Recommended by Pepper, a patron of the Canton Public Library.

Check our other Fave Five lists, too!

The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant
Very earthy and real, you're thrown back into biblical times and it all seems so authentic, a reader gets attached to the characters. It was a peek into a different time and way of life; I couldn't put it down.

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

by Melissa Bank
Follow the lead character, Jane, and her smart and witty observations about her own life and others'. This is a fun, light read that I have on my bookshelf because I will pick it up and enjoy it even though I know what happens.

About a Boy

by Nick Hornby
What can I say? I love Nick Hornby's way of writing. Sharp observations, real conversations, funny (not hilarious, just plain funny). This book is also a movie, but alas, so much is lost on the film because the best part, of course, is not what is simply said, but was is thought, in detail.

How to Be Good

by Nick Hornby
Yes, its Nick Hornby again. I love the characters' conversations, how ever spiraling situations can be sharpened into focus by the lead character. Uncommon situations somehow relating to the common reader, with humor.

Empress of the Splendid Season

by Oscar Hijuelos
I love this book. Lydia's life is captured by the author, and he describes her plain, poor life in a personal way. I felt as if I were there with her as the story is told.