The Pearl - John Steinbeck

A tightly-written, brutally evocative story that doesn't outstay its welcome. In fact there's something about its length (82 pages, I think) that seems just right. A perfect novella. We're dropped into early 20th century Mexico and shown around with grace and ease, no words wasted, and the travesty of Spanish occupation treated with blunt directness. The story is structured like a page-turner thriller and the words are chosen for maximum power and specificity. The book itself is a flawless pearl.

This Book Will Save Your Life - A.M. Holmes

Very well-written and full of quirky yet deep characters. Laugh-out-loud funny in places. The story has a loose, rambling sort of feel to it, with lots of different threads being taken up, put down, taken up again throughout. In a very light, unassuming way it's an indictment of modern America, but mainly it's what Stephen King calls it: a "story of a lost man reconnecting with the world" - and specifically with his estranged son. It reminds me of The Accidental Tourist, but the prose is more enigmatic.

The Earthsea Quartet - Ursual LeGuin

Studied the first book when I was twelve; didn't remember much about it. The writing style is very dense, but not in an unfriendly way. It just goes very deeply into things. Some great fantasy concepts here, such as the language of magic, where everything is called by its "true name" rather than words being simply signifiers, so speaking it gives you power over reality. It struck me that each book is very self-contained and different from the others, unlike many fantasy series that give the impression of really being one long book cut into manageable sections. Deep and interesting and well-written; I still prefer The Left Hand of Darkness.