The Crystal Cave

by Mary Stewart

The first book in Mary Stewart's classic Merlin trilogy.

I love Arthurian legend and this is one of the very best modern tellings.

The story is told in the first person through the eyes of Merlin. The focus is on Merlin's life, legend and accomplishments. Merlin is put in a very human light with only a hint of magic. Mary Stewart makes Merlin and Arthur come to life as three dimensional, believable characters.

This book focuses on Merlin's early years and ends with Arthur's conception.

Highly recommended.

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

This book grabbed me and didn't let me go until the very end. It's a gripping, heart-wrenching story told by an Afghan who is forced to flee his shattered country for America, only to return to it in the most brutal of circumstances. Along the way he must come to grips with who he is and what he has done. One sin from his past haunts his life and this story is about how he atones for that sin and struggles to find some sort of redemption.

The vivid description of Afghanistan's political history, from the Russian invasion of Afghanistan to the horrible oppressive regime of the Taliban was moving, but that's only the backdrop for the deeper story of Amir and Hassan which left me in tears.

This book is dark, moving, and at times horrifying but once you start reading it you won't want to put it down.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

I'm amazed that it took as long as it did for me to get around to reading this book.

This book may not have been directly responsible for igniting the American civil war but it certainly fanned the flames. It eloquently (and at times verbosely) captures the mood of northern abolitionists by painting a believable and horrifying picture of what it meant to be a slave in the mid 19th century.

If you've never read this book, it probably isn't the book you think it is. The words "Uncle Tom" may have entered the American lexicon but they've come to mean something very different from what they mean to anyone who has read this book.

This is one of those books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.