Shared Favorite Reads From all Phases of Life

and a Place to Sign Up to Talk About Them

Book List:
Is there a book that has changed your life? Is there a title that you couldn’t put down or that you’ll always remember? Here’s the place to share that book so someone else can enjoy it as much as you did.

Take a look at some genres and favorite books of staff, faculty, and students here at SUA.
If a favorite of yours is already listed please add an S (student), F (faculty), or ST (Soka Staff). You can add your name and/or comments as well. If you don’t see your favorites, please add them as well with an S, F, ST, name and comments (if you like). Some of these books can fit into more than one genre. Feel free to enter titles into another genre as you deem fit. Please feel free to share favorite book sites at the end as well.

Book/ Short Story Clubs:
Want to talk about your favorite reads, improve your comprehension, and develop English speaking skills or help someone else to all at the same time? Join a Book or Short Story Club and meet casually when you would like for a great conversation. Please post the title you’d like to share and talk about. You can sign up with a friend, a couple of friends, or by yourself and meet some new friends that have shared your book. Conversation Cards as well as a Journal Guide will be available to guide your discussions in a unique way. “Book Talking” is a perfect way to learn new perspectives and engage in stimulating and meaningful communication. When a group has 3-6 people signed up a time and place will be organized by Teri Azar, our Soka Reading Specialist. You can email her at tazar@soka.edu.


Short Stories:
No time to read a novel now? Meet to talk about a short story that’s a quick read . Check out the short stories section below that you might share (or choose and add your own). You can check Amazon.com or Google for short stories written by your favorite authors as well. If there are many in a book, just choose the one you would like to discuss and sign up for it.

Book Club Sign Ups:
Title:
Author:
Readers’ Names:

Title:
Author:
Readers” Names:
BOOK AND SHORT STORY LIST
Autobiography:
The Measure of A Man by Sidney Poitier, ST Teri Chester
Biography:
Children's Favorites: (Those titles you loved as a child!) Yes, you can revisit them.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery S,S,S,S
Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting S
Nancy Drew F Teri Azar
Tom Sawyer F Teri Azar
The Giver by Lois Lowry F Teri Azar
There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom by Louis Sachar F Teri Azar

Classics:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, ST Teri Chester
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and David Coward S
East of Eden by John Steinbeck S
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, S
The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry, S
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee S
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo S,
The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway S
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck F Teri Azar
Documentary:
Fairy Tales:
Cinderella S
Fantasy:
Harry Potter S, S, S, S, S
Life of Pi By Yann Martel, S, F Teri Azar

Fiction:
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown S, S, F Teri Azar
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, F Teri Azar
The Human Stain by Phillip Roth, F Teri Azar,
Sisters, Danielle Steel ST, Teri Chester
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, F Teri Azar,
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, S,
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, F Teri Azar
The River by Tricia Wastvedt, ST Teri Chester
Historical Fiction with Cultural Emphasis:
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende , F Teri Azar
I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume S
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini F Teri Azar,
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquive F Teri Azar
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri F Teri Azar,
The Immigrants by Howard Fast F Teri Azar,
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "San Kuo Chih Yen-I" S,
Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See F Teri Azar,
Zorro by Isabell Allende F Teri Azar
Historical Nonfiction:
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, F Teri Azar
This book will give you a great appreciation for your life and motivation to live it to its fullest: Important read for everyone
Exodus by Leon Uris F Teri Azar
Night by Elie Weisel F Teri Azar
Humor:
I Hate My Neck by Nora Ephron F Teri Azar

Inspirational/Spiritual:
One by One: The World is Yours to Change by Daisaku Ikeda, S,S,
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl F Teri Azar
This book will give you a great appreciation for your life and motivation to live it to its fullest: Important read for everyone
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield F Teri Azar
For One More Day by Mitch Albom F Teri Azar
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom F Teri Azar
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, A Book that Changes Lives by Dan Millman,F Teri Azar

Memoir:
Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See F Teri Azar,

Mystery (Suspense)
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, S, S, S, F, Teri Azar
Mataresse Code by Roberst Ludlum F
Zen Attitude by Sujata Massey F
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy F

Nonfiction:
Picture Books For All Ages:
Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, F Teri Azar,
Poetry:
Political:
Philosophy: One by One: The World is Yours to Change by Daisaku Ikeda, S,S,
The Buddah in My Mirror , ST, F

Science Fiction:
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlien, F Aaron Schwartz
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, F Aaron Schwartz
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, F Aaron Schwartz
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, F Aaron Schwartz
Neuromancer by William Gibson, F Aaron Schwartz
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, F Aaron Schwartz



Short Story and Essay Collections:
Sweet Land Stories by E.L. Doctorow F Teri Azar
The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck (story online)S,F
Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez S,F
Collected Novellas by Gabriel Garcia Marquez S
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (story online)S, S, F
We are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For by Alice Walker, ST Teri Chester
Walker, best known as a novelist, offers a collection of her essays and talks in a variety of venues and efforts to express and encourage spirituality and progressive political ideas. (Amazon.com)

Best Book Sites:

http://www.amazon.com
This is great for getting an overview, finding a book at a low price that can be delivered to you fast, and finding other books that are like the one you like.
http://www.ocpl.org
This is great for finding books that are FREE to check out. There is also much info about each book. The closest branch is a short distance from Soka located on Journey and Pacific Park in Aliso Viejo. Books found at other branches can be sent to the Aliso Viejo branch for your convenience.