I love books. They're quite possibly my favorite part of my life right now (outside of my family), and have been for years. I enjoy all sorts of books, ranging from children's tales to computer manuals (weird, hmm?). Here are a few books selected from my shelves; I've filed fantasy and science fiction separately. I'm also working on a new book page.
Where to start? There's such a variety of good books out there. Here are a few. One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan. Watership Down by Richard Adams and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. The whole All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days. And too many more to list....
William Least Heat Moon has a wonderful book on Kansas, PrairyErth. I've yet to find another book that can so well bring out the mystery of land and its habitation by humans.
Margaret Atwood and Marge Piercy both write good depressing novels. Try Life Before Man or Braided Lives. Be warned: these can be seriously depressing.
Maeve Binchy writes marvelously uplifting books, a nice change if you've been reading Atwood and Piercy. The Lilac Bus is a good place to start.
These tend to be underrated, especially those considered "young adult" material. Why do we pretend that they become less relevant as we get older? Certainly some books written for children are oversimplified in theme or language, but there are many others which can be enjoyed just as much by adults.
Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy is absolutely marvelous, with great depth of meaning.
My life would never have been complete if a friend hadn't introduced me to the Anne of Green Gables series. Read these! They'll bring a smile to your face, and a warm glow to your heart.
Way back when I was young, I read The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, and I still consider both of those to be well worth reading.
Some of the classic animal tales, like The Wind In The Willows, never go out of style. (Though they can become overly commercialized.)
And of course the original Pooh books are quietly wonderful. (As for the Disney versions? Feh. Stay far away from them; it's insulting to even call them by the same name.)
I don't own nearly as many history books as I should. I do have a couple of books on Latin American history, including Inevitable Revolutions, left over from a college class. I've got an old MIT text, A History of Mechanical Engineering, which I acquired from my grandfather, and I've picked up a few other books on the history of science which are interesting. I've also started to collect books on local (Wisconsin and Minnesota) history, along with an occasional book about a random part of the world; but I've still got a long way to go.)
I enjoy Agatha Christie, though it's been a long time since I read many of her books. They share so much in style that eventually they do get a little boring. But they're fun anyway, and often have romantic subplots that are cheerful. Try At Bertram's Hotel or Mrs. McGinty's Dead if you like standard mysteries, or Destination Unknown if you prefer spy stories.
I also admire Margery Allingham's very English mysteries, though the only one I own is Flowers For The Judge.
Michael Innes' Lament for a Maker is another good English mystery.
For a different perspective, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have written some wonderful mysteries set in Sweden. I own The Laughing Policeman but all the ones I've read are good.
There are literally thousands of other books that I could recommend. But you could also just visit your nearest library and start getting books at random. I've found some gems that way. Read!
ABR