Katie's Recommendations:

A Tale of Two Cities - This is my favorite Dickens's book. I think everyone should read this at least once in their lives. It's AMAZING. The beginning is a little confusing (it took me two attempts before I finished it) but if you read it with Sparknotes you'll understand it a lot better. If you can get through the first 50 pages you'll LOVE IT! Trust me! The ending is one of the most powerful I've ever read. I cried at the end, it was so touching. So trust me, this book will require a little more work to get into it but the end will make it all worth it.

The Kite Runner - This book has a very redemptive ending. The story is captivating and the end teaches a great lesson. Plus, it serves as a great source into the Afghanistan culture, which is something I haven't been very familiar with. I enjoyed the story telling abilities of the writer, Khaled Hosseini, and found it to be a good read.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - This is the latest novel by Khaled Hosseini. I would read The Kite Runner first, because if you didn't like the Kite Runner then you won't enjoy this novel. Many people think this is Hosseini's greatest novel. I thought that this novel was particularly power in its subject type, although I have to warn you, this is a novel about abuse so brace yourself for a difficult read. However, like his first novel, the ending is powerful. I will warn you that this novel is a sad novel until the last 50 pages. So brace yourself.

The Twilight Series - I don't know how many of you have read these series yet, but they're a fun read. These stories aren't ever going to be great works of literature, but I enjoyed reading them after finishing both of Hosseini's novels because they were so much lighter, romantic, and happier. I started reading these books out of curiosity because tons of my students last winter were reading them; plus, Stephenie Meyer (the author), went to BYU, had many of my professors, and is Mormon so all this intrigued me to start reading. Now these books have become sort of my guilty pleasure because although they have no literary merit, I enjoy dissecting them and analyzing her writing. I think I enjoy this so much because Meyer is a first time writer and it's fun to see her grow into a good novelist (her books get better and better as the series continues). Also, Meyer, as an English Major, has fun drawing parallels from great works of literature into her novels. I think that, as an English Major myself, I enjoy seeing her have fun with some of my favorite classics. So if you're looking for a fun, quick-read you can't do much better then these series.