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Mary Jeanette's avatar

1. The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (no explanation necessary - anyone living in this crazy world can/will benefit from this book.)

2. Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket (so fun! I loved his unfortunate events series as a child - can confirm his writing is still extremely enjoyable as an adult. This got me back into reading after a long dry spell.)

3. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (this book has no chapters and I tore through it in one afternoon. Kind of bleak and almost impossible to explain… it’s hauntingly good.)

4. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (as a fellow native Hoosier I’m partial to Vonnegut but this book genuinely changed how I think about space/time. My all time favorite!)

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Elizabeth Black's avatar

These are amazing recommendations!! I haven’t read any of these, so I’m so excited to dig in; thanks for sharing❤️

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judy clark's avatar

A Fine Balance......Heartbreaking, beautiful writing; So much about friend relationships; So powerful and I had to put it down often as I sobbed.. Might be one of the best books I have ever read.

Correlli's Mandolin: set in Greece during World War 2; Powerful and beautiful: Haunting

The Book Thief: epic, moving, unsettling

Fugitive Pieces: I have read it twice as has my daughter: poetic

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Elizabeth Black's avatar

What beautiful, glowing recommendations. Thanks, Judy!

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Aaron M's avatar

1. Less Than Zero

2. Ender's Game

3. Norwegian Wood

Honorable "just trust me" mentions:

-The Legend of Bagger Vance. The movie did it no justice. The story is actually the Hindu creation myth, told with a southern twang

-"World War Z"...less Zombie and more a massive re-imagining of post-apocalypse new world order

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Meg's avatar

Excited about these recommendations! I read The Great Believers a few years ago and adored it. One of my go-to recs has always been A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ♡

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