Must Reads not on my "Book Club" post

Book Recommendations beyond the Book Club List. 
The date in the ( ) signifies when I read the book as a personal note to myself.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (11/2012)
An amazing tale about the horrifying time of Occupied France and the almost-forgotten Vel' d'Hiv roundup.  Two families forever connected by history and a secret.

Defending Jacob by William Landay (10/2012)
A dad's mission to defend his son who is charged with the murder of another boy from school. Did he do it? Did he not? What do you think?

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (10/2012)
A story about famous Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's long-time misteress and her fight for Women's Rights in the turn of the century.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave (10/2010)
Follow the story of a young Nigerian Refugee. Easier reading and better storytelling than Verghese's Cutting for Stone.

A Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (3/2012)
Two leading male characters, each with very separate agendas and both successful at accomplishing the unimaginable.  Burnham and Holms share an intertwined journey in Chicago during the infamous World's Fair.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (2/2010)
Don't be intimidated by the almost 1000 page book. Most of it moves quickly through the complex storyline, vivid characters and emotions of the main character with a tough exterior and gentle heart.

The Other Boleyn Girl (4/2006)
A captivating historical fiction about the women in King Henry VIII's opulent life.


Books that are so much better than the movies...

The Help by Katheryn Sockett (10/2010)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (12/2008)

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (4/2012)
Just do it. If anything, to know part of pop culture.  This is the fantastical version of reality TV show, Survivor, except about kids and people actually get killed. The sociology is very much the same.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffenegger (12/2008)


Books that I've read to keep busy but aren't necessarily page-turners or must-read's.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (12/2008)
Fraternal twins are born, a healthy boy and a girl with downs syndrom. The father chooses to keep one child without telling the truth about the loss of the other.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (3/2009)
The story of a semi-ordinary Bengali immigrant.