Cherry by Mary Karr – It’s nothing like Golden’s Memoir’s of a Geisha but it’s a must read memoirs when you’re into some Texan vulgarity. This is the author’s account of growing up hormonally charged in the seventies, when at the peak of her adolescent years. There’s almost a singsong way Karr narrates her story, which is to say as though she was whispering some amusing secret to you.

Damage by Josephine Hart - “Damaged people are dangerous…” This is a novel about a catharsis of a man who is broken. Damaged by the one woman who did not hesitate to turn his life around, as he had damaged the one man he had loved: his son. Hart digs into the intricate details of emotion in plain, simple, English.

Don’t Panic by Neil Gaiman – This is an occult book that’ll make any Monty Python fan panic. Don’t Panic is Gaiman’s biography of the legend Douglas Adams who was the creator of The Hitchhiker’s guide to Galaxy. Ordinarily, Gaiman’s works have been a novelty of sorts but for some reason, he shifts his gear and turns the reader into a voyeur. He takes you a step closer to Adam’s memory of the earlier days (especially the days when he was coming up with Marvin) and to his bizarre source of humor: aptly put by the pivotal use of towels in his famous works. I stress that this is an occult book, meaning if you haven’t read any of Adam’s books or have at least been a John Cleese fan, this is not the book for you. On that note, how can you not have read any of their books? You’re missing half your life!

Ekaterina by Donald Harrington – I’m a big fan of the Russian writer, Vladimir Nabokov, however, it turns out Harrington is a bigger fan. In spite of the glaring allusions to Nabokov in his book Ekaterina, Harrington is able to recapture with his masterful use of prose, the crafty perversion that is common between his character and Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert. Although, Harrington is nothing like the Russian great, as I contend that there is absolutely no way he can provide us the same intellectual cool of Humbert Humbert, it is beautifully written. Ekaterina is a not-so-unique story of a Russian princess-slash-intellectual who steps into the strange world of America (like Humbert) and falls “in love” with her landlord’s kid (like Humbert). Ekaterina writes a book (like Humbert) and is able to sky-rocket to fame (unlike Humbert). It’s inevitable to compare these elements especially if you’re familiar with the preceding work; however, if you’ve never read Lolita (and I’m not talking porn here), the plot unfolds unpredictably.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. No other words can make your heart bleed like Humbert. Rendered as one of the most controversial books at its time, Nabokov’s Lolita is a must read for those whose love for prose and noir is sinful. Nabokov writes about a man who falls helplessly in love with the nymphet Dolores Haze. Therein takes place a meeting of radically different minds—one that of a European intellectual against that of an unnervingly jovial preteen. It is also a story of love that is of the unconventional sort. Obssessive and irrational: It is more than the theme presumed of it, which is a coupling of a middle-aged man and a young girl. Lovers of Nabokov will think that this stereotype is an unintelligent reaction to the very essence of Lolita: there is a love so true, it transcends.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Some say that it’ll take you a hundred years to finish Marquez’s Pulitzer-winning masterpiece. However, mulling through this treasure chest of thought is worth all the time spent on it. It is a saga that sweeps you away to an unknown land, where the Buendia family lives with charming absurdity. We are taken by the heroic, yet, obstinate patriarchs and we see how, inevitably, we are drawn to the women of strength whose love overtakes their awry position in the story. Indeed, Marquez stays true to his innovation of magical realism.

Possession by A.S. Byatt - For lovers of the Victorian era, it will come as no surprise to me if this book is one of your more glorified goods. Two modern day scholars dig into the past of the Victorian poets they have dedicated their academic lives to. Their paths cross and later, they find that, so do the lives of the poet they thought they knew too well. Intrigue, deception, love, sexual hypocrisy and misery are but notable elements of its immense plot. A perfect read for the sophisticated mind. (Alternatives: Yeah, yeah there’s a movie out there. Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart lock lips, yo.)

Pure drivel by Steve Martin - Steve Martin writes and gorgeously so! This is a compilation of some of his most hilarious and sardonic essays. My personal favorite would have to be his take on Lolita at fifty and several quips on how “wonderful” his wife is. Steve is an alien in disguise.

Shopgirl by Steve Martin - Another favorite from Steve Martin where he writes with a detached sort of compassion. We begin to see Martin’s superb command of realism and irony. I won’t venture into a synopsis instead; I will confess that this book made me cry. You have to read it yourself.

Tabloid Dreams by Robert Olen Butler - The reason why I adore Butler is because he has a way of portraying dysfunctional and equally interesting characters. In this collection of short stories, Butler provokes incredulity. On the other hand, you are thoroughly convinced by the end of the day that Butler is a genius.

The Butterfly tattoo by Philip Pullman - Unlike his famous dark trilogy, Butterfly tattoo is more on heartbreak. It is a tragic story of killing somebody and the way Pullman writes it is enduringly haunting. The novel is not overdone and that enables it to convey the exact mood that resounds until the end of the story: Such simple things can be so complex.

The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams - Nerd humor much? You may have noted my whole warming up to the notion that I am forever devoted to Douglas Adams’s works. They are absolutely hilarious and at times even, thought provoking. Who else could think of starting his novel by ending everything? To be more specific, end the Earth as we know it. I think that this book shouldn’t even count as Science Fiction. You have here a humorist pretending to be a Scientist, and goddamn it, it’s working. The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy is open to a world of possibilities. It makes an alien best friend, a towel, a depressed robot, a whale falling from the sky, and a frightening notion that one day, there will be no more McDonald’s, sound all too plausible.

The importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - It’s a misfortune not to have too many ways to say how witty and hands-down funny this Classic is. Maybe it’s about a ridiculous case of mistaken identity, and then again, it could be about non-identity. All throughout the story you’ll find yourself asking, “Who the hell is Ernest?” Wilde introduces you to the quirks of English high society back in the late 1800’s wherein two men try to swoon their love interests in the guise of another man by the name of Ernest. Later, secrets are revealed that’ll make Ernest so important alongside being Earnest. Yes, there is a difference. (Alternatives: Movie of the same title starring Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon and Frances O’Connor)

The Miracle Strain by Michael Cordy - Cordy is a man who had quit his job just so he could write a good idea in his head. I don’t know how things turned out for him but as far as I’m concerned, quitting his job was the best thing that has ever happened to readers with an affair with conspiracy. Miracle Strain is about a man who becomes inextricably involved with an old society called the brothers of Lazarus, who holds the secrets to Christ’s death. (Note that this is before Brown’s Da Vinci Code hype.) The brothers of Lazarus are becoming weary of the prophecy of Christ’s return: When will it be? Meanwhile, a woman with a dark past is out to kill the one man who may have the answer to the genetic make-up of Christ. She thinks that his knowledge will ruin the cause of the Brothers, only to find out in her pursuit that the answer that the Brothers sought was closer than she expected.