6 Big Books I Want to Read
1. Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong (464 pages)
Set in Shanghai in the early 1990′s, Chief Inspector Chen Cao is on the case of the murdered Guan Hongying, who is soon discovered to have lived a double life.
2. I am a Cat by Natsume Soseki (470 pages)
A chronicle of an unloved, unwanted, wandering kitten who spends all his time observing human nature- from the dramas of businessmen and schoolteachers to the foibles of priests and potentates.
3. The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai’an (798 pages)
Based upon the historical bandit Song Jiang and his companions, this is an epic tale of rebellion against tyranny and has been thrilling and inspiring readers for hundreds of years.
4. Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (510 pages)
In 1983, Gao Xingjian was diagnosed with lung cancer and faced imminent death. Several weeks later, a second test revealed he had no cancer. Faced with a repressive cultural environment and the threat of a spell on a prison farm, Gao fled Beijing and began a journey through the mountains and forests of Sichuan in southwest China.
5. Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear (584 pages)
Linda Lear offers an astonishing portrait of the extraordinary Beatrix Potter, who found freedom from her conventional Victorian upbringing in the nature that surrounded her. Beatrix Potter’s children’s stories and illustrations have been widely read and viewed, namely The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
6. The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan (558 pages)
A large collection of contemporary stories and poems about one subject: dragons. Immerse yourself in the tales of writers like Jane Yolen, Zen Cho, R.F. Kuang, Todd McCaffrey, Ellen Klages and more.
