststorms particularly awesome. | TE |
| Niall Ferguson | The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West | Sweeping History of war from 1900-1950's. Informative overall look at world events related to wars. | NF |
| John Gimlette | Theatre of Fish: Travels Through Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland, Canada travelogue. Very well written, funny, witty. | JG |
| Alan Greenspan | The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World | Memoir by the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, written in a humble tone, with many insights about the U.S. economy. | |
| Chris Hedges | American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America | Excellent thorough expose of the societal distortion created by mixing religious extremism of the church with the state. | |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. | I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World | The classic writings and speeches from one of the outstanding leaders and speakers of the Twentieth Century. | |
| Naomi Klein | The Shock Doctrine | Worldwide damage from the greed of neoliberalism and globalization. Politically left. Biting rhetoric. Smooth read. | NK |
| Nick Kotz | Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martine Luther King Jr., and the Laws that Changed America | Riveting and amazing, both. This was the America few knew about in the corridors of power in Washington, overshadowed by the Vietnam War, but essential to human rights. | NK |
| David Kuo | Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction | An insider's story about the Bush White House. | |
| Erik Larson | Thunderstruck | Marconi, the invention of the wireless, and Dr. Crippen, a murderer. Intrigue and flight to freedom. | |
| Bernard Lewis | The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror | Polished academic treatment. A short but succinct history of Islam, including extremism. | |
| Frank McCourt | Angela's Ashes: A Memoir | U.S. and Ireland. Good read in spite of sadness of childhood amid poverty and alcoholism. | |
| Diane McWhorter | Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution | Absolutely excellent. Birmingham race riots and bombings 1950 to 1963. Revealing about KKK. | DM |
| Michael B. Oren | Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present | Yes, there were real pirates on the high seas, and America once paid tribute to them. This is the historical background to the current situation. | MBO |
| Kevin Phillips | American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury | Downfall via oil greed, religious mis-steps, and overspending. | KP |
| Steven Poole | Unspeak: How Words Become Weapons, How Weapons Become a Message, and How That Message Becomes Reality | Method for decoding the messages conveyed through the media to find out what politicians and others are really saying. | SP |
| Frank Rich | The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina | Absolutely excellent. Funny, satirical, academic, media/political critique. | FR |
| Jeremy Scahill | Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercernary Army | Read between the lines of your daily news report after you read this one. A really good look at an expensive example of military outsourcing. | JS |
| Ron Suskind | The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 | Critique of U.S. foreign policy. Well written and informative. | RS |
| George Tenet | At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA | Partly in defense against mud-slinging after 9/11, partly corporate philosophy. Interesting on both counts. | |
| Craig Unger | House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties | Good look at personal relationships between Saudis and U.S. regimes of the present and recent past. | CU |
| Tim Weiner | Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA | Real eye-popper about the CIA role and personalities of leadership and some operatives through the years. Undoubtably will change your interpretation of U.S. foreign policy for good. | |
| John Edgar Wideman | My Soul Has Grown Deep: Classics of Early African American Literature | A good reference work of black American writing over the centuries. | |
| Bob Woodward | State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III | This was the best book I read on this subject. Entire judgments came through as quotes. Exquisitely written. | |
| Behzad Yaghmaian | Embracing the Infidel: Stories of Muslim Migrants on the Journey West | Informative interviews of Muslim refugees, their stories of flight and resettlement, or continued journey. | BY |
| Mystery Series | Some Recent Fiction by the Mystery Authors I Read | |
| Donna Andrews | The Penguin Who Knew Too Much---- No Nest for the Wicket | DA |
| Bill Crider | Murder Among the OWLS---- A Mammoth Murder | BC |
| Mary Daheim | Saks & Violins---- The Alpine Recluse | MD |
| Earl Emerson | The Smoke Room---- Firetrap | EE |
| Earlene Fowler | Tumbling Blocks---- The Saddlemaker's Wife | EF |
| Anne George | Murder Boogies with Elvis---- Murder Carries a Torch | AG |
| Sue Henry | The Refuge---- The Tooth of Time | |
| Joan Hess | Malpractice in Maggody | JH |
| Maureen Jennings | Journeyman to Grief---- Night's Child | MJ |
| Robert B. Parker | High Profile---- Hundred-dollar Baby | RBP |
| Nancy Pickard | The Virgin of Small Plains---- The Truth Hurts | NP |
| Kathy Hogan Trocheck (aka Mary Kay Andrews) | Midnight Clear---- Strange Brew | KHT/MKA |
The links below is to Amazon, which sells new and used books, and a wide variety of other new goods too.
Copyright 2005-2007 Sally Jennings
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