“The Elephant Vanishes: Stories” (1993)

Author: Haruki Murakami

Plot: A short-story collection that combines the unbelievable with the everyday.

Importance: This is an accessible introduction to Murakami’s work. The opening tale, “The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday’s Women,” lays the groundwork for the sprawling novel that came four years later, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles.”

“Love in the Time of Cholera” (1988)

Author: Gabriel García Márquez

Plot: Florentino Ariza sets out to win Fermina Daza’s heart for the second time, nearly 50 years after first vowing his love and losing her to another man.

Importance: Forgo the recent movie adaptation. This novel is García Márquez at his best – lush and rewarding, a story of devotion that stretches out for decades.

“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” (1940)

Author: Carson McCullers

Plot: This novel tells the story of a deaf man, John Singer, who moves in with heroine Mick Kelly and her family after his roommate is committed to an asylum.

Importance: This is for anyone who wishes Harper Lee had written another book. “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” does an excellent job of tackling issues of race and belonging in the 1930s South.

“The Cat’s Pajamas: Stories” (2004)

Author: Ray Bradbury

Plot: A collection that stretches from Bradbury’s beginning work to his recent tales. Some stories are serious (“Chrysalis”), others are fun (“Hail to the Chief”), and all are worth reading.

Importance: This collection shows Bradbury’s flexibility much better than any of his novels. Bradbury’s short stories are just the right length, comic, startling and strange.

“Ordinary People” (1976)

Author: Judith Guest

Plot: The Jarrett family responds to the death of Buck, the eldest son, and the subsequent attempted suicide of Conrad, the younger son.

Importance: Guest handles the story of an “all-American” family reeling from tragedy with grace. This novel is painful and honest, and the characters will stay with you.