So these may not be totally obscure, but in my opinion, they should definitely be more widely read than they currently are.

1. Forever by Pete Hamill
2. Different Seasons by Stephen King - This collection of novellas includes The Shawshank Redemption, and the novella that become the movie Stand By Me
3. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover
4. All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
5. The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart
6. Freedom Road by Howard Fast
7. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
8. And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle - These last 2 were two of my absolute favorite books growing up.
9. La Ciociara by Alberto Moravia - It's in Italian, but the language and descriptions are beautiful.
10. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Amari wrote: "Ooh, ooh, I have one! I joined this group just to be able to tell you all about Hrabal's Too Loud a Solitude. Also Fatelessness by Kertesz, which is less obscure.

I hope you enjoy these. Thank you..."

Amari, Hrabal is amazing. Definitely check out his other books if you haven't yet. I thought Too Loud a Solitude was the best of them, but they're all pretty good.

Ooh, ooh, I have one! I joined this group just to be able to tell you all about Hrabal's Too Loud a Solitude. Also Fatelessness by Kertesz, which is less obscure.

I hope you enjoy these. Thank you all for your interesting suggestions.

I made 2 lists just for this very purpose.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2438....
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2437....

1. Familiar Scars by Christy Leigh Stewart (come on, I had to)
2. The Eye of Night by Pauline Alama
3. Kung Fu High School by Ryan Gattis
4. Doctors and Nurses A Novel by Lucy Ellmann
5. Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer by Mari SanGiovanni
6. Lockpick Pornography by Joey Comeau
7. Overqualified by Joey Comeau
8. The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
9. Fairy Tales Traditional Stories Retold for Gay Men by Peter Cashorali
10. Discreet Young Gentleman by M. J. Pearson

I already hit 10...

Ok, here's what I've got....Not sure how obscure they but they were to me and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

1. Where the Light Remains: A Novel - by Hayden Gabriel
... Two stories really, an 1886 Methodist Farmer's wife and a 1986, a painter & wife. Their stories are interwoven and the present day character makes two discoveries that change her as a woman and as a painter.

2.A Woman's Place: A Novel - by Lynn Austin
...World War II brings 4 women together to help in the war effort by working in the weapons factories in Michigan. They come together to help in the war effort but are shunned for doing 'men's work'. From one another they learn valuable lessons about themselves and about life, love, and faith.

3. The Girl in the Glass: A Novel - by Jeffrey Ford
...The Great Depression, con artists staging seances until the con sees an image of a young girl in a pane of glass asking for help and everything changes. Lot's of very unusual characters, an interesting time period & a mystery.

4. Blue Poppies - by Jonathan Falla
...1950, a young Scottish wireless operator and veteran of the war, has just arrived in the remote Tibetan village of Jyeko. He has come on business--to establish a radio outpost--but his journey will resonate much more deeply. A powerful tale of love and war, exile and homecoming.

5. The Water Dancers: A Novel - by Terry Gamble
...a poverty-stricken, sixteen-year-old Native American orphan who goes to work at the opulent March family summer home on the shores of Lake Michigan in the post-World War II summer of 1945. A young woman with no delusions about her place in this world of privilege. she is assigned the task of caring for the family's tragically scarred, emotionally shattered young son who has returned from war haunted by his injuries and battlefield experiences. An unsparing portrayal of the conflicts of race, culture, and class.

6. The Story of Lucy Gault - by William Trevor
...A Cruel twist of fate. A young girl whose Protestant family is driven from its rural Irish home in 1921. The day before her family is scheduled to flee, she runs away. Her parents find a scrap of her clothing on the beach & assume the worst. Days later, they leave, changing their destination to roam Europe in their grief instead, leaving no forwarding address. But the young girl has not killed herself; she's only broken her leg in the woods. She spends her childhood waiting to be forgiven for her wicked act & waiting to be reunited with her parents.

7. Angel Falls - by Tim Wynveen
...After forty years of blocking out the pathetic details of his early life, a tragedy summons our character back home to Angel Falls. He decides it is time to tell the story of his family. A powerful story of a man sifting through his past in order to make sense of his life.

Thomma wrote: "I'm a huge Haruki Murakami fan. He's quite a celebrity in Japan, but not quite as well known elsewhere, from what I understand. He's an amazing writer and storyteller, and so far, I've read Norwe..."

I love Murakami too. There's another author that I find really similar to him (and equally amazing), and his name is David Mitchell. You should check him out.

Oh this was a great line of posts. I had not heard of most of these books and will have to check many out.
I am hoping will have at least a few non one has heard of.
1. Bid Time Return
2. The Forest Lord
3. Sunlight Moonlight
4. Thorn in My Heart <---one of 4 all great.
5. Brief Gaudy Hour
6. Mozart's Sister
7. When We Were Gods A Novel of Cleopatra
8. Sarah Women of Genesis <---whole series great

Well only thought of 8 that may be ones not too often heard of.

^I loved Magister Ludi too, it was the first of Hermann Hesse's books I read. I don't understand why people say it's so hard to read.

Lori wrote: "Andrea, Oh! Oh! Oh! I have heard of Baudolino!!
I just bought it a few weeks ago at a book sale :)" Did you like it?
I think it's by far better than The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum.

Ooo! What a great thread! I also love Bastard Out of Carolina, but equally love Two or Three Things I Know for Sure & Skin Talking About Sex, Class And Literature.

Let's see, I think I can do 10:

1. The Sun Sword Cycle by Michelle Sagara West. This alone could count as 10 books, but if you like fantasy this is an awesome series that's actually 3 different series - Hunter's Oath & Hunter's Death; The Broken Crown, The Uncrowned King, The Shining Court, Sea of Sorrows, The Sun Sword, The Riven Shield; & Hidden City (The House Wars, Book 1), The. I've read & re-read these into tatters.

2. Ellen Gilchrist - Especially Victory Over Japan A Book of Stories & I Cannot Get You Close Enough Three Novellas. Love her stories.

3. North Toward Home - A memoir by Willie Morris full of wonderful stuff about his childhood in Mississippi, his time in Texas editing the Texas Observer, & his time as editor of Harper's.

4. The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) A Novel - Love this book & it's interconnected musical/mathematical thoughts.

4. Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand. An excellent, beautiful book about college, first love, demons, & goddesses.

5. A Scots Quair Sunset Song / Cloud Howe / Grey Granite - Classic & deceptively simple Scottish tale. Lovely writing.

6. He, She and It - Feminist cyberpunk by Marge Piercy with the classic tale of the golem thrown in.

7. Bone Dance A Fantasy for Technophiles by Emma Bull.

8. The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge - Won the Hugo, but I think out of print. If Dune had been written by a female anthropologist, this is the book it would've been.

9. Anything by Charles de Lint - my favorite of the folks writing urban fantasy & fairy tale.

10. Divine Horsemen Living Gods of Haiti - Dense, beautifully written, definitive text on Haitian VouDoun.

Great thread - I'm adding things to my list of stuff to look for!

I'm a huge Haruki Murakami fan. He's quite a celebrity in Japan, but not quite as well known elsewhere, from what I understand. He's an amazing writer and storyteller, and so far, I've read Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and South of the Border, West of the Sun.

On my to-read list is a little-known book called Afternoons With Emily by Rose MacMurray (came highly recommended by a friend, and I can't wait to dive into it).

Anything by John Gardner is an excellent read (The Sunlight Dialogues, October Light, Freddy's Book, Grendel).

Andrea, Oh! Oh! Oh! I have heard of Baudolino!!
I just bought it a few weeks ago at a book sale :)

1) Memoirs of Hadrian, Marguerite Yourcenar
2) Salammbo, Gustave Flaubert
3) Gitanjali, Rabindranath Tagore
4) War of the End of the World, Mario Vargas Llosa
5) Baudolino, Umberto Eco
6) The Character of the Rain, Amelie Nothomb
7) On n'y voit rien, Daniel Arasse
8) Mr Palomar, Italo Calvino
9) Selected Poems, Jorge Luis Borges
10) Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse

Though they're not all that unknown. :)

Hard to Be a God
I had SUCH trouble finding this book (eventually got it from a university library network). It was very good. I wish I could find more by the same authors (Arkady Strugatsky), but I have a feeling it would be just as difficult and I no longer have the university connection.

Hmmmm.......

1. The Big Sky

2. Far Traveler

3. The Book of Story Beginnings

4. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come

5. Marco's Pendulum

6. Maddigan's Fantasia

7. The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle

8. Pamela Or Virtue Rewarded

9. GHOST IN THE ATTIC, THE

10. A Wizard's Dozen Stories of the Fantastic

Somehow it seems that I pick up books that no one else has even heard of....so here are a few to add to the list!

Opening Skinner's Box Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century - a great dramatization of many of psychology's most influential moments

The Divine Economy of Salvation - a well written novel that's got some great suspense in it.

Mistress Oriku Stories from a Tokyo Teahouse -The title says it all--plus it's a delightful read.



That Summer in Paris A Novel - easily of my favorite books EVER.

We Are All Fine Here -a quick read. The author is hilarious.

Born on a Blue Day Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant -This one I almost didn't put on the list as I think that a lot of people might have heard about...but it's still a great read. Autobiography about an autistic-savant.

Bianca wrote: "I'm guessing many of you are from America (could be completely wrong with that assumption) so you might not have heard of Isobelle Carmody, Traci Harding or Trudi Canavan.
Not sure if their novels..."

OHH I read Trudi Canavan Black Magician series earlier this year. They were the first fantasy books I read since I had to read Lord of the Rings for high school. I really enjoyed them. :) I will have to look for the other authors you mentioned.. :)
Jere

Lorena wrote: "Lori I think it would sound something like Kijote in English, that is mi daughter's favorite bedtime reading material, I have a version for "children" in modern Spanish, she loves all of the troubl..."

sounds brilliant Lorena. Never too early for the classics. My son reads a kid's version (3 books in one) of the Odyssey, Iliad and Aeneid.

Love your list too, thank you.

The only obscure book I can think of this morning was a sci-fi novel that someone passed on to me years ago, and I just loved it. The book is Coils - Roger Zelazny and I don't think it's well known. It was, surprisingly, a book that I read more than once.

Guh, I'm in heaven looking at those links. Visioni Simultanee was the image used on the mass market paperback copy of Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward; it's cool recognizing things like that.

I've been to Italy a couple of times, but still haven't gotten to go to Rome yet. My boyfriend and I plan to do Rome when we can spend a considerable amount of time there since there is so much history. Plus we keep getting "stuck" in Florence, start drooling and forget everything else. :)

Excellent, but as I say, small. Here's the link, but you can't see much.

http://english.scuderiequirinale.it/cana...

and if I had looked at the web site before going I would have seen Marinetti's name in the first line!!

One of the two paintings I liked best is there on the page, Boccioni's La Risata "The Laugh". The other is Visioni Simultanee "Simultaneous Perception":

http://www.artdreamguide.com/_arti/bocci...

His most famous sculpture,
"unique forms of continuity in space" was not in the exhibit as it is at the MOMA, but I saw it here in Rome on a previous occasion.

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_re...

Hayes wrote: "You're right... never heard of this, even though I live in Italy and just went to see a fabulous (if small) exhibit of Futurism here in Rome. Thanks for that!

Neat list... (are you Czech, by chance?)

My mother's family came over from "the old country" just a few generations ago, so it's in the blood, but no, sadly I can not claim I am Czech (as in never lived there, never visited... yet). I have been growing more interested in the culture and history over the past 5 years or so, and am painfully slowly trying to learn the language. The literature is especially interesting as literature of any kind was banned until fairly recently, so it's all new to the world, it's all exciting, and it all says so much because the authors had been censored for so long.

A Futurist exhibit would be great to see. Was it good?

Lorena wrote: "Lori I think it would sound something like Kijote in English, that is mi daughter's favorite bedtime reading material, I have a version for "children" in modern Spanish, she loves all of the troubl..."

Sorry, the teacher in me takes over...

It's also pronounced in French: Key-Shut (very short key, accent on the second syllable, somewhere between shut and shot)

El wrote: "1. The Untameables, F.T. Marinetti - one of the founders of the Futurist movement, I somehow think of this when I think back to The Master and Margarita... probably beca..."

You're right... never heard of this, even though I live in Italy and just went to see a fabulous (if small) exhibit of Futurism here in Rome. Thanks for that!

Neat list... (are you Czech, by chance?)

1. The Untameables, F.T. Marinetti - one of the founders of the Futurist movement, I somehow think of this when I think back to The Master and Margarita... probably because I read them at about the same time giving them a similar feel.
2. The Taste of a Man, Slavenka Drakulic - often unheard-of Croatian writer, though one that should be read. Known more often for her political writings, The Taste of a Man is a rather hefty novel... about relationships...? Not one to be read by the squeamish.
3. HERmione, H.D. - probably anyone who enjoyed reading The Bell Jar would enjoy this one. Very similar in the sense of being semi-autobiographical about a young woman unsure about her place in life, considered to be insane.
4. Ferdydurke, Witold Gombrowicz - European modernism, pretty kooky.
5. Opposing Shore, Julien Gracq - French Surrealist writing, sometimes called Opposite Shore.
6. The Club of Angels, Luis Fernando Verissimo - Brazilian writer, story about a group of men in the Beef Stew Club - when members die off one by one, new members take place, and of course there's a twist. At 130 pages it's not at all a hard read, and quite fun.
7. Magnus, Sylvie Germain - Magnus is the name a boy gives to his teddy bear during the Nazi invasion, and later, as trying to figure out his place in life, the boy uses the name as his own.
8. The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake, Breece D'J Pancake - anyone who enjoys Flannery O'Connor will probably enjoy these short stories. Most of the stories are set in rural West Virginia and he depicted honest reflections of people in the area. Unfortunately he killed himself at a rather young age, but these are fabulous short stories and it's a shame he didn't live to write more.
9. Dvorak in Love A Light-Hearted Dream, Josef Skvorecky - I do love me some Czech literature. This is a fictional account about the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and his travels from Czechoslovakia to America.
10. I, City, Pavel Brycz - this short novella is told from the point of view of the city Most in the Czech Repubic. I haven't read fiction told from the point of view of a city, so it was an interesting read, and written well to boot.

@ Brenda: 10. Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan

My step-father's favorite book... must get to it one of these centuries.

@Irene: Liar's Club by Mary Karr is similar and maybe obscure.

I liked this one, don't know the other. Will try Kinsella and Robertson too. Thanks!!

Great topic. There's tons here I've never heard of. BTW I'm another Bastard Out Of Carolina Lover. Liar's Club by Mary Karr is similar and maybe obscure.

I pick up a lot of books at yard sales and often find gems. One of my favorites is Nuoalla O'Faollain's I Dream of You. Also Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire, another yard sale find.

One of my favorite humorists is W. P, Kinsella who wrote Shoeless Joe. He also wrote a fabulous series of short story books, set in a ficitious Indian Reserve in Alberta, and narrated in the first person by Silas Ermineskin. Mocassin Telegraph, Dance Me Outside, The Fencepost Chronicles, Born Indian, The Miss Hobema Pageant. They are all great.

Finally, The Orchard by Adelle Crocket Robertson. I'd never have read this if it weren't for my library's book group and it's a gem. It's a memoir written by a woman who decides, against all odds, to drop out of college during the Depression to single handedly run (and try to save) her family farm after her father dies unexpectedly. The farm in on the Atlantic coast about an hour north of Boston. It's both a wonderful adventure story, and a beautifully written book about a special place and time.

Not sure how obscure these are but here is my list of books I enjoyed
1. Mr. Pip - Lloyd Jones
2. Everything that Rises Must Converge - Flannery O'Connor
3. The Rez Sisters - Thomson Highway
4. Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream - John Derbyshire
5. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
6. Fifth Business - Robertson Davies
7. What's Bred in the Bone - Robertson Davies
8. Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson
9. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter - Mario Vargas Llosa (There is supposed to be a sequel of sorts to this called What Mario Didn't Say by Julia but I have never been able to find it)
10. Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan

Lori wrote: "Alisha - Come Closer was a freaky little book... I, too, wasnt scared as I read it, but I was afraid to put it down and go to bed!!!"

Awesome, I just got that from the library! I can't wait to read it.

Alisha wrote: "I don't think I have ten books that are truly obscure (at least I don't think they are), but I guess the books that I haven't heard that much hype for are:



Alisha, I loved Come Closer, that slow descent was maddening, I also got freaked out later after reading it!

Lori wrote: "Hayes, I just bought Master and Margarita... A few goodreads ..."

I confess, I've started it a couple of times and put it down ... (one of those "mood" books for me - if I'm not in the right mood it's not even worth trying) ... but it's my husband's and MIL's favorite book ever.

Shadow of the Wall and it's sequel Beyond the Wall by Christa Laird - Children's fiction on ww2 holocaust very good and she only ever wrote 3 books which is a shame as she's a fantastic author.

Uhm I'm not sure if this counts but anything by Diana Wynne Jones who is a good children's and YA fantasy author who is very well respected I think but gets very little shelf space compared to other more modern books. I don't think my local bookshop has ever stocked her most recent book that came out 2 years ago. She's been going since the seventies and still has many loyal fans who are adults now.

She came before Harry Potter and Twilight and she is so quirky and imaginative she should get more recognition.

Alisha - Come Closer was a freaky little book... I, too, wasnt scared as I read it, but I was afraid to put it down and go to bed!!!

Hayes, I just bought Master and Margarita... A few goodreads friends have read it... I cant wait to start it.

Santina wrote: "Don't worry Sherry, I'm standing right next to you...lol."

Me three... wow, lots of research to do!!

I'll put in two of my own.

The Master and Margarita: is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union.

The Leopard: is a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the Risorgimento (unification of Italy, 19th c.) Great movie with Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale.

I don't think I have ten books that are truly obscure (at least I don't think they are), but I guess the books that I haven't heard that much hype for are:

1. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton-This is a sort of gothic type mystery. I know this has been compared to Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca". I don't know how accurate that description is having never read "Rebecca" (It's on my list, though. I'll pick it up real soon). But still, I loved this novel so much and recommend it to everyone.

2. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer-This one is about the world changing/ending after a meteor (I think, it's been a while since I read it) hits the moon. This is classified as YA, since the story is told by a sixteen year old girl through her diary entries. This was one of those books were I was utterly exhausted after I finished reading it. It played with my emotions. It terrified me half the time and depressed me the other half. But it was so great.

3. Come Closer by Sara Gran-This is about a woman who's slowly getting possessed. This was an extremely short read (only about 160 pages; possible to read in one sitting) and it's one of those books that you're not really that scared by when reading it. I wasn't scared right when I read it, but I did get terrified at night (possession in all types and forms scares the crap out of me and no, I'm not religious) when my overactive imagination started getting paranoid.

4. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin-This book is about a girl who dies and then wakes up in "Elsewhere" (which could be heaven, limbo, whatever you really want it to be) and it's also how she copes with her death. This is (in my opinion) a slightly less morbid and hyped and a more heartwarming The Lovely Bones. I loved every second of this book.

5. The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea-The only reason I even heard of this book is because I was looking for a book by a Mexican author or based in Mexico for the Spring challenge. This book is about a young woman (Teresita) who is regarded as a Saint in the 19th century by some and a heretic by others. It took extremely long for me to get into and finish, but when I did, I realized that it was great and I ended up loving it.

6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay-It's about a ten-year-old girl who's arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv's roundup in 1942, but locks her little brother in a cupboard thinking that she'll be back in a little while to set him free. This book was a tearjerker. It was a great historical fiction novel.

So, I couldn't think of ten. But these are novels that I thought were great, but don't get referred to much.

Lisa - Yes, I've read them both. Twice in fact. I know, I've been waiting for the third book for a ridiculously long time. I'm seriously not holding my breath that she's going to publish it anytime soon. I think it's been at least 10 years. I say cave and read them! They're so fantastic.

Have you read her Dragon Prince series? They were also just as good as the Exiles series.
I have not read The Golden Key. I've been meaning to for a very long time and I just have not gotten around to it. I'll add it to my ever growing TBR list :)

Katie...Have you read The Mageborn Traitor? It is the second book in Melanie Rawn's Exiles series. I have been waiting to read the first 2 until the 3rd comes out, but it's been years. I think I am going to have to give up waiting for Captal's Tower.

I love the book The Golden Key. It is by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott. It also got me reading the series that each have written separately.

I have a few that usually people have never heard of.

1. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1 Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier - This is my favorite book of all time and most people have never heard of it. The author is amazing too.

2. Villette by Charlotte Bronte - Obviously the author is well known but it's usually for Jane Eyre. This is one of her lesser known novels and it's fantastic.

3. The Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn - I'm a fantasy junkie so I've really thoroughly searched the whole genre for books that I would love. Melanie Rawn is a consistently wonderful author, and in this book she creates an extremely memorable world.

4. A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers - This is my favorite romance novel.

5. Till We Have Faces A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis - This is such a fantastic novel. It's intelligent and heart-wrenching. This is probably C.S. Lewis' least known novel, but I think it's his best.

Great topic for a list I'll try to think of some more but here are ones that I can add now:

1. The Small Woman - An incredible story about a remarkable woman
2. Duncton Wood - If you liked Watership Down you'll probably like this
3. A Certain Slant of Light - Interesting book with a neat premise
4. The Crown Conspiracy - Hopefully one day people will know about it ;-)

Kate, did you read and like This Book WIll Save Your Life? I loved that main character.

I agree, this is a great topic! But I could only think of four....

1. Straight Man - Richard Russo.
You have read Empire Falls, but this book is, to me, much better. It is funny and sad and just amazing.

2. Lost City Radio - Daniel Alarcon

3. Music for Torching - A.M. Homes
I could read anything she writes

4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbary

Great topic!

1) Evasion- Anonymous. Published by Crimethinc

2)Juno and Juliet- Julian Gough

3) The Nowhere Boy- Sandra Glover

I can only think of a few, but

1.Deerskin - Robin McKinley
A twist on the French tale Donkeyskin. Dark and dreamlike, very compelling. Be aware it does touch on some unpleasant subjects (I won't specify to avoid spoilers)


2.Sunshine - Robin McKinley
Obviously McKinley is one of my favorite authors. This one is also a little dark. It deals with a human/vampire relationship that has quite a bit of depth and intrigue. (Please note this was written long before Twilight and the only real similarity is the presence of both humans and vampires.)

3.The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
A sweet story by the author of Anne of Green Gables. I love this one so much I read it nearly every year!

Most of my fiction seems to be fairly well known so ill throw in a top 5 reasonably obscure non fiction list I gave 5 stars to

1.Dust Tracks on a Road An Autobiography/Zora Neale Hurston

2.I Dreamed of Africa/Kuki Gallmann

3.Lindy Chamberlain/Through My Eyes Riveting autobiography of the woman of 'a dingo took my baby' fame as played by Meryl Streep in 'A cry in the Dark'

4. The Duchess of Windsor The Secret Life/Charles Higham

5. Nab End and Beyond The Road to Nab End and Beyond Nab End/William Woodruff

I love CLockwork - the illustrations are spooky! The rest I will have to look into. Thanks!

Oh, I don't know if I can think of 10 little known must-reads, but I'll try.

1. Tell Me a Riddle- Tillie Olsen
this book of short stories is out of print, but you can probably still find used copies on amazon or the like, and it's definitely worth it. It was a life changer, and even helped me understand who I am as a writer.
2. Dandelion Wine- Ray Bradbury
I know Ray Bradbury isn't an obscure author, but Dandelion Wine isn't as popular as his other books, though it is my favorite.
3. Enchantress from the Stars- Sylvia Engdahl
A young adult fantasy/science fiction hybrid.
4. So Far from the Bamboo Grove- Yoko Watkins
Another YA book (one of my genres of choice), a good sisterhood story.
5. A Man for All Seasons- Robert Bolt
Ok, this is actually a play, but still one of my favorites. I highly recommend the movie as well.
6. The Golden Age- Kenneth Grahame
By the author of The Wind in the Willows, this book is an excellent read for those of us still unwilling to give up the magic and imagination of childhood.
7. Clockwork- Philip Pullman
A short spooky read, perfect for a rainy night!
8. Power of One- Bryce Courtenay
Also recommend the movie.
9. Jane-Emily- Patricia Clapp
A not-too-scary scary-story. (I'm kind of a wimp).
10. Lord of the Nutcracker Men- Iain Lawrence
Made me cry. Another YA book, set in England during WWI.

So I read the description on each book and 1-4 made my TBR list. Thanks!!!

Meghan wrote: "This thread is so interesting to me, and I want to revive it! I will do some amazing YA lit that whenever I bring the titles up, people look at me like I am craaaazy.

1. [b:Surrender|476875|Surr..."

The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold. Best time travel book ever. I read it in college then couldn't find it for over 20 years. They've finally reprinted it so you can find copies now.

This thread is so interesting to me, and I want to revive it! I will do some amazing YA lit that whenever I bring the titles up, people look at me like I am craaaazy.

1. Surrender by Sonya Hartnett
2. Skellig by David Almond
3. Tightrope by Gillian Cross
4. A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
5. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Actually, I don't know if this one counts as YA... and it is gaining in popularity, so you might have heard of it...)

I also know plenty of other novels I'm sure no one else has heard of, the reason being that they're poor works of fiction that probably only had three books printed but I love them nevertheless.

I always find myself loving books and movies that I can tell aren't supposed to (edit:)be amusing, witty or entertaining but for some reason they entertain me anyway.