1. The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
I have read this book cover to cover at least four times. I love the combination of mystery, mysticism, folklore, culture, travel, loss and redemption. The stories within stories within stories are delicious.
2. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes
I love everything I've read by Marian Keyes. This book deals with shock, loss and emotional survival. I read it just after my dad died suddenly and unexpectedly. Reading someone else's experience of grief and mourning guided me through my own loss. A thousand times, thank you, Marian Keyes.
This book delivers mystery, adventure and heartfelt relationships falling apart. At times I empathized so strongly with the fully-realized characters that my experience was visceral.
4. The Seance by John Harwood
History, mystery, hidden passages, hidden identities, supernatural communications and dark deeds collide in this page-turner book.
5. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Magical realism meets an epic tale of family, country, tragedy, collapse and survival in this beautiful book. I read this book in conjunction with a showing of artwork from Chilé while I served as a docent at the Blanton Museum of Art. Experiencing the artwork and this book together gave me a deeper insight into the rule of Augusto Pinochet and the horror of "the disappeared".
What are your favorite books? Leave non-spammy comments.