This list will grow as I continue to read, recall, and rethink the many books that have impacted, inspired, humored, and/or caused me to reflect on my reflection and that of the world. Feel free to share some ideas for and thoughts about books.
Book List of Essential Reading
(In no particular order)
Anne Morrow Lindberg – Gift From the Sea
Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird
Aldo Leopold – A Sand County Almanac
Leslie Marmon Silko – Ceremony
Harriet Beecher Stowe – Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Toni Morrison – Beloved
The Nobel Lecture, 1993
John G. Neihardt – Black Elk Speaks
Lewis Carroll – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
(The annotated version is great)
Zora Neale Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God
Willa Cather – My Antonia
Jack Kerouac – On The Road
Farley Mowatt – The Desperate People (out of print-find it)
Timothy Egan – The Worst Hard Time
J.R.R. Tolkien – The Hobbit
Scott Russell Sanders – Hunting For Hope: A Father’s Journeys
Sarah e McIntosh 
Great list. I loved Beloved, Hobbit, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Read part of Gift from the Sea that I loved–need to get the book and read the rest. I have Black Elk Speaks and On the Road are on my book shelf and have been for years–not sure why I haven’t gotten around to reading them–looks like I should. My Antonia is on my “to read” list already.