1) The Noddy in Toyland Series by Enid Blyton. I remember wanting to live in Toyland. It looked so neat and colorful, just the way it should be in real life. Generally speaking, Enid Blyton was one of my favorite authors as a kid. I loved her Famous Five and Secret Seven books, especially.

2) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I found this particular books so fascinating that I finished reading it on my way home from the library, while walking.

3) Kofiko by Tamar Borstein Lazar. A famous Israeli series about a monkey who immigrated to Israel and came to live with a typical Israeli family. In every book, he tries a different adventure. He works as a nurse, becomes a school teacher, plays soccer, goes hiking, works as a policeman, etc. It’s hilarious.

4) Kuki Havakuki by Tova Borstein. Another Israeli series. This time about an adventurous, personified, speaking, parrot.

5) Six World Fairytales. A translated collection of six fairy tales with beautiful sparkly pictures: Cynderlla, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Sleeping Beauty, Thumbellina, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

1) The Old Testament by God. okay, this was not exactly for lit class, but was definitely the main book we’ve worked with in school for 12 years.

2) Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

3) P re Goriot by Honor de Balzac.

4) Antigone by Sophocles. Technically a play, but we’ve spent 1.5 years talking about it in lit class, so yeah, definitely something I had to read for school. I know the god damned thing by heart, even.

5) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

1) The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rawling.

2) The Robots/Empire/Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov.

3) Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding. One of those books that I can read over and over and they still manage to make me laugh.

4) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

5) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams.

1) Focault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

2) My Secret Life by Anonymous. Responsible for much of my sexual educations, as well as a major influence on some of my romantic and sexual decisions as an adult.

3) The story of San Michele by Axel Munthe.

4) The Twelve Wild Swans by Starhawk and Hilary Valentine.

5) The Oxford English Dictionary. Specifically the editions for Hebrew speakers studying English as a second language.

1) Ulysses by James Joyce.

2) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman 

3) Das Parfum by Patrick S skind.

4) Catch-22 by Jospeh Heller. Yes, I know. I *should have* read it. I’ve been meaning to for years. Yet, somehow, the thought of reading something that’s war-related is a major turnoff. I’m Israeli, after all. I have enough of this in my everyday life. When I read, I want to *escape* a bit, you know. 

5) Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris. This is a sequel to “Chocolat” and “Blackberry Wine” that I much enjoyed. It should be interesting.