The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian author, is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read. I was skeptical at first, because I was assigned to read this wonderful novella for school. Later that day, after I had finished it (it takes about three hours or less to read) I was changed. This is one of those "whoa!" books that shows you a new side to life, or a new way to perceive existence. The story is amazingly simple, in a profound way. Top.

Any book by Kurt Vonnegut: This guy is my new favorite author. I have been reading his books (of which there are many) non stop since the beginning of summer. The books that I have read so far, and deserve mention, are:

• Slaughter House Five
• Galapagos
• Cats Cradle
• Welcome To The Monkey House
• Breakfast Of Champions (Just started this one)

I think I most enjoyed Welcome To the Money House, which is a collection of short stories. The first story, in my opinion, was pretty weak, but the rest of the stories were outstanding. Other of his stories, like The Euphio Question, pose serious questions and respond with humerous answers. It is also impossible to deny Vonnegut style points. His unique litererary techniques demonstrate his abilities as a master storyteller. Top.

The Tao Of Pooh, Written by Benjamin Hoff

Why you should read this book: Anyone with a legitimate interest in philosophy should give this book a try. At first glance, I figured this book would be a comedy or parody, trying to relate taoist principals to a cartoon bear. In truth, the book is not all that humerous. Instead, the conclusions drawn after analyzing quotes from various Pooh books are insightful and truthful. Not only are many taoist principals defined, they are also explained to the reader in order to gain better understanding of this eastern philosophy. Top.

The Wheel of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

Any fan of fantasy novels has probably heard of or read this series of books. The one qualm that I have with Robert Jordan's writing style is that at times he can be over descriptive. Although plot developement is important, at times the descriptions can just get boring. If any fan of fantasy literature has thought about picking up this 9 (soon to be 10) book series should not be discouraged by its intimidating size. Each book averages around 850-900 pages so it does take time to read. Top.

Micheal Crichton: Consistently one of the most entertaining authors I have ever read. To call his writing "suspensful" does not do him justice. Every one of his books becomes impossible to stop reading after the firts 40 pages or so. They are just too fun. Timeline, which is Crichtons most recent release is probably one of his best. The only issue I have with Crichton is that all but one of his books had an incredibly bad movie made after it. The only exception, Jurassic Park, is nothing extra special. The book is much much better than the movie. Top.

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