10 books I'd recommend to a friend.

...love the topic this week - and very much looking forward to others' recommendations! thank you, carole, for the timely topic!

the bookshelf in my bedroom...back in april, 2009! it's a little messier these days,  but still holds my favorite books

here's my list, in no particular order:

1. forever, by pete hamill. the story of a man who lives forever, but only if he never leaves the island of manhattan.

2. harry potter and the deathly hallows (the 7th one), by j.k. rowling. but only after reading the other six! this was my favorite of the series.

3. sense and sensibility, by jane austen. I read/re-read all of her novels (save mansfield park - still hoping to get to that one this year) over the past two years and this one replaced pride and prejudice as my favorite. (but the BBC version of pride and prejudice with colin firth as mr. darcy is my absolute favorite video version!)

4. gone with the wind, by margaret mitchell. the movie was good, but oh my, the book was so much better!

5. the art of racing in the rain, by garth stein. narrated by enzo the dog. we just read this for bookclub and everyone loved it.

6. the help, by kathryn stockett. one of the few stories about racism in the south that I've truly enjoyed.

7. the history of love, by nicole krauss. a story within a story within a story. (and all of them are good!)

8. the book thief, by markus zusak. set mostly in nazi germany, narrated by death. interesting, thought provoking and hard to put down.

9. beach music, by pat conroy. my favorite of his books. recently re-read and just as enjoyable the second time.

10. the last days of summer, by steve kluger. a little bit about baseball, but mostly a well-told coming of age story that's presented as letters, notes, newspaper clippings, even scribblings on a napkin and matchbook cover.

thank you, goodreads, for reminding me about a few of these titles. you can see all of my favorites here. (and please friend me - I'd love to see what you're reading, too!)

Go here if you would like to sign up for the Ten on Tuesday mailing list.