PLEASURABLE READING LIST – June 2006
"The Almighty will say...when he sees us coming with our books under our arms,
'Look, these have no need of reward.... They have loved reading'."
Virginia Woolf
"Pleasure" is a word not used often enough when connected to reading. During the frenzied pace of the academic year, there is barely enough time for required assignments and sleep. The teachers and librarians at Pinkerton have assembled a collection of titles for pleasurable, leisure reading. Nothing is required. There are no tests, no responses, no essays lurking in the future. We have categorized titles into broad categories to further guide your interests. Love history? Look at that section first. Love science? Look there. But mostly, just read. Read for knowledge. Read for pleasure. Read for relaxation. Like traveling, the books you read become a part of who you are. Happy traveling through books.
TITLE AUTHOR
Science Fiction/Fantasy
The Dune Series Frank Herbert
The Left Hand of Darkness and others Ursula Le Guin
Ringworld Larry Niven
Eragon Christopher Paolini
The Forever War Joe Haldeman
Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
The Two Towers, The Return of the King
Harry Potter Series J.K. Rowling
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang Kate Wilhelm
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert Heinlein
The Foundation Trilogy and others Isaac Asimov
The Stainless Steel Rat Harry Harrison
The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
Frankenstein Mary Shelley
The Outlander Series Diana Gabaldon
Green Angel Alice Hoffman
Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen Garth Nix
Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass Phillip Pullman
The Andromeda Strain, Timeline Michael Crichton
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis
The Giver Lois Lowry
Dystopia
The Giver Lois Lowry
Anthem Ayn Rand
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
The Dispossessed Ursula Le Guin
A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson
Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer
The Radioactive Boy Scout Ken Silverstein
Walden Henry D. Thoreau
Gorillas in the Mist Dian Fossey
October Sky Homer Hickam
The Space Shuttle Operator’s Manual Kerry Joels
Last Chance to See Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine
Streams to the River, River to the Sea Scott O’Dell
Brian’s Winter Gary Paulsen
The Hot Zone Richard Preston
Genome Matt Ridley
Real Science behind the X-Files Anne Simon
Island of Dr. Moreau H.G. Wells
Toxin Robin Cook
The Barmaid’s Brain: and Other Strange Tales from Science Jay Ingram
The Sand-Reckoner Gillian Bradshaw
Dangerous Creatures
The Race to Save the Lord God Bird Phillip Hoose
What Do You Care What People Think: Further Adventures Richard Feynman
of a Curious Character
In Code: A Mathematical Journey Sarah Flannery
The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Mario Livio
Astonishing Number
Madness: A Brief History Roy Porter
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Mary Roach
Endurance
A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson
Night Hoops Carl Deuker
Three Clams and an Oyster Randy Powell
Go For the Goal Mia Hamm
In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle Madeline Blais
Venus to the Hoop Sara Corbett
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Stewart O’Nan, Stephen King
2004 Season
The Last Season Phil Jackson
Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game Red Auerbach
Between a Rock and A Hard Place Aron Ralston
on the Power of Sports
It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life Lance Armstrong
to Manhood
Miraculous Survival
Last Comeback
Curse of the Bambino Dan Shaughnessy
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game Michael Lewis
Hoops Walter Dean Myers
The Color Purple Alice Walker
The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
The Red Tent Anita Diamant
A Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing Melissa Bank
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Hannah Green (Joanne Greenberg)
Girl, Interrupted Susanna Kaysen
The Awakening Kate Chopin
Zelda: a Biography Nancy Milford
Wait Till Next Year Doris Kearns Goodwin
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston
Nine Parts of Desire Geraldine Brooks
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
Summer Edith Wharton
Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts Maxine Hong Kingston
The Kitchen God's Wife Amy Tan
The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
Women of Brewster Place; Bailey's Cafe Gloria Naylor
The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd
Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing May Sarton
Sometimes Madness Is Wisdom Kendall Taylor
Mysteries
The Cater Street Hangman and others Anne Perry
Velocity Dean Koontz
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
Mary Russell novels Laurie King
The Dante Club Matthew Pearl
The Da Vinci Code; Angels and Demons; Deception Point Dan Brown
The Emperor of Ocean Park Stephen Carter
The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett
Stephanie Plum novels Janet Evanovich
Beekeeper's apprentice, Monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie King
O Jerusalem, Justice Hall, Letter to Mary, The Game
Quieter than Sleep, The Raven and the Nightingale, Joanne Dobson
The Northbury Papers
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed Patricia Cornwell
Poetry
The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Poetry of Robert Frost Robert Frost
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson
Complete Poems e.e. cummings
Sailing Alone around the Room Billy Collins
Landscape at the End of the Century Stephen Dunn
American Primitive Mary Oliver
The Rose that Grew in Concrete Tupac Shakur
Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Stephen Dunning
Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief Maxine Kumin
Americans' Favorite Poems Robert Pinsky
Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding
Fine Arts
A World Lit Only by Fire William Manchester
Michelangelo: The Frescoes of Sistine Chapel Marcia Hall
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling Ross King
American Dances Agnes DeMille
No Fixed Points Nancy Reynolds, Malcolm McCormick
Stomping the Blues Albert Murray
Say It Loud! The Story of Rap Music K. Maurice Jones
Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues Elijah Wald
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented
Architecture Ross King
The Passion of Artemisia Susan Vreeland
Brassai: Letters to My Parents Peter Laki and Barna Kantor, translators
American Indian Ballerinas Lili Cockerille Livingston
Exploring World Art Andrea P.A. Belloli
Our Movie Heritage Tom McGreevey, Joanne L. Yeck
Black Chord Vivien Goldman, David Corio (Photographer)
Photography: An Illustrated History (Oxford Illustrated Histories) Martin W. Sandler
The Unknown Matisse: a Life of Henri Matisse: the Early Years Hilary Spurling
1869-1908
Galileo's Daughter Dava Sobel
Classics
The Accidental Tourist Ann Tyler
The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
Catch-22 Joseph Heller
The Fountainhead Ayn Rand
Walden Henry David Thoreau
House of the Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne
Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
Pride and Prejudice, Emma Jane Austen
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
Return of the Native Thomas Hardy
The Black Arrow, Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson
Mrs. Mike Benedict Freedman
Siddhartha Hermann Hesse
Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Frank Baum
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tales Edgar Allan Poe
The Chosen Chaim Potok
Frankenstein Mary Shelley
The Little Prince Antoine de St. Exupery
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift
Life on the Mississippi Mark Twain
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
Grimm's Fairy Tales Brothers Grimm
Multi-Cultural
The Life of Pi Yann Martel
Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
The Red Tent Anita Diamant
Galileo’s Daughter Dava Sobel
Girl with a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier
Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis Frank McCourt
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
I, Claudius Robert Graves
Roots Alex Haley
Kim Rudyard Kipling
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez</