Listmania!
Sue's All Time Favourites
The Hummingbird's DaughterThe Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
Buy used from: £1.72
Lesser known Latin-A author. Touches of magical realism.
Tokyo CancelledTokyo Cancelled by Rana Dasgupta
Buy new: £13.59 / Used from: £0.45
A lovely mix of stories (again with threads of magical realism).
Drinking Coffee ElsewhereDrinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
Buy new: £8.99 / Used from: £0.01
Short stories from the viewpoint of people of colour for a change.
Memoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Buy new: £4.72 / Used from: £0.01
Transports you there. Not all pretty.
The Moonstone (Penguin Classics)The Moonstone (Penguin Classics) by Wilkie Collins
Buy new: £5.48 / Used from: £0.01
My first (teen/adult) favourite book. Love the multiplicity of authorial voices. - no surprise that I ended up addicted to detective fiction then !!!
GarnethillGarnethill by Denise Mina
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01
Set in Glasgow. Not high literarure but evokes REAL characters and language.
Dancing Girls (Contemporary classics)Dancing Girls (Contemporary classics) by Margaret Atwood
Buy new: £5.93 / Used from: £0.01
Let's not forget the (contemporary) classics! Atwood at her best.
The House GunThe House Gun by Nadine Gordimer
Buy new: £9.76 / Used from: £0.97
The Housegun - Nadine Gordimer. A classic story. South African born writer.
The Grass Is SingingThe Grass Is Singing by Doris May Lessing
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.78
Lessing at her best (and a cat-lover too !!).
Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949 by Doris May Lessing
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.19
So good you need to read the autobiography...
Star of the SeaStar of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £0.01
Again not high Lit, but a good story. Took me a few pages to get into the language.
Dickens: Dombey & Son (Everyman Dickens)Dickens: Dombey & Son (Everyman Dickens) by Charles Dickens
Buy used from: £0.01
Not one of his best-known, but I liked it. Great observer of character.
The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Buy new: £4.90 / Used from: £1.98
Another classic - teen author's voice so believable.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics)The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Penguin Modern Classics) by Carson McCullers
Buy new: £5.74 / Used from: £2.99
..and in a similar vein to Catcher, but with a female as the central character...
The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Buy new: £6.49 / Used from: £4.01
One cannot ignore a masterpiece... So evocative of the time.
Behind the Scenes at the MuseumBehind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Buy used from: £2.97
Another creative genius at work (though in a slightly different setting).
The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See YouThe Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You by Paul Farley
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £2.70
And how about a little poetry for the unsuspecting or uninitiated ??
Head Above Water (African Writers Series)Head Above Water (African Writers Series) by Buchi Emecheta
Buy used from: £4.00
A real tale of survival in a new country. My reading sparked by a "Black Writers" module at A level.
Round About a Pound a WeekRound About a Pound a Week by Maud Pember Reeves
Buy new: £12.00 / Used from: £5.00
Really interesting - should be essential reading for everyone. Made me understand why my Granny was so careful with soap etc
Significant Sisters: The Grassroots of Active Feminism 1839-1939Significant Sisters: The Grassroots of Active Feminism 1839-1939 by Margaret Forster
Buy new: £7.19 / Used from: £3.34
A small bit of HerStory written. I found this book really inspiring while I was developing my Feminist politics.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Persephone Classics)Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Persephone Classics) by Winifred Watson
Buy new: £6.91 / Used from: £3.49
Farcical. A drop of silliness, because everyone needs to lighten up now and then !!!
Autobiography of Malcolm XAutobiography of Malcolm X by X Malcolm
Buy new: £6.73 / Used from: £4.02
Everyone should read this book too... Insights into the place, the time and the charismatic character.
Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) by Jean Rhys
Buy used from: £1.27
Scary. She sure knew how to write about pain this lady...
Broadcasting a LifeBroadcasting a Life by Olive Shapley
Very readable and inspiring - what a woman !! So much energy.
Charlie Chan is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American FictionCharlie Chan is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American Fiction
Buy used from: £1.09
Wonderful mix and fascinating span of cultures !! Don't make any assumptions prior to reading this book !!!