Booklist for ESL Readers
Index
Autobiography, Biography and Memoirs
American Ethnic Fiction, International Fiction
- This list of books has been compiled for ESL students who want to read more - both for pleasure and to improve their reading skills.
- All of these books are in the Georgia Perimeter College Library although not all are at Clarkston Campus.
- Use intercampus loan to obtain a book from another campus.
- If you have other suggestions for books, please send to Stephanie Coffin H3316, Clarkston Campus, email.
- The mini-reviews were written by ESL students who read the books.
Autobiography, Biography and Memoirs
Akbar, Said Hyder
Come Back to Afghanistan. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DS352.A39 2005
Afghanistan
Bixler, Mark
Lost Boys of Sudan. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON HV640.4.S73 B59 2005
-Sudan
Bames, Virginia Lee and Boddy, Janice
Aman, The Story of a Somali Girl. 1994
A real life story of a woman trying to survive in Somalia.
Location: CLARKSTON CT2208.A43B37 1994
-Somalia
Deng, AlephonsionMbr<
They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: the True Story of
Three Lost Boys from Sudan. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DT157.63.D46 2005
-Sudan
Farah, Nuruddin
Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somalian Diaspora. 2000
Location: CLARKSTON DT407.4.F37 2000
-Somalia
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Gilbreath, Frank., Jr. and Carey, E.G.
Cheaper by the Dozen. 1948
An amusing story of a father who tries to
apply time and motion studies to his family
Location: CLARKSTON T40.G5G5 1963
-America
Goodrich, Frances
Diary of Ann Frank. 1956
A young Jewish girl hides in attic from the Nazis during W.W.II.
Location: DECATUR & DUNWOODY PS3513.O53515D5 1958
-The Netherlands
Haley, Alex
The Autobiography of Malcom X. 1965
A biography that spans Malcom X’s young life until his tragic end.
Location: DUNWOODY BP223.Z8L57943 1992
-America
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. 1958
This is the story of the Montgomery bus boycott in
Alabama which led to desegregation.
Location: CLARKSTON E185.89.T8K5 1986
-America
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Klaits, Alexander and Gulshn Gulmamadouva-Klaits
Love and War in Afghanistan. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DS371.2.K577 2005
-Afghanistan
Mukherjee, Bharati
Jasmine.
Location: CLARKSTON PR9499.3.M77 J3 1991
-India
Moaveni, Azadeh
Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran.
Location: CLARKSTON E184.I5 M63 2005
-Iran/ America
Ngor, Haing
A Cambodian Odyssey.1987.
A story told by a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust.
Location: DUNWOODY DS554.H35A3 1987
-Cambodia
Okada, John
No-No Boy. 1979
A young Japanese man says "no" to military service
in WWII. He faces the consequences. This is a powerful book.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3465.K33N6 1979
-Japan
Pazira, Neloter
A Bed of Red Flowers. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DS371.2.P42 2005
-Afghanistan
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American Ethnic Fiction, International Fiction
Achebe, Chinua
Things Fall Apart. 1959
This book is about the customs of the lbo part of Nigeria.
The main character Is a great warrior, and one of the bravest in the village.
He is disappointed when his clansmen joined the white men who brought religion, trade,
and government. He then killed himself and was buried like a dog. It's an
educational book which I recommend to people of Africa and to other students who
are interested because you learn more about the old customs of the lbo
culture and Nigeria as a whole. -Joy A. Okoro
CLARKSTON PR 9387.A4T44 1989
-Nigeria
Abaraham, Peter
Mine Boy. 1992
A young boy becomes a coal miner in apartheid South Africa.
Location: CLARKSTON PR6001.B62M57 1989
-South Africa
Allende, Isabel
House of the Spirits. 1985
This book is about a Latin-American family that grows up believing in
supernatural powers. The characters in this book are very clear, sharp, fascinating,
detailed, and human. In my opinion I would say that this is one of the best books
I have ever read. The vocabulary is very easy, and the story is very easy to follow too. - Martin Ramirez
Location: CLARKSTON PQ8098.1.L54 C313 1985
-Chile
An, Chong Jyo
White Badge. 1989
A story of a young Korean who fights in Vietnam.
Location: CLARKSTON PR9520.9.A78 W48 1989
-Vietnam/ Korea
Augenbraum, Harold and Ilan Stavans, ed.
Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and Stories. 1993
Stories from Hispanic-American writers.
Location: CLARKSTON PR9520.0.A78W48 1989
-various Latin America
Ba, Mariama
So Long a Letter. 1989
This is about Ramatoulaye who is writing to her friend
Aissatou about her late husband. He takes a wife after thirty years of marriage.
Even though Ramatoulaye is hurt, she is still in love with her husband. Life
goes on for her and her twelve children, and she daily battles with
sadness and loneliness. I recommend this book to women, especially because
it is about a husband’s betrayal and how infidelity hurts his family.
The vocabulary is easy to read. - Roselyn Ogotula
Location: CLARKSTON PQ3989.2.B23S513 1989
-Senegal
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Butler, Robert Olen
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. 1992
Short stories about Vietnamese immigrants. Prize winning novelist.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3552.U8278G66 1992
-Vietnam/ America
Butler, Rober Olen
Deuce. 1989
The story of an Amerasian child who comes to live with his
father n America. He runs away to New York and lives on
the street. A wonderful story.
CLARKSTON PS3552.U8278D48 1989
-Vietnam/ America
Chernin, K.
In My Mother’s House. 1984
A Russian immigrant growing up in a very political household.
Location: CLARKSTON HX94.C57C49 1994
-Russia/ America
Cisneros, Sandra
The House on Mango Street. 1991
A story of Latino life and culture.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3553.I78H6 1991
-America
Chang, Jung
Wild Swans. 1992
The story three women in different time period
in modern China. Read about the Communist Revolution,
the Cultural Revolution, and finally journey to America.
Location: CLARKSTON CT1828.C478A2 1992
-China
Hersey, John
A Single Pebble. 1989
A western engineer ventures into China to discover its people and rivers.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3515.E7715S5
-China
Hayslip, LeLy
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. 1989
A Vietnamese immigrant story.
Location: CLARKSTON DS556.93.H39A3 1989
-Vietnam
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Hosseini, Khaled
The Kite Runner. 2003
Location: CLARKSTON PS3608.O525 K58 2003
-Afghanistan
Huong, Duong Thu
Paradise of the Blind. 1993
This book talks about a family’s ordeal before, during,
and after the Communists take over of South Vietnam. The main character in the
book is a girl named Hang. Hang is forced to grow up before her time in
the slums of Hanoi and modern Vietnam. I would highly recommend this book to
all Vietnamese students since it explains the political situation in Vietnam during these
horrible years. Personally, I have learned a lot about the political
situation and how things were back then since I was too young when I
left Vietnam to fully understand the situation. -J. Yap Ho
Location: CLARKSTON PL4378.9D759N4813 1994
-Vietnam
Huong, Duong Thu
Novel without a Name. 1995
This book is about Quan, who is a North Vietnamese soldier and joins the
army at eighteen years old. He is a leader of
a unit which is full of both idealism and friendships. He endures many
dangers like sickness, bombing, and hunger by helping people who live along the Red
River Delta. The reality of life of the Vietnamese soldiers is told very clearly.
I would recommend this book to all the Vietnamese who live in foreign countries. They should read it
if they want to know the history of Vietnam. -C. Dang
Location: CLARKSTON PL4378.9.D759T5413 1995
-Vietnam
Kanther, Seth
Ordinary Wolves.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3611.A55 O73 2004
-America
Lee, Lillian
Farewell My Concubine. 1993
Epic romance set in the 1930's in Japanese-occupied China.
The story continues through the Cultural Revolution.
Location: CLARKSTON PL2877.P48P2713 1994
-China
McCall Smith, Alexander
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON Pr6063.C326 F75 2005
-Scotland
McCall Smith, Alexander
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
Touching stories from Botswana.
Location: CLARKSTON PR6063.C326 N6 2005
-Botswana
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Nanchu
Red Sorrow. 2001
A young Chinese woman survives the Cultural Revolution.
Location: CLARKSTON DS778.N365 A3 2001
-China
Ng, Fae Myene
Bone. 1993
A story of second generation
Chinese growing up in San Francisco.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3564.G25.B6 1993
-China/ America
Nguyen, Kien
The Unwanted. 2001
A story of an Amerasian child in his struggle to survive in Vietnam.
Location: CLARKSTON E184.V53N36 2001
-Vietnam/ America
Nguyen, Qui Duc
Where the Ashes Are: the Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family. 1994
The story of Vietnamese immigration.
Location: CLARKSTON DS559.5.N587 1995
-Vietnam/ America
Poey, Delia. ed.
Iguana Dreams: New Latino Fiction. 1992
20th century fiction from Hispanic American writers.
Location: CLARKSTON PS647.H58I38
-various Hispanic American
Salzman, Mark
Iron and Silk. 1987
This book is about Mark Salzman who
teachers English and studies Wushu in China
from 1982-1984. In the book, he writes
about how he gets along with the Chinese people,
how he learned Wushu, and how he lives In China. - Hue Ly
Location: DUNWOODY DS712.S245 1986
-China/ America
Smith, Betty
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 1976
A young girl grows up in Brooklyn in 1912.
Location: DECATUR PS3537.M2895T8
-America (Brooklyn)
Steinbeck, John
Grapes of Wrath. 1939
The story the hard life of California migrant farm workers
Location: CLARKSTON PS3537.T3234G8 1958
-America (Oklahoma and California)
Tan, Amy
The Joy Luck Club. 1989
-China/ America
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Tan, Amy
The Kitchen God's Wife. 1991
More stories about China.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3570.A48K58 1991
-China
Thomas, Maria
African Visas: A Novella and Stories. 1991
American Peace Corps workers in Ethiopia
and other stories about the land and the people.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3570.H5735A37 1991
-Ethopia
Tong, Su
Raise the Red Lantern. 1993
Three novellas set in pre-Revolutionary China.
Location: CLARKSTON PL2904.T86A24 1993
-China
Watanabe, Sylvia and Bruchas, Carol. ed.
Home to Stay. Asian American Women’s Fiction. 1990
Short stories from Asian American writers.
Location: CLARKSTON PS647.A75H58 1990
-Asian America
Wright, Richard
Native Son 1940. and Black Boy.1945
A story of surviving as a black person in America.
Location: DUNWOODY PS3545.R815 N25 1998 and PS3545.R815 Z96 2005
-America (Chicago and the Southern States)
Young, Kim Run
Clay Walls. 1990
A story of three generations of Koreans living in America.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3561.I4153C55 1990
-Korea
Yun, Mia
House of the Winds. 1998
A story of a young Korean girl coming
of age in the post Korean War era in Korea.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3575.U57H68 1998
-Korea
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General Fiction
Forrest, Carter.
The Education of Little Tree. 1976.
This book is about a little boy who grows up in the South with his parents.
The main idea is the role of the family and death. I
recommend this book to everyone because it is easy to read and understand.
In addition, reading is good practice to improve reading ability. -Yoshi Kondo
Location: CLARKSTON PS3553.A7772Z464 1990
-America (Southern States)
Hurston Zora Neale.
Their Eyes Were Watching God. 1937
A love story which takes place in the rural South.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3515.U789T639 1991
-America (Southern States)
Lee, Harper.
To Kill a Mockingbird. 1968.
Two children live with their father who defends a
Black man in the deep south before integration.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3562.E353T6
-America (Alabama)
London, Jack.
The Call of the Wild. 1960.
Survival in the wilderness of Alaska.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3523.O46C 1995
-America (Alaska) and Canada (Yukon Territory)
Salinger, J. D.
The Catcher in the Rye. 1946.
This novel used to be considered scandalous
because of the type of language and frank thoughts of the character.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3537.A426C3 1951
-America (Northeast and New York City)
Walker, Alice.
The Color Purple. 1982.
The story of the hard life of a young
Black woman growing up in the rural South.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3573.A425C6 1982
-America (Southern States)
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Historical Fiction
Crichton, Michael
The Great Train Robbery. 1975
The story of a train robbery in England in 1855.
Location: DUNWOODY PS 3553.R48G7
-England
Forbes, Ester
Johnny Tremain. 1943
This is a historical novel about Revolutionary Boston.
Location: DUNWOODY PS3511.O38J6
-America
Rolvaag, O. E.
Giants in the Earth. 1929
A survival story set in the harsh Midwest.
Location: DUNWOODY PT9150.R55I24 1929
-America (Great Plains)
Schaeffer, J.
Shane. 1966
A story about a gunman who changes in the American West.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3537.C223S5 1984
-America (Western States)
Walker, Margaret
ubilee. 1967
A dramatic story set in the Civil War.
Location: CLARKSTON PR3465.A5 S8 1967
-America (Georgia)
Wilder, Laura
Little House on the Prairie. 1953
A family's struggle in the west during the pioneer days.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3545.I342L55 1971
-America (Minnesota)
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Mystery
Hillerman, Tony
The Thief of Time 1988, Talking God 1989.
Murder mysteries with a Navajo Indian hero set in the southwest.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3558.I45T47 1988 & PS3558.!45 T35 1989
-America (Native)
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey. 1968
The adventure of a computer who is
intelligent and human-like. Classic movie.
Location: DUNWOODY PR6005.L36A615 1982
-Outer Space/ America
Crichton, Michael
Jurassic Park. 1990
Dinosaurs come to life. The movie is still very popular.
Location: CLARKSTON PS3553.R48J87 1990
-Imaginary Island off Costa Rica
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon. 1969
This story is about a retarded man who blames himself for
whatever he does. He is sent to a retarded adult center
to learn how to read and write. He really wants to
be smart. One time he is led to a psychology department to
see a mouse go through a maze. The mouse does a really good job.
Charlie is very surprised by the intelligent mouse, and he lets the doctors do an experiment
on him to make him smart. I really recommend this book to students who do not
have a habit of reading because there are romantic and mental
things that happen in the story. - Sanh Nguyen
Location: CLARKSTON PS3561.E769F56 1967
-America
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Nonfiction
Bass, Thomas A
Vietnamerica 1996
This non-fiction book describes the travails of the
Amerasian children and discusses the gang structure that has evolved.
Location: CLARKSTON DS556.45.A43B38 1996
-America
Coghlan, Nicholas
Far in the Waste Sudan: On Assignment in Africa. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DT157.673 C63 2005
-Sudan
English, T. J.
Born to Kill. 1995
A sympathetic account of a young Vietnamese man who gets involved in gang
activities. Includes a brief section about the "home invasions" in Georgia.
Location: CLARKSTON HV6439.U5E54 1996
-Vietnam/ America
Goodman, Jane
Price of Honor. 1994
Muslim women speak out on growing
political oppression in their countries. An overview of conditions
for women in the major Muslim countries.
Location: CLARKSTON HQ1170.G66 1994
-Pan-Islamic World
Farman-Farmaian, Sattareh
Daughter of Persia. 1992
An Iranian who grows up living in a harem
and becomes one of the first social workers in the country.
Location: CLARKSTON CT1888. F37A3 1992
-Iran
Meyer, Gabriel
War and Faith in Sudan. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DT155.2.N82 M49 2005
-Sudan
Prunier, Gerard
Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide. 2005
Location: CLARKSTON DT159.6.D27 P78 2005
-Sudan
See, Lisa
On Gold Mountain. 1995
A long but complete account of a Chinese
immigrant in Los Angeles. The story includes trips back to
China and details the lives of members of his extended family. Great for
learning about Chinese immigration on the west coast.
Location: CLARKSTON F870.C5S44 1995
-China
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