Poetry
I know once you get down a little further you'll want to buy some, and
may I recommend one of the following: Powell's,
or Bookpassage.
I've also compiled a short list of other books related sites I find interesting--it's
at the bottom of the page.
Most items on my recomended list will be authors, indicating that I like most or all of their stuff. If I have a special favorite book, I'll list the title. These are, of course, in no particular order.
Melissa Scott--An awesome scifi writer. I've read everything she's ever written.
Mildred Walker-- This woman is a really great writer. She wrote a number of books, which were all out of print and are being slowly re-released by University of Nebraska Press. Everytime I go to the bookstore, another one shows up. And in paperback! What a treat!
Barbara Kingsolver-- has written a handful of excellent books. The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven are a series, plus she has also written Animal Dreams and others.
Anne Lamott-- I can't say enough about Annie. No writer has ever described so well what can go on in a person's head. Her internal radio station, KFKD, described in Bird by Bird is pure genius.
Dorothy Allison-- Her book Bastard Out of Carolina is one the most mesmerizing books I have ever read. It is also very painful. It will definitely stay in your head. This was made into a movie, directed by Angelica Houston, and was shown on Showtime. Allison has also written some short stories, essays, and an autobiographical-fiction book.
Linda Hogan--Mean Spirit. While I was reading this book, I had trouble with it, but as I approached the end, there was no way I couldn't finish, and once I was done I was very glad I had read it. This book is about some of the shitty things our government did, or allowed to be done by businesses, to Native Americans at the turn of the century. I have since become obsessed with her and have read everything she has written.
Willa Cather--is one of my all time favorite authors. All of her books are wonderful! Like Mildred Walker, they are often set on the plains, but earlier--late 1800s. I especially lovedThe Song of the Lark. Another site about Cather.
Margaret Atwood-- is the kind of writer you love to stumble on. Her books are all very good, and she has written a ton of them! I also like her poetry (see below).
Ursula K. Le Guin--Like Atwood, LeGuin is a wonderful, prolific writer. Her books are usually listed as sci fi; I would categorize them as social sci fi, or more like fantasy, not just the future and there's aliens or something. She tends to look at worlds that are similar to ours, but with some social aspect changed (as opposed to mainly technological change).
Anna Quindlen-- Object Lessons, One True Thing. Quindlen used to be an op-ed columnist for the New York Times but quit so she could pursue writing novels full time. It was a tremendous loss--I really liked both her subject ideas and her take on things. Happily, many of her columns have been collected into a couple books: Thinking Out Loud and Living Out Loud.
Kate Atkinson--I nearly peed my pants I laughed so hard reading her books, Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Human Croquet.
Sigrid Undset-- The Kristin Lavransdatter Trilogy: The Bridal Wreath ,The Mistress of Husaby, the Cross These books are set in 14th century Norway. I enjoyed them immensely. Undset won a Nobel Prize in literature, just in case you don't trust my judgment...
Louise Erdrich--Most of her books focus on a native community in northern Minnesota.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman-- Herland, and stories. Herland is a feminist utopia and is very well done. Gilman lived around the turn of the century and suffered from the common "malady" of intelligent women--people (men) around her tried to stifle her writing/creative outlets, causing her to go nearly insane and develop a "nervous condition". Guess what the "cure" was: bed rest and refraining from any writing. She details it in her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." She also wrote on economics.
Edith Forbes-- Totally original and diverse writing--from post modern westerns to sci fi.
Octavia Butler-- quite original sci-fi, especially the parable series.
Michael Dorris-- Formerly married to Louise Erdrich. Apparently they collaborated extensively on their writing. His non-fiction book, The Broken Cord is a pretty stark read about fetal alcohol syndrome and its effect on native communities.
Laurie King-- Prolific (thankfully!) writer of a couple of excellent mystery series.
Neal Stephenson-- Genius sci-fi. This guy is ridiculously funny. If you have a background in the nerd world, he's some kind of messiah for us. If you don't, you might not think its so funny--I never know if other people "get" jokes about command line interfaces that make me want to pee my pants.
You may have noticed, if you have read any of these, that I really enjoy character-driven books. I read to get into other people's skin.
Lucy Grealy-- Autobiography of a Face was an amazing story of Grealy's young life. She had cancer in her jaw when she was 9, and had to have half of her jaw removed. She had dozens of operations, but grew up totally disfigured. Makes you thing about our ideas of self image and beauty.
Kate Millet-- Classic feminist writer of the 70s. Her memoir about mental illness, The Loony Bin Trip, is something that has stuck with me for many years.
Jill Ker Conway-- The Road from Coorain is a delightful memoir about growing up in the Australian outback in the 40s and 50s, and then going to America to study History. The sequel is really good too, and has good parts about how to manage a relationship when both partners are professionals.
Melba Patillo Beals-- Warriors Don't Cry. This book is written by one of the nine students who integrated Little Rock, AK, high schools. And the author expresses no bitterness. Hard to read more than a few pages without getting very upset. They should assign this to everyone in high school.
Carrie Young-- Nothing to Do But Stay is about her mother, living in North Dakota around the turn of the century (this is a theme on this page...). My grandma, who grew up in South Dakota, found this book to be very authentic.
Lorene Cary-- Black Ice. Cary was a student chosen to help integrate (racially and sexually) an elite prep school. Like Warriors Don't Cry, but realistically bitter.
Gretchen Legler--
Her book All the Powerful, Invisible Things opened my eyes to a lot of things
and has influenced my life in ways that still surprise me, 6 years after I first impulse bought
the book.
Sandra Steingraber-- Living Downstream and Having Faith, both about chemicals in the environment and how they afffect us. These can be depressing at times, but she manages to stay on the inspiration side of the line, as opposed to the desperation.
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy-- writes about primatology as well as evolutionary theory.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich-- A Midwife's Tale is based on the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife in New England in the late 1700s. Fascinating.
Elizabeth Wayland Barber-- Women's Work: the First 20,000 Years. I never thought cloth was interesting. Its incredible to think about someone inventing thread, and then weaving. This book has archaeology and social history. Go get a copy!
Arlie Hochschild-- The Second Shift. If you are involved, and living, with someone, you must read this book. It's about housework, and who does what. Prepare to re-evaluate your life.
John McPhee-- has written several books about a variety of topics. Literary journalism, I guess you call it. He is able to take seemingly mundane or oddball topics and make them fascinating.
Bill Mckibben-- One of the premiere environmental writers of the last 20 years.
Jean Zimmerman-- Tail Spin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook. I couldn't wait for the paperback. This incredibly well researched book is a good read. It focuses on the Navy's problems, but the problems the Navy is having are universal to where-ever women work.
Sappho--6th century B.C.E. poet. My favorite translators are Mary Barnard and Willis Brownstone. Please read my term paper on Sappho. Here are some tanslations by Mary Barnard.
Margaret Atwood-- I find her poetry very accessible, about everyday things.
Adrienne Rich-- My first feminist poetry.