1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The list author says:
"Great story about justice and family and racism in the USA"
2. Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) by John Steinbeck
The list author says:
"Guaranteed to move you deeply. Try it - you'll like it."
3. The Hockey Sweater and Other Stories by Roch Carrier
The list author says:
"Very Canadian and very funny! Easy read."
4. The Neverending Story by Ralph Manheim
The list author says:
"It looks like a kids book but the ideas are for adults too. I guarantee you'll tell your friends to read it."
5. Flowers for Algernon (Bantam Classic) by Daniel Keyes
The list author says:
"Amazing book. Science-fiction, but it's mostly about human feelings. If it doesn't make you cry, you are made of stone!"
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell
The list author says:
"Classic story of how the quest for equality can go very wrong"
7. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (New Canadian Library) by Stephen Leacock
The list author says:
"A super-funny book about life in small town Ontario, Canada"
8. Who Has Seen the Wind by W. O. Mitchell
The list author says:
"Canada's Catcher In The Rye - a novel about growing up in western Canada Beautiful"
9. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The list author says:
"Amazing auto-biography of Maya Angelou. Growing up black in the United States. Powerful."
10. Obasan by Joy Kogawa
The list author says:
"A Japanese Canadian girl remembers growing up in a prison camp for Japanese in British Columbia during the second world war."
11. The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
The list author says:
"Margret Lawrence's novel which tells the story of a woman who struggles to finish another novel. As she works, she reminisces about her life. It's about the life cycle of women. Feminist and Canadian"
12. The Color Purple (Wildfire Books) by Alice Walker
The list author says:
"Later a movie this powerful book is about Celie is a black woman whose letters tell a story of abuse, hardship and, ultimately, self-awakening"
13. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
The list author says:
"Frighteing true story of how a 1996 climb of Mt. Everest went very wrong and 5 people died."
14. A Tale of Two Cities (Signet Classics) by Charles Dickens
The list author says:
"Even after many years, Charles Dicken's, classic novel can still be read, and understood by all. It teaches the reader about life and death, society and history through a magnificent story."
15. The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
The list author says:
"Deaf, blind, and mute 12 year-old Helen Keller was like a wild animal. Very scared, she struggled against all who tried to help her. Her incredibly dedicated, teacher Annie Sullivan began to teach her"
16. Black Boy (French Edition) by Richard Wright
The list author says:
"Black Boy remains a seminal text in our history about what it means to be a man, black, and Southern in America."
17. Thousand Pieces of Gold (Asian Voices) by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
The list author says:
"This real life biographical novel has brought back the history of Chinese American of the early American West. How hard their lives were."
18. The Middleman and Other Stories by Bharati Mukherjee
The list author says:
"Short stories about immigrant experience in North America. The joys and sorrows."
Useful Websites and Software for English Language Learners (TESOL)
List by Douglasorme
