MY TEN FAVORITE BOOKS by Vicki Hitt
1. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
The story moves between contemporary Maine and Depression era Minnesota. Powerful story with tremendous range of emotions. Beautifully written.
2. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
A psychological journey in time for the protagonist. Strong female characters and an exotic setting.
3. House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
A tumultuous epic which chronicles four generations of two extraordinary families. Laced with magical realism.
4. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Best depiction of the WWII internment camps and the treatment of the Japanese.
5. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
A riveting novel of an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.
6. Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
This is a non-fiction book that reads like a novel. The story combines the building of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and a prolific serial killer.
7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Historical fiction. Confessions of Japan’s most celebrated geisha. It’s written by a man, but he beautifully captures the voice of a woman.
8. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Fictional account of painter Pizzarro’s life on the island of St. Thomas. A tale of conflict between personal desire and social constraints. The island comes alive with her vivid descriptions.
9. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama
Chronicles lives of two brothers before, during, and after WWII in Japan. One is studying to be a sumo wrestler and the other a mask maker.
10. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Memoir that recounts the unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing Jeannette and her siblings experienced at the hands of dysfunctional parents.
Additional great reads—any one could make my top 10:
Leonard’s Swans by Karen Essex
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
The Promise of Light by Paul Watkins
Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
Third Life of Grange Copland by Alice Walker
