Connie's Reading List

An eclectic and superselective, subjective booklist. There’s the story and the writing and then there’s the reader’s receptivity at a particular moment in time. A book makes this list if it changed me as a human being and the idea that I might have missed reading it scares me.

KIDS' BOOKS
Julián Is A Mermaid
Jessica Love

Julián Is A Mermaid

George And Martha
James Marshall

George And Martha

The Van Gogh Cafe
Cynthia Rylant

The Van Gogh Cafe

Harbor Me
Jacqueline Woodson

Harbor Me

God Went To Beauty School
Cynthia Rylant

God Went To Beauty School

A Friend For Dragon
Dav Pilkey

A Friend For Dragon

Frederick
Leo Lionni

Frederick

Charlotte's Web
E.B. White

Charlotte's Web

Fables
Arnold Lobel

Fables

ADULT BOOKS
The Collected Stories: Grace Paley
Grace Paley

The Collected Stories: Grace Paley

No Great Mischief
Alastair Macleod

No Great Mischief

Stop-Time
Frank Conroy

Stop-Time

Another Brooklyn
Jacqueline Woodson

Another Brooklyn

A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry

A Fine Balance

To the End of the Land
David Grossman

To the End of the Land

All That is Solid Melts into Air
Darragh McKeon

All That is Solid Melts into Air

No Book But the World
Leah Hager Cohen

No Book But the World

Birds of a Lesser Paradise
Megan Mayhew Bergman

Birds of a Lesser Paradise

A Tale for the Time Being
Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being

Happiness is a Chemical in the Brain
Lucia Perillo

Happiness is a Chemical in the Brain

When the Emperor Was Divine
Julie Otsuka

When the Emperor Was Divine

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Alice Munro

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

The Versions of Us
Laura Barnett

The Versions of Us

Happiness
Aminatta Forna

Happiness

Our Lady of the Artichokes and Other Portuguese-American Stories
Katherine Vaz

Our Lady of the Artichokes and Other Portuguese-American Stories

Straying
Molly McCloskey

Straying

Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart
Joyce Carol Oates

Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart

Go, Went, Gone
Jenny Erpenbeck

Go, Went, Gone

Normal People
Sally Rooney

Normal People

Violations: Collected Essays
Sallie Tisdale

Violations: Collected Essays

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Augustown
Kei Miller

Augustown

Patrick Melrose Novels
Edward St. Aubyn

Patrick Melrose Novels

Third Girl From the Left
Martha Southgate

Third Girl From the Left

The Empty Family
Colm Toibin

The Empty Family

Olive Kitteridge
Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge

Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah

Songs for the Butchers Daughter
Peter Manseau

Songs for the Butchers Daughter

When I Lived in Modern Times
Linda Grant

When I Lived in Modern Times

American Boy
Larry Watson

American Boy

We the Animals
Justin Torres

We the Animals

The Visible World
Mark Slouka

The Visible World

Townie
Andre Dubus III

Townie

The Signature of All Things
Elizabeth Gilbert

The Signature of All Things

Seven Types of Ambiguity
Elliot Perlman

Seven Types of Ambiguity

In the Country
Mia Alvar

In the Country

Ru
Kim Thúy

Ru

A Manual for Cleaning Women
Lucia Berlin

A Manual for Cleaning Women

Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist
Sunil Yapa

Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist

Middle Passage
Charles Johnson

Middle Passage

On Living
Kerry Egan

On Living

Mothers of Sparta
Dawn Davies

Mothers of Sparta

Bobcat and Other Stories
Rebecca Lee

Bobcat and Other Stories

Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven

Delicious Foods
James Hannaham

Delicious Foods

The Green Road
Anne Enright

The Green Road

Brothers
Masha Gessen

Brothers

Spoiled Brats
Simon Rich

Spoiled Brats

Trinity
Louisa Hall

Trinity

Whip Smart
Melissa Febos

Whip Smart

Ms. Hempl Chronicles
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

Ms. Hempl Chronicles

Alone With You
Marisa Silver

Alone With You

Elbow Room
James Alan McPherson

Elbow Room

The Folded World
Amity Gaige

The Folded World

The Dead Fish Museum
Charles D'Ambrosio

The Dead Fish Museum

The Member of the Wedding
Carson McCullers

The Member of the Wedding

Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Bastard Out of Carolina
Dorothy Allison

Bastard Out of Carolina

Hood Feminism
Mikki Kendall

Hood Feminism