Oh, this is such a fun question! I love to read! There are so many great answers to this question. How do I pick just one? Oh, right, it is my blog so I don't have to pick just one!
I will always recommend any book by Lee Smith. As a female writer and graduate of Hollins University, I value her storytelling abilities in the southern fiction genre. You may know her best for one of her early works, Fair and Tender Ladies. One of my favorites of hers was written in 2003, The Last Girls. This book is based on a true story from Smith's time at Hollins University, in which a group of young women built a water craft and floated down the Mississippi River one summer, Huckleberry Finn style. The novel reminds us of the importance of the stories we live and retell in our own lives. If you'd like to learn more about Lee Smith, pick up a copy of her memoir, Dimestore.
Another book I often recommend is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. If you enjoy satire, this is a great book for you. If you do not like mixing humor and religion, you may want to steer clear. But it is one book that I have read multiple times. The basic premise is that Biff is brought back to modern times by an angel to write a new gospel, the story of what happened to Jesus in the years between being twelve years old and thirty when his ministry began. It is Jesus' adolescent and young adult years. In the story, Jesus and Biff travel the world visiting many scholars of world religions so that they can learn about different faiths that can inform Jesus' future. In the book, Jesus, a Jew, loves coffee and bacon. Again, you have to be willing to suspend the serious nature of faith and enjoy it for the fun of the story...but it actually does make you think, "what was Jesus doing in that time? Who were his friends? How did he come into his own understanding of being the Messiah?"
What about you? I'd love to know what you are reading and what books you would recommend. My husband threw out several Neil Gaiman titles, Neverwhere and Stardust, so check those out too.
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