by Samantha J. Adkins

Created on: May 16, 2009

It is one of my favorite questions that I never have enough time to answer: What are your favorite books? I always seem to freeze with excitement when someone asks, forgetting the names of books and authors, so with time to think and look through my bookshelf, I shall happily indulge myself in recording the titles and writers I have most enjoyed in the last ten or so years. I confess that I am mostly a lover of fiction, but I can honestly claim three non-fiction books as my favorites and must praise their writers for drawing me in.

FICTION

Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels. This first novel by Canadian poet Anne Michaels is gorgeously written. It follows Jakob Beer as he is orphaned in Poland as a young boy, until he is in his sixties. It is a haunting, historically imagined life of sadness, beauty and love.

The Stone Carvers, by Jane Urquhart. Jane Urquhart is hugely talented at incorporating fine art into her novels. This book is set at Vimy Ridge during the creation of the Vimy War Memorial. It imagines the life of the memorial artists with power and passion. It is so well written you are certain you have visited the sights once you have read it.

Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb. This book is filled with shocking information about Moslem ways and traditions for the average North American. Lilly, the main character, is orphaned by her English parents in Morocco and left to continue under the care of an English convert to Islam named Mohammed Bruce. When things become too dangerous for Lilly in Morocco, she is brought to Ethiopia where she lives amongst the very poor and uneducated. Lilly is a truly peaceful and earnest character, helping other white people see into the very different ways of a Moslem country and belief system.

Joy School, by Elizabeth Berg. Katie is an irresistibly innocent narrator in this book about her life after the death of her mother. It is sensitive, funny and engrossing, dedicated to joy when Katie has nothing to really be joyful about.

The Lost Garden, by Helen Humphreys. I seem to have a penchant for wartime stories, and this is no exception. The Lost Garden is set in 1941 England and main character, Gwen Davis, sets off to teach young women how to grow crops in Devon. Shy and secretive, Gwen is forced to live in close quarters with other women who are lively and outgoing. She finds solace in a forgotten garden which is filled with mysterious messages.

Gathering Blue, Lois Lowry. I started reading

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