The Wild Swans, by Peg Kerr

The Book of Miso, by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi

The Obesity Myth, by Paul Campos

Up the Walls of the World and Brightness Falls From the Air, by James Tiptree, Jr.

Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett

Rebel Without a Crew, by Robert Rodriguez

The Little Digital Video Book, by Michael Rubin

Tooth and Claw, by Jo Walton

The Dragon Waiting, by John M. Ford

The Ballad of Beta-2, by Samuel R. Delany

Pedro and Me, by Judd Winick

Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean

My World Line, by George Gamow

Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, by Helen McCarthy

A Distant Soil, by Colleen Doran

CRITICAL MASS: Bicycling's Defiant Celebration, edited by Chris Carlsson

Minerva Wakes, by Holly Lisle

Hawkmistress, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Prize in the Game, by Jo Walton

The Interior Life, by "Katherine Blake" (Dorothy J. Heydt)

Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

Xanadu, edited by Jane Yolen

The Door into Fire, The Door into Shadow and The Door into Sunset,, by Diane Duane

How Can We Keep From Singing: Music and the Passionate Life, by Joan Oliver Goldsmith

The Aikido Student Handbook, by Greg O'Connor

How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: Reflections of an Influential 19th Century Woman, by Frances Elizabeth Willard and others

The King's Peace and The King's Name, by Jo Walton

The Dubious Hills, by Pamela Dean

Leave It to Psmith, by P. G. Wodehouse

Alternate Channels, by Steven Capsuto

Complete Dykes to Watch Out For Volume One, by Alison Bechdel

Definition, by Ariel Schrag

Making Tracks, by Terry Pindell

Peopleware, by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

Bimbos of the Death Sun, by Sharyn McCrumb

The Queen of Whale Cay, by Kate Summerscale

Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

User Interface Design for Programmers, by Joel Spolsky

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Spy, by Mabel Maney

The Complete Hothead Paisan, by Diane DiMassa

FAT!SO?, by Marilyn Wann

Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard, by Eleanor Farjeon

Positively 4th Street - The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fariña, by David Hajdu

Qi Gong for Beginners, by Stanley D. Wilson

The Grand Sophy, by Georgette Heyer

Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shout, Sister, Shout : Ten Girl Singers Who Shaped A Century, by Roxane Orgill

Wonder Woman : The Complete History, by Les Daniels

The Beatles Anthology, by The Beatles

The War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull

free your mind : The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth - and Their Allies, by Ellen Bass and Kate Kaufman

Arthur Ransome and Capt. Flint's Trunk, by Christina Hardyment

The Heart of the Circle : A Guide to Drumming, by Holly Blue Hawkins

Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls, by the Guerrilla Girls

Nevermind : Nirvana, by Jim Berkenstadt and Charles R. Cross

The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt

Flying Cups and Saucers : Gender Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Debbie Notkin and the Secret Feminist Cabal

Big Spirits, Little Bodies, by Linda Crispell Aronson

Star Trek Memories, by William Shatner with Chris Kreski (oh stop making faces, it was a fun book!)

I was a Teenage Fairy, by Francesca Lia Block

Circle Round : Raising Children in Goddess Traditions, by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill

Zen Guitar, by Philip Toshio Sudo

King Matt the First, by Janusz Korczak

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! : Adventures of a Curious Character, by Richard P. Feynman as told to Ralph Leighton

Uncle Tim's First Year, by Tim Gillespie

Magic Steps, by Tamora Pierce

The Real Frank Zappa Book, by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso

When the Drummers Were Women : A Spiritual History of Rhythm, by Layne Redmond

The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age, by Allucquère Rosanne Stone

Singing Family of the Cumberlands, by Jean Ritchie

The Best Thing I Ever Tasted : The Secret of Food, by Sallie Tisdale

Missing May, by Cynthia Rylant

In Search of Deep Time : Beyond the Fossil Record to a New History of Life, by Henry Gee

The Teenage Liberation Handbook : How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education, by Grace Llewellyn

Betty Crocker's Book of Flowers (better than it sounds :-))

Don't Tell the Grown-Ups : The Subversive Power of Children's Literature, by Alison Lurie

Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud

The Sacred Harp : A Tradition and Its Music, by Buell E. Cobb, Jr.

The first five books in the Books of Magic series, by Neil Gaiman, John Ney Rieber, etc.

A Sigh of Relief : the first-aid handbook for childhood emergencies, by Martin I. Green

From Girls to Grrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines, by Trina Robbins

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones

It's Not About the Bike : My Journey Back to Life, by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins

Looking Back : A Book of Memories, by Lois Lowry

Sam and Arthur also spend hours a day reading on their own -- one of these days I should make a "favorite children's books" list or page in addition to this page.

Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde

Meet Theodore Roosevelt, by Ormonde De Kay

Oh, The Places He Went, by Maryann Weidt

The Way Life Works, by Mahlon Hoagland and Bert Dodson

Frosty, a Raccoon to Remember, by Harriet E. Weaver

The Cartoon History of the United States, by Larry Gonick

Sidekicks, by Dan Danko and Tom Mason

The Misenchanted Sword, by Lawrence Watt Evans

Mamma's Boarding House, by John D. Fitzgerald

The Wounded Sky, by Diane Duane

Papa Married a Mormon, by John D. Fitzgerald

Stealing the Elf-King's Roses, by Diane Duane

Excelsior! : The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, by Stan Lee and George Mair

Maida's Little House Party, by Inez Haynes Gillmore

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede

Trickster's Choice, by Tamora Pierce

Monty Python Speaks, by David Morgan

The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, and The Well of Lost Plots, by Jasper Fforde

The Road to Mars, by Eric Idle

There and Back Again, by Pat Murphy

My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell

The School Story, by Andrew Clements

Interstellar Pig, by William Sleator

We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History, by Phillip Hoose

The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley

Zoom at Sea, by Tim Wynne-Jones

Shatterglass, by Tamora Pierce

The A Midsummer Night's Dream issue of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

Some stories from The Best of Henry Kuttner

The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy, by Terry Pratchett

All ten volumes of Joy Hakim's A History of US series

The Merlin Conspiracy, by Diana Wynne Jones

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

Some stories from Ackermanthology, edited by Forrest J Ackerman

Coots in the North, Arthur Ransome's unfinished last Swallows and Amazons novel

The Great Brain at the Academy, by John D. Fitzgerald

Samurai Cat goes to Hell, by Mark Rogers

Roverandom, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Empire Star, by Samuel R. Delany

Mr. Tompkins in Paperback, by George Gamow

No Flying in the House, by Betty Brock

Ordinary Jack, by Helen Cresswell

Maida's Little Lighthouse, by Inez Haynes Gillmore

The Three Astronauts, by Umberto Eco

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, by Patricia A. McKillip

Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse, by George Selden

Maida's Little Hospital, by Inez Haynes Gillmore

More Adventures of the Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss

Lucy Dove, by Janice Del Negro

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner

Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers, by Ralph Moody
(interesting book, but as the reader I am finding parts of it pretty harrowing and traumatic to read out loud)

Oscar, Cat-About-Town, by James Herriot

The Teddy Bear Habit, by James Lincoln Collier

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams

The Wind Boy, by Ethel Cook Eliot

Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce

Freddy and the Space Ship, by Walter R. Brooks

Changes for Kit, Kit Saves the Day, and Happy Birthday, Kit!, by Valerie Tripp

The Genie of Sutton Place, by George Selden

Crock of Gold, by James Stephens

Twisted Tales from Shakespeare, by Richard Armour

Paddle to the Sea, by Holling Clancy Holling

Silverwing, by Kenneth Oppel

Custard and Company, by Ogden Nash

A String in the Harp, by Nancy Bond

Cold Fire, by Tamora Pierce

Silverlock, by John Myers Myers

Concrete Complete Short Stories 1986-1989, by Paul Chadwick

The Kid Who Invented the Trampoline : More Surprising Stories About Inventions, by Don L. Wulffson

Motel of the Mysteries, by David Macaulay

Sam the Cat Detective, by Linda Stewart

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Celtic Wonder Tales, by Ella Young

Andy Buckram's Tin Men, by Carol Ryrie Brink

Pamela Dean's The Secret Country trilogy

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

Dominic, by William Steig

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

David and the Phoenix, by Edward Ormondroyd

The Adventures of Samurai Cat, by Mark Rogers

The Mouse and his Child, by Russell Hoban

Lots of Carl Barks comics

Leonardo Da Vinci, by Diane Stanley

Raccoons are the Brightest People, by Sterling North

The True-or-False Book of Cats, by Patricia Lauber

The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle : And Other Surprising Stories About Inventions, by Don L. Wulffson

The Wonder City of Oz, by John R. Neill

Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore

Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown

Visitors From Oz, by Martin Gardner

The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses, by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

Why Does the Cat do That?, by Susan Bonners

The Man in the Ceiling, by Jules Feiffer

Benjamin Franklin, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

The Magic School Bus in the Rain Forest, by Eva Moore

Nate the Great and the Monster Mess, by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Meet Kit, Changes for Kit, and Kit's Surprise, by Valerie Tripp

The Kingdom of Carbonel, by Barbara Sleigh

Wet Magic, by E. Nesbit

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket (oh I couldn't stand this book)

Dog Friday, by Hilary McKay

Rascal, by Sterling North

Friday's Tunnel, by John Verney

King of the Dollhouse, by Patricia Clapp

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Time, by Jane Curry

Finn Family Moomintroll, by Tove Jansson

The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, by Daniel M. Pinkwater

Black and Blue Magic, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Ben and Me, by Robert Lawson

Fat Camp Commandos, by Daniel M. Pinkwater

Squire, by Tamora Pierce

All of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series

The Trouble with Jenny's Ear, by Oliver Butterworth

The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat, by Theoni Pappas

Kildee House, by Rutherford Montgomery

Street Magic, by Tamora Pierce

Usagi Yojimbo book two, by Stan Sakai

The Mystery in the Computer Game, well OK, it was one of those ghost-written Boxcar Children books, but still fun to keep a running conversation going throughout

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett

Carbonel, the King of the Cats, by Barbara Sleigh

Tabby Cats, by Stuart A. Kallen

Maida's Little Treasure Hunt, by Inez Haynes Gillmore

The Iron Giant, by Ted Hughes

Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective, by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Captain Underpants series, Kat Kong, Dogzilla and When Cats Dream, by Dav Pilkey

Pippi Longstocking's After-Christmas Party, by Astrid Lindgren

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, by Diane Stanley

Attila the Hen, by Paddy Mounter

Martin's Mice, by Dick King-Smith

Page, by Tamora Pierce

Becoming Your Cat's Best Friend, by Bill Gutman

Freddy Goes to Florida, by Walter R. Brooks

How to Talk to Your Cat, by Jean Craighead George

Two books by James Stevenson -- I Had a Lot of Wishes and What's Under My Bed?

Foxes Live Here, by Irmengarde Eberle

Raccoons, by K.M. Kostyal

Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars, by Daniel M. Pinkwater

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

At least at this point I'm not planning to wrack my brain for any kind of definitive list; rather I'll just add another title every so often when one thing or another brings it to mind, perhaps adding some comments later when I feel moved to do that.

Timing is a very important factor here -- obviously there's a world of difference between "I wish I'd had this book when I was [particular age or situation]" and actually having had the book there for you right when you needed it. A book that fulfilled some important need at the right time will make the list, whereas another book that is superior in every way save for my not having run across it (or it not having been written) until much later won't.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle -- a book I used to identify with and read over and over and over as a preteen.

Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions series and Albert Payson Terhune's dog books. I list these together because Harlan Ellison had some quote along the lines that a young person who read his books would grow up to be a fine upstanding citizen whereas if they read Terhune's books they would grow up to be an axe murderer. :-) I keep meaning to do a web page on the fantasy/science fiction/comic book aspects of Terhune's books and dog books in general.

The Motion of Light in Water, by Samuel R. Delany

The two hefty-paperback circa-1970 feminist anthologies Sisterhood is Powerful (edited by Robin Morgan) and Liberation Now! : Writings From the Women's Liberation Movement

Godel, Escher, Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Your Baby, Your Way, by Sheila Kitzinger. My all-time favorite (out of my very large collection) pregnancy/birth book, with its no-nonsense "here are the facts and these are *your* decisions to make" attitude. Unfortunately out of print, so I keep having to get more used copies to give away to women I know who are pregnant.

Space Cat series, by Ruthven Todd

Stone Butch Blues, by Leslie Feinberg

My old books of Robin Hood and King Arthur stories -- two more things I used to read over and over and over as a preteen.

Gossamer Axe, by Gael Baudino

My huge collection of Philip K. Dick books

The Guinness Book of World Records -- hey, when I was around eight or nine I had this book practically memorized

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens, by Alice Walker

The Forgotten Door, by Alexander Key

Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown (yeah, I know it's got its share of bigoted attitudes, but at one point it was really about all that was out there that I could get my hands on).

Various Robert Anton Wilson books

Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy

Soul of CP/M, by Mitchell Waite and Robert Lafore got me going with assembly-language programming, and Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Windows API, by Dan Appleman not only gave a big boost to my Windows programming, but even features my BBS in the dedication and a screenshot -- now what could be better than that?

Diet for a New America : How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth, by John Robbins (the title is a little unfortunate because it's not a "diet book" but more a veganism book). For that matter I should give a nod to cookbooks in general, both the specifically-vegetarian and the mainstream full-of-cakes-and-cookies ones.

The Tale of One Bad Rat, by Bryan Talbot (I was amused to see this shelved in a used bookstore's "mythology" section recently)

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 1980 edition (Rolling Stone magazine may have devolved into a big vapid mess of cover-to-cover booze and cigarette ads, but at least back in 1980 they knew how to put together a fine book of essays)

Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury

Martin Gardner's math puzzle books

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Pamela Dean's The Secret Country trilogy

Cosmos, by Carl Sagan

Drumming at the Edge of Magic : A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion, by Mickey Hart with Jay Stevens and Fredric Lieberman

My old collection of mostly Spider-Man but also various other comics.