A few of my favorite -- and yet to be purchased -- books on the Book Fair list.

In case you've somehow missed the news, Guys Lit Wire is running a Book Fair in support of the Ballou Senior High School library in Washington D.C. At of the time of the original post, Ballou had almost 1,200 books in the library -- not quite one for each student. We're working to change that, and would love some help from you.

If you aren't familiar with the project, please do click through to the link above and check the original post out. I'll wait.

Are we all on the same page now? Excellent.

Behind the cut, I've highlighted a few of my favorite titles on the list that are still waiting for some awesome person to ship them off to D.C. Even if you aren't able to donate at this time, you may get a few book recommendations out of it, right? (But we do hope you'll donate!)

For one thing, Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel still needs a sponsor. When I wrote about it lo these many years ago at Bookshelves of Doom, I said:

It's an adventure, a book about friendship and love and loyalty, family and history (both recent and ancient) and it makes it clear that for those involved, 20 years can be just as devastating and huge and endless as 2600 years. It's a fantasy novel, but one that many people who don't usually read fantasy will enjoy. I'm planning to hand it to adult and teen fans of The Dark is Rising series, not just because of the Celtic mythology, but because Ned Marriner and Will Stanton both experience that terrifying and exhilarating feeling of being a part of something much bigger and much older than they are.

Speaking of The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch has a sponsor, but the rest of the series still needs your help -- you wouldn't want Ballou to have Book #3 and not #1, #2, #4 and #5, right?

Another favorite series? The Queen's Thief books, by Megan Whalen Turner. The first book in the series, The Thief, is already on its way, but you wouldn't want the students to miss out on The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia or Conspiracy of Kings, right? I didn't think so. (For that matter, if you haven't read them: Believe me, you won't want to miss out on them either! Political intrigue and romance, action, adventure, mythology and philosophy: They are fantastically engrossing books and they're so multi-layered that they get better with every re-read.)

I'd be remiss as a Mainer if I failed to mention that while some of the Stephen King on the list is already on its way down, Ballou is still looking for another copy of On Writing, as well as IT. Your teen years just aren't the same if you don't get scarred for life by a evil clown.

No one has purchased Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried yet. Those of you who've read it know that it's a gamechanger, as a reader and as a person. Those of you who haven't read it, should.

There's also some wicked fun-looking Shakespeare manga, some classic Asimov, and some Jane Austen. I could go on, but instead, scroll down through to the list and see which of your favorites are still looking for a home. If you've already donated, thank you so, so much. If you haven't, and you're able to, please, please do -- and be sure to let us know what you send!