In the order that they were read and reviewed (which means you can find reviews for ALL these titles on this blog), here are our lists of The Starving Artist’s Recommended Reading. For your convenience, they are broken down into genres. Books recommended with reservations are in parenthesis, and we suggest you read the review before choosing.
LITERARY AND GENERAL/POPULAR FICTION
- The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
- One hundred years of solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- White Teeth, Zadie Smith
- A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
- Lord Malquist and Mr. Moon, Tom Stoppard
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
- (The Turner House, Angela Flournoy)
- Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
- (The Stranger, Albert Camus)
- The Pearl, John Steinbeck
- Animal Farm, George Orwell
- The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
- Big Fish, Daniel Wallace
- Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, Maria Semple
- Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
- There There, Tommy Orange
- Life of Pi, Yann Martel
- (The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler)
- Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
- Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
- The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
- (The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger)
- Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (read review)
- All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr; historical fiction
- (Book Lovers, Emily Henry; rom-com)
CLASSICS (app. pre-1900)
- Emma, Jane Austen
- Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
- The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
- Old Goriot, Honore de Balzac
- Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
- A Man Could Stand Up– (from the Parade’s End quartet), Ford Maddox Ford
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- Shirley, Charlotte Bronte
- The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volumes 1 and 2, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
- Villette, Charlotte Bronte
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
- Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
- The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
- Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
- (Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens)
- Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
- Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
- The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
CHILDRENS through MIDDLE GRADES
- The House at Pooh Corner, A. A. Milne
- Pipi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren
- Matilda, Roald Dahl
- My Teacher is an Alien, Bruce Coville
- Tales From the Hood (from Sisters Grimm series), Michael Buckley
- Who Could That Be at This Hour?, Lemony Snicket
- Clarice Bean, (trilogy), Lauren Child
- The Magical Fruit (from the Doctor Proctor series), Jo Nesbo
- A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
- Smile and Sisters, Raina Telgemeier, as well as the Graphix Baby-Sitters Club series
- Ruby Redfort (series), Lauren Child
- Ramona (series), Beverly Cleary
- Henry Huggins and the Clubhouse, Beverly Cleary
- Socks, Beverly Cleary
- Frog and Toad (series), Arnold Lobel
- Mouse Tales, Arnold Lobel (and Mouse Soup)
- Dear Mr. Henshaw, Beverly Cleary
- The BFG, Roald Dahl
- Holes, Louis Sachar
- The Lemonade War, Jacqueline Davies
- (Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson)
- (Frindle, Andrew Clements)
- Half Magic, Edward Eager
- (Roscoe Riley Rules (series), Katherine Applegate)
- Homer Price, Robert McCloskey
- Ghosts, Raina Telgemeier
- Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel, Mariah Marsden and Brenna Thummler
- Little Book for Boys, M.L. Stratton
- (Fablehaven (5-book series), Brandon Mull)
- How to Train Your Dragon (12-book series), Cressida Cowell
- Danny the Champion of the World, Roald Dahl
- Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
- George’s Marvelous Medicine, Roald Dahl
- James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
- The Enormous Crocodile, Roald Dahl
- (The Twits, Roald Dahl)
- Old Yeller, Fred Gipson
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate, Jacqueline Kelly
- Shiloh, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai
- One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia
- Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
- Wonder, R.J. Palacio
- Little House (series), Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor
- (Robin Hood, J. Walker McSpadden)
- One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Geraldine McCaughrean (maybe more for YA or adult)
- (The Door in the Wall, Marguerite de Angeli)
- Adam of the Road, Elizabeth Janet Grey
- Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, Kate DiCamillo
- Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo
- The Borrowers, Mary Norton
- The Wheel on the School, Meindert DeJong
- (Dragonbreath series, Ursula Vernon)
- (Calico Captive, Elizabeth George Speare)
- The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare
- The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks
- (Amal Unbound, Aisha Saeed)
- (In the Reign of Terror, G. A. Henty)
- Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham
- Lyddie, Katherine Paterson
- War Horse, Michael Morpurgo
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
- Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
- (Mañanaland, Pam Muñoz Ryan)
- The House of Sixty Fathers, Meindert DeJong
- The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, Karina Yan Glaser
- (The Witches, Roald Dahl)
- Gods and Heroes, Korwin Briggs
- (Kaline Klattermaster’s Treehouse, Haven Kimmel)
YA (starting with the tweens for some books)
- Anne of Green Gables (series), L. M. Montgomery
- Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery
- Rilla of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery
- Harry Potter (series), J. K. Rowling, and also the Illustrated Edition
- Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
- (Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children (trilogy), Ransom Riggs)
- Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children: the Graphic Novel, Cassandra Jean
- When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
- (I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith)
- Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
- Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
- The Giver, Lois Lowry
- The Princess Bride, William Goldman
- (The Book Thief, Markus Zusak)
- (The Maze Runner trilogy/series, James Dashner)
- The Hunger Games (trilogy), Suzanne Collins
- We Were Liars, E. Lockhart
- American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
PICTURE BOOKS
- The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook
- Mouse Tales, Arnold Lobel (and Mouse Soup)
- Uncle Elephant, Arnold Lobel
- Grasshopper on the Road, Arnold Lobel
- The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Mo Willems
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
- The Jesus Storybook Bible
- Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey
- The Book with No Pictures, B.J. Novak
- Fables, Arnold Lobel
- (On Market Street, Arnold and Anita Lobel)
- Ming Ho Moves the Mountain, Arnold Lobel
- The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments, Arnold Lobel
- Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
- Little Bear, Else Holmelund Minarik
- Alligators All Around, Maurice Sendak
- Chicken Soup with Rice, Maurice Sendak
- The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird, Kim Smith
- The Usborne Children’s Encyclopedia, Jane Eliot and Colin King
- Almost anything Chris Van Allsburg, including but not limited to Jumanji, Zathura, The Polar Express, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Zephyr, The Z Was Zapped, and Two Bad Ants
- More Robert McCloskey: Lentil, One Morning in Maine, Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man, and especially Blueberries for Sal and Time of Wonder
- The Feelings Book, The Underwear Book/Underwear Do’s and Dont’s, and many other books by Todd Parr
- Charlie and Lola (series)
- Fancy Nancy (series)
- The Monster at the End of This Book
FANTASY
- The Once and Future King, T. H. White
- The Book of Merlyn, T. H. White
- Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis
- The Princess Bride, William Goldman
- (Stewart’s Arthur (trilogy), Mary Stewart)
- The Lord of the Rings (trilogy plus the prequel, The Hobbit), J.R.R. Tolkein
- The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
SCIENCE FICTION
- Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
- The Giver, Lois Lowry
- Anthem, Ayn Rand
- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
- (Brave New World, Aldous Huxley)
- (1984, George Orwell)
- The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
- The Hunger Games (trilogy), Suzanne Collins
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
- The Invisible Man, H. G. Wells
WORLD LITERATURE (NON-ENGLISH-SPEAKING, MAINLY TRANSLATIONS) AND TRAVEL
- (Three Sisters, Bi Feiyu (first two sections, only)), China
- Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, Fuschia Dunlop, China
- China Survival Guide, Larry and Qin Herzberg, China
- Point It, Dieter Graf, World
- Mandarin Phrasebook and Dictionary, Lonely Planet, China
- Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Edith Hamilton, Ancient Greece and Rome
GRAPHIC NOVELS
- Smile and Sisters, Raina Telgemeier, as well as the Graphix Baby-Sitters club series
- Ghosts, Raina Telgemeier
- Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel, Mariah Marsden and Brenna Thummler
- (New Kid, Jerry Craft (middle grades)
- American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
- March: Book One, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (March #1)
- (The Iliad and The Odyssey graphic novel versions, Gareth Hinds)
NON-FICTION
- Disposable People, Kevin Bales, human trafficking
- In Our Backyard, Nita Belles, human trafficking
- I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening), Sarah Steward Holland and Beth Silvers
- “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr.
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (true crime novel)
SCIENCE
- The Big Bad Book of Beasts and The Big Bad Book of Botany, Michael Largo (zoology, botany)
- Food Anatomy, Farm Anatomy, Ocean Anatomy and Nature Anatomy, Julia Rothman (zoology, biology, botany, culinary arts)
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, Robert M. Sapolsky
- Deadliest Enemy, Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker
- “The Marginal World,” Rachel Carson
HISTORY
- A Night to Remember, Walter Lord (sinking of the Titanic)
- The Geography Coloring Book, Wynn Kapit (world geography)
- Africans in America, Johnson, Smith, and WGBH Series Research Team (slavery in America)
WRITING AND PUBLISHING
- Self-Printed, Catherine Ryan Howard
- On Writing, Stephen King
- Secrets of Ebook Publishing Success, Mark Coker
- APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch
- Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
- Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury
SELF-HELP
- Jump Off the Hormone Swing, Lorraine Pintus, PMS and PMDD
- The Total Money Makeover or The Complete Guide to Money, Dave Ramsey, money management
- 365 Journal Writing Ideas, Rossi Fox, journaling
- The UltraMind Solution, Mark Hyman MD, mental health/disorder
- (The Well-Centered Home, William Hirsch)
- (The Dog Owner’s Manual, Dr. David Brunner and Sam Stall)
- Treat Your Own Back, Robin McKenzie
- Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind, Jennifer Shannon
- Notes on a Nervous Planet, Matt Haig
CHRISTIANITY
- The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren
- The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
- Adventures in Prayer, Catherine Marshall
- (Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee)
- Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado
- Knowing God, J. I. Packer
- Celebration of Discipline, Richard J. Foster
- The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning
- The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (fantasy + theology)
RELIGION
PLAYS
- King Lear, William Shakespeare
- Hamlet, William Shakespeare
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Rowling, Tiffany, and Thorne
- Fantastic Beasts (series of screenplays), J.K. Rowling
- The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Paul Zindel
- Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
- (Macbeth, William Shakespeare)
BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR
- The Life of Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte
- The Bronte Sisters, Catherine Reef, Charlotte, Emily, Anne Bronte
- No Pretty Pictures, Anita Lobel, Holocaust
- My Life with the Chimpanzees, Jane Goodall, Jane Goodall
- (The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, poverty in America)
- (Stolen Lives, Oufkir and Fitoussi, Moroccan princess to political prisoner)
- Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, Laurie Colwin, American food essayist
- Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, comedian from Apartheid South Africa
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou, Maya Angelou: 20th century Jim Crow racism and childhood abuse
- (Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
FOOD AND COOKBOOKS
- Japanese Soul Cooking, Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat, Japanese
- A History of Food in 100 Recipes, food history
- Kitchen Bouquets, Bert Greene, American
- The Grains Cookbook, Bert Greene, American, grains
- Greene on Greens, Bert Greene, American, vegetables
- Honest American Fare, Bert Greene, American
- Bert Greene’s Kitchen, Bert Greene, American
- Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes, Tessa Kiros, world
- Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Peppers, Fuschia Dunlop, memoir, Chinese
- Deep Run Roots, Vivian Howard, Southern/East Carolina
- The Border Cookbook, Jamison and Jamison, TexMex
- Jerusalem: A Cookbook, Ottolenghi and Tamimi, Jerusalem
- Milk Street: The New Rules, Christopher Kimball, modern American/world fusion
- (German Meals at Oma’s, Gerhild Fulson, German)
- (Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, Mary Berry, British baking)
- (The Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking, Kenneth Lo, Chinese)
- (The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer, American classic)
- Orange Blossom & Honey, John Gregory-Smith, Moroccan
- Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, Laurie Colwin, short story memoir, 1900s American
- (Cooking for Wizards, Warriors and Dragons, Thea James)
HOMESCHOOL AND LEARNING
- You Can Teach Your Child Successfully, Ruth Beechick
- The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
- The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child, Linda Dobson
- The Ultimate Homeschool Planner, Debra Bell
- All About Spelling, Learning Press
- The Grammar Ace, Duane Bolin
- 24 Ready-to-Go Genre Book Reports, Susan Ludwig
- Writers Inc.: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning
- Phonics Pathways, Dolores G. Hiskes
- Horizons Math, Horizons
- Life of Fred (Elementary Series), Stanley F. Schmidt
- The Timeline Book, Sonlight
- The Story of the World, Susan Wise Bauer
- A Child’s History of the World, Virgil M. Hillyear
- Apologia Young Explorers (series, incl. Botany and Zoology), Fulbright
- The Nature Connection: A Workbook, Clare Walker Leslie
- 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping & Bouncing Experiments, Janice VanCleave
- Alfred’s Basic Piano Library, Palmer, Manus, and Lethco
- What Your ____ Grader Should Know, E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
- Dictionary for Children, McMillan
- The Usborne Science Encyclopedia
- The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
PHILOSOPHY
- The Stranger, Albert Camus
- Anthem, Ayn Rand
COMEDY
- Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding
HOLIDAYS
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (Christmas)
- Among the Shadows, L.M. Montgomery (Halloween)
- Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (Halloween)
- (Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Christmas, middle grades))
- First chapter of There There, Tommy Orange (Thanksgiving)
- (A Christmas Memory, Truman Capote (Christmas, all ages))
- (“The Night Before Christmas,” Nikolai Gogol (best read as part of The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol))
- A Christmas Story, Jean Shepherd
- (Waiting Here for You, Louie Giglio)
OTHER
- God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, Kurt Vonnegut
- Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide, Jim Cobb
- Dot Journaling, Rachel Wilkerson Miller
- The Antiquarian Sticker Book: Bibliophilia
SHORT STORIES AND SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
- “Parts Unknown: Narnia,” Rachel Manija Brown
- (Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout)
- “Dear Mountain Room Parents,” Maria Semple
- “All This Want and I Can’t Get None,” Tia Clark
- “Death of a Pig,” E. B. White
- “Dear Parents, Know This”, Sarah Twombly
- “I Am Here and Here and Here”, Sarah Twombly
- “I Hate Those Moms”, Sarah Twombly
- “Juggling My Children, Their Alcoholic Sitter, and My Own Sobriety”, Sarah Twombly
- “The Mass of Invisible Labors”, Sarah Twombly
- “The Strongest Cookie”, Sarah Twombly
- “What We Want Is Simple”, Sarah Twombly
- A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin
- Little Worlds (anthology), Peter Guthrie and Mary Page
- “There Will Come Soft Rains” (and “The Veldt”), Ray Bradbury
POETRY
- “The Jabberwocky,” from Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Caroll (with commentary, as well)
- How to Eat a Poem, The American Poetry & Literacy Project
the starving artist 
May I recommend, although I haven’t read it in years, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, and, for elementary school level, Mildred Taylor’s series starting with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (protagonist is 9).
I believe that both of those are on the best books list for young readers (which means I just haven’t gotten to them yet). I’ll have to add them to Eamon’s reading list, though.
My son (8 ) and I are in the middle of The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum and it is marvelous!! I just discovered your blog and can’t wait to dig in.