"Mozart:
A Life" by Maynard Solomon
A recent biography of Mozart, it's HUGE and delves deeply into psychological
aspects of Mozart's upbringing, composition, and adult life in general.
"The Hobbit"
and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy
Enough said.
"The Ebenezum
Trilogy" and "The Ballad of Wuntvor" (sequel
trilogy) by Craig Shaw Gardner
If you like Terry Pratchett, you'll probably like these wacky yet brilliant
satires of fantasy novels, featuring the great mage Ebenezum (allergic
to magic), his hapless teen-age apprentice, Wuntvor, and a host of bizarre
companions. And a whole lot of ferrets.
"The Dark
Tower" series by Stephen King
Dark, mythical, epic, thought- provoking, yet with rather a Western
bent, this is King's magnum opus. Currently there are four books published
("The Gunslinger," "The Drawing of the Three," "The
Wastelands," and "Wizard and Glass"), with the fifth
due out shortly. Follow the beam.
"Music,
the Brain, and Ecstasy" by Robert Jourdain
Clear and fascinating exploration and explanation of the biology and
the psychology of how and why we hear music, and how and why it affects
us the way it does.
"The Stone
Diaries" by Carol Shields
And anything else by this renowned Canadian author. This novel won the
Pulitzer Prize. Shields' writing is absorbing on a deep and intuitive
level, and leaves you feeling warm and well-satisfied.
"The Baby
Book" by William and Martha Sears
For any parents-to-be or new parents -- this should be your Bible! The
Sears were among the first true advocates of 'attachment' parenting,
and promote 'wearing' your baby, breastfeeding into toddlerhood, and
'co-sleeping' or sleep sharing.
"Bonheur
d'Occasion by Gabrielle Roy
Available
in English as The Tin Flute, a HORRIBLE title since the flute
in question is barely relevant to anything, only appears twice in the
whole bloody novel, and is certainly not a major symbol or any such
nonsense. Of course I read it in high school, but it totally went over
my head at the time. (erm, for those who may not know, it's an extremely
well-known French-Canadian, i.e., Quebecois, novel, set at the start
of WW2 in a poor quarter of Montreal. Written in 1945, very important
and influential book). Anyway, I read it again because a friend had
been given a free copy, but he already HAD a copy, so gave me the free
one. And BOY did I miss a lot in high school. :P It gets quite philosophical
all over the place, talks about poverty and the being of poverty, as
well as relationships and motivations and war and people and all kinds
of stuff that I can't really describe well. A very good book.
