The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
In the 9th grade, I went through a rebellious phase of reading and collecting “Banned Books,” where the Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger was marked as one of the most…
The Code of the Woosters (1938)
This novel was recommended to me by my teacher, Mr. S since P.G. Wodehouse is his favorite author. I now understand why. By the first chapter, I was impressed with…
The Stranger (1942)
This novella is written by the Nobel laureate Albert Camus. He is also a French philosopher. The version I read was translated from French by Matthew Ward. Although this is…
Death of a Salesman (1949)
In a 1999 interview on Charlie Rose, Arthur Miller was asked what the play was about which he answered: “It’s about a salesman and he dies. It’s capsulate that play…
Animal Farm (1945)
This book (the same copy as the one photographed on the left) was recommended to me and kindly lent by my dear friend, Sola Lutringer. I’m glad he did because…
Arcadia (1993)
An English playwright named Tom Stoppard. This play is set in a large English country house named Sidley Park, Derbyshire, and the stage [directions] and theatrical properties are shared across…
One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
I read Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) back in high school, which was my first introduction to Latin American literature and Gabriel García Márquez. A different teacher from high…
As I Lay Dying (1930)
As I Lay Dying (1930), in the fiction Southern Gothic genre, is written by the Nobel Prize laureate, William Faulkner. This book is about a…
Of Mice and Men (1937)
This American classic was recommended to me by my former teacher about seven years ago and I just now picked this up from my shelf. This novella is…
Lord of the Flies (1954)
The Lord of the Flies (1954) I liked how this was written as an allegory, carrying multilayers of further readings. Knowing about Golding’s background made…
The Long Good-bye (1953)
The Long Goodbye(1953) by Raymond Chandler is a hardboiled crime fiction written in a first-person narrative through the eyes of a detective. Although a specific date is not mentioned the…