To Kill Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is one of the first books that was a required reading in my elementary school. I still enjoy it today.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

I read this as a young adult and thought it was so creative and clever.

Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies by Jason Surrell

A look back at the history of the Disney attraction, from its early concepts to the two motion pictures. A good read for "behind the scenes" fans in general and Disney fans in particular.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don't by Jim Collins

An analysis of how certain companies have managed to achieve lasting success far and above that of their competitors. Although primarily concerned with business, the findings are applicable on a variety of levels.

How To Be A Superhero by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine

This is an older book, so it may be hard to find (especially since a newer book with the same title has been released). It pokes fun at a variety of stereotypes within the "superhero comics" genre. I've never laughed so hard in my life while reading a book!

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

My absolute favorite from high school.

Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks

I enjoyed the travel writings, as well as the stories of their family and the way they pulled together through trials.

Life is Meals: A Food Lover's Book of Days by James and Kay Salter

One I am currently reading and have enjoyed so far. I also know the authors, so that's a treat for me, too.

Gun, With Occaisional Music by Jonathan Lethem

I have a hard time deciding my favorite Jonathan Lethem book, but his first novel is in the running. Think Raymond Chandler, only with a gun-toting kangaroo and tough talking babies that hang out in bars.

Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff Vandermeer

The biography of Duncan Shriek, leading expert on the mysterious Grey Caps and fungus of the city of Ambergris, written by his sister, with footnotes by Duncan himself. Though not necessary, people who read City of Saints and Madmen, Vandermeer's short story collection about Ambergris, will find Shriek especially interesting.

No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

A good modern day western. I have an even harder time deciding my favorite Cormac McCarthy book. I wouldn't say this one is my favorite, but it is still good. Supposedly the Coen brothers are making it into a movie, which should be interesting.

The Piano Lesson by Noah Adams

Every pianist should read this account of a non musicians quest to learn to play just one piece.

Where the Birds Never Sing by Jack Sacco

Jack is from the Crestwood area and this book is about his father Joe's experiences in WWII. A very moving and easy to read account of an important time in U.S. History.

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham

The story of a man's quest for religious meaning following his experiences in WWI.

The Kingdom of Matthias by Sean Wilentz and Paul Johnson

This fascinating history of a 19th- century religious cult in America reads like a novel.

The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

He speaks to my soul and my age.

All of Harry Potter by J K Rowling

Foucault's Pendulum, The Name of the Rose, and The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco

Fascinating writings

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

The Battle is the Lord's by Tony Evans

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Aeneid by Virgil

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Though this is one of the least favorites for most Austen lovers, it tops my list. Girl leaves her family to live with relatives and becomes the moral center for a crumbling family. "Exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so," the perfect girl gets the perfect guy (it's Austen after all).

Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Good English in Plain English by Patricia T. O'Connor

Grammar can be fun (and humorous), and O'Connor shows us how. A nice follow- up book would be the recently released Sister Bernadette's Dog.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A coming-of-age novel that has stuck with me since I first read it in high school. The relationship between the protagonist and his best friend is so complex but seems to make more sense the older I get.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Shining by Stephen King

The Harry Potter Series J. K. Rowling

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

You'll be drawn into the world of ringmasters, elephants and sideshows. You will also experience nursing homes and old age.

Wildfire by Nelson DeMille

Who can stop the nuclear button from being pushed, and global chaos from being unleashed?

Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Read the first sentence and then try to put it down.

Angela's Ashes and 'Tis by Frank McCourt

Many are familiar with Angela's Asheswith it being a Pulitzer Prize winner,but I love it along with the follow-upmemoir, 'Tis. They're both very richwith detail of the human spirit.

Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits by Friedrich Nietzsche

Yes, yes, it's Nietzche. It's a collection of aphorisms that I frequently enjoy reading through to keep a balanced perceptive of myself and the world around me.

Ulysses by James Joyce

Awareness by Anthony De Mello

House of Light by Mary Oliver

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

This is THE companion to Romans 5-12 and really to understanding who you are in Christ. Bookstores don't typically carry it so you generally have to get it online, but it only costs about $4.

1776 by David McCullough

Steps the reader through the year 1776 looking at the Revolutionary War in the U.S. through the eyes of both armies. Staggering amounts of research went into it, and countless personal letters are quoted throughout.

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

Details the 1972 crash high in the Andes of the Uruguayan rugby and the survivors' fight to survive for 72 days. *Some fairly graphic scenes since they are forced to eat the dead to survive.

Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert E Coleman

First published in 1963 and republished multiple times since, this book has stood the test of time. Mr Coleman takes a candid look at Christ's ministry and how we should follow His example.

Cross Purposes by Dr D. James Kennedy

Just Released (2007), this bookfocuses on the Cross of Christ and challenges the Christian to maintain our focus there also.

Flight Path: A Biography of Frank Barker, Jr. by Janie Buck & Mary Lou Davis

The amazing story of one of the most humble yet effective pastors of the 20th Century.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ulysses by James Joyce

A Boy's Life by Robert McCammon

McCammon usually writes horror novels, but this semi-autobiographical novel is actually quite touching.

The Sound and the Furyby William Faulkner

An amazing book that doesn't really hit you with its brilliance until AFTER you've read it, although it sometimes takes a second or third reading to really appreciate it.

The Officer's Ward by Marc Dugain

This French writer's first novel is beautiful, as he details the life and recovery of a soldier who was badly injured at the beginning of World War I.

I Promise You A Crown: A 40-Day Journey in the Company of Julian of Norwich: Devotional Readings by David Hazard

Trinity by Alice Walker

The story of Northern Ireland told in fiction based on facts.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

About the Jamaican diaspora in England during WWII--and so much more.

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

As NPR so aptly described it, it's about "love, loss, and speaking up too late."

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi

An imaginary biography of a girl growing up in Morocco during the French colonial period.

Redemption Series by Gary Smalley and Karen Kingbury

911 Series by Karen Kingsbury

I have never read a book by Karen Kingsbury that I didn't like.

Seasons Series by Beverly LaHaye and Terri Blackstock

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This book is even better than the movie of the same title.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Here's an intriguing tale about a group of college students and an unsolved murder.

The Whisper of the River by Ferrol Sams

Another great book about college life ... as seen through the eyes of a young boy from Georgia.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

This is a heartwarming book. I read this book in elementary school and it had such an impact on me. I laughed and I cried. It is a story of true "loving and devoted" friendship. The kind the Bible makes reference in Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loveth at all times ..." and "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)." Just as Jesus saw that our lives were worth saving, Charlotte worked hard to show Wilbur's life was worth saving, too. Even when Charlotte was dying she never stopped helping Wilbur. We could all use a Charlotte in our lives. In my opinion a book for "all" ages to read.

Witness by Whitaker Chambers

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World: Poems 1946-64 by Galway Kinnell

The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam

Against All Hope by Armando Valladares

Knowing God by J. I. Packer

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

1776 by David McCullough

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

An apolitical playwright becomes an Allied spy, posing as a Nazi radiopropagandist.

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

The Call by Os Guiness

What Is a Family by Edith Schaeffer

Hidden Art by Edith Schaeffer

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

A Widow for One Year by John Irving

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

If Grace is True by Philip Gulley

While I don't agree 100% with some of Mr. Gulley's theological suppositions, it is a thought-provoking book about the role of grace in our lives.

Novels by John Lescroart

This is where I turn for easy reading when the heavy stuff gets too heavy. He is an excellent writer. I enjoy his recurring characters and how he weaves them into every novel. His newest book is The Suspect.

Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer

The Future Widow's Club by Rhonda Nelson

Anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe

The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Wodehouse Playhouse by P. G. Wodehouse

DVDs, British Humor. Very well done, quite humorous and entertaining, lightly romantic.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

A very entertaining read about travel on the Appalachian Trail. He also speaks about how little Americans actually take time to walk.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I can identify with its insight into the darkness of the human heart and the need for redemption.

Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger

I liked this one a lot better thanCatcher in the Rye. It opened my eyes to how ego and pride keep us fromcommunicating with one another.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Great true story of overcoming the odds.

Little Pilgrams Progress by Helen Taylor

A classic story retold for youngerreaders with such timeless truths that my husband and I enjoy it as much as our children.

The Will of God as A Way of Life by Jerry Sittser

A refreshing perspective on "blooming where you are planted!

The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

White Noise by Don Delillo

A Problem from Hell by Samantha Powers

Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi

A hilarious and touching Japanese series (available in English translation) about a boarding house tenant who falls in love with his apartment manager. A must read!

The Chronicles of Naria by C.S. Lewis

I've read these every summer since I was 10, and they're good every year.

The Catcher in the Ryeby J.D. Salinger

A book I've learned to appreciate more and more the older I've gotten.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

A Library of Congress survey in 1991 asked what book most affected readers' personal lives. Atlas Shrugged placed 2nd only to the Bible. Atlas Shrugged is a fictionalized application of the philosophy of Objectivism. Movie in 2008.

Illusions by Richard Bach

New Age- like, but the message for me is you are responsible for your life.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Classic novel about American airmen during World War II. By the time I was 20 had I read it so many times the spine was broken and pages were falling out.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Embracing the Love of God by James Bryan Smith

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina by Gerda Lerner

The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer both by Barbara Kingsolver

Listen to Me Good: The Life Story of an Alabama Midwife by Margaret Charles Smith and Linda Janet Holms

Best Loved Poems of the American People by Hazel Fellman

Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant

Out of My Later Years by Albert Einstein

School of the Arts by Mark Doty

Disgrace by JM Coetzee

Field Guide by Robert Hass

Dream by Mark Rutland

Dr. Mark Rutland is president of Southeastern College in Lakeland , Florida, and the founder and president of Global Servants, an international missions ministry.

On Lives, Secrets and Silence:Selected Prose, 1966-1978 by Adrienne Rich

The Fact of a Door Frame: Poems Selected and New 1950-1984 by Adrienne Rich

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this every summer when it gets very, very hot. Not only is it a gripping true story well told, but it'll also make you appreciate Alabama summers. It's a children's book, but adults love it, too.

Big Chief Elizabeth by Giles Minton

I like anything by Giles Minton, who's a historian with an excellent flare for storytelling. This particular book is about the early (late 1500s/early 1600s) English settlements in what is today North Carolina and Virginia.

The Sea Captain's Wifeby Martha Hodes

This is an amazing true account of a poor white woman in the Civil War era who broke the poverty cycle by marrying a black man. It's something of a history mystery and is partially set in Alabama.

The Christian Agnostic by Leslie Weatherhead

The Hopeful Heart by John Claypool

The Myth of Certainty by Daniel Taylor by Daniel Taylor

God's Debris: A Thought Experiment by Scott Adams

The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism by Michael Novak by Michael Novak

If you'd like to add your suggested book titles, please use the form below. Only faculty, staff, and students of Samford University are eligible to participate. You may be contacted for further information or questions concerning your entries. Please submit only three (3) titles per visit. The three (3) titles you submit will replace any titles you may have submitted earlier. If you submit fewer than three titles, the new titles will replace your previous titles at random.