Blogger Appreciation Month Week 1 - Gretchen Rubin: Books!

This month I'm appreciating a handful of bloggers I love and admire and I'm beginning with Gretchen Rubin who writes The Happiness Project blog (among many other things). Although I've never met her, I feel safe saying that a love of books and reading is something that Gretchen Rubin and I have very much in common.  In addition to posting her personal book club picks once a month, Ms. Rubin is constantly referencing books she's read in other posts and I often take note.  At the same time, with the exception of children's literature, my sense is that Ms. Rubin and I gravitate towards very different kinds of books.  She seems to read a lot of history and non-fiction (with a strong dollop of happiness-related self-help, as you might imagine).  I mostly read fiction - leaning heavily towards more modern writing - with a sprinkle of non-fiction which tends to be on the lighter side of what non-fiction can be.

Each month Ms. Rubin lists one book about happiness, one great children's book and one eccentric pick.  Here, in my own single-serving (or, perhaps, annual) spin, I list: three works of modern fiction that you're less likely to have read (which is to say, most people I talk to haven't read these books); three more classic (or well-known) books that I love and have enjoyed returning to over time; three children's books; and three wild-card works of non-fiction:

Modern Fiction:

"Classics":

Children's Literature:

Non-Fiction:

That's twelve books!  One a month for a year, if you like.  Leave a comment and let me know if you've read any of these books and what you think, or leave your own recommendation.