There are almost too many books to name but these are seven books that I have shared with my 18 year old daughter.  It’s been wonderful to share the friends from these stories with her. These books have beauty, insight, depth, pathos and spiritual nourishment.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin – full of insight and humor, and as pertinent today as when it was written.	Middlemarch by George Eliot – About an English village and its inhabitants. Dorothea Brooke is one of the most deep hearted heroines in all of fiction. I wish I knew her.
My Antonia by Willa Cather – told from the point of view of a young man in America’s prairie years. The story of a Bohemian girl and the effect of her friendship on him. Sad, gorgeous, profound.	A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – recommended to me by my own mother, Iris Korman. The story of a girl growing up in ethnic Brooklyn among Irish, German and Jewish immigrants. Vivid story and characters.
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman – see my column, Mrs. Mike and Growing Up.	I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – recommended to me by my good friend Ann Peabody when we were 19. A wonderfully written book about a British family who move to a castle. Sweet story.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant – What is the real story of Jewish women in the Old Testament? This book explores the possible story of Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. Beautiful.