Classics

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Holy cow, why did I wait so long to read this gorgeous page-turner. Don't believe the hype, it's even better than that.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Plenty of the drama and unlikely coincidences you'd expect from the Victorian period, but the characters and story line are refreshingly original.
City Boy by Herman Wouk
Side-splittingly funny, Mark Twain-esque account of young Herbie Bookbinder's madcap adventures in historic New York City.
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
Read this wise, philosophical work slowly, with a pen in one hand. 
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The most moving book about war I've ever read, this novel tells the story of a young German soldier who fights in World War I's trenches.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The story of two families settling on the Great Plains in Nebraska. Perfectly magnificent.
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thacker
Entertaining satire of life in 19th century England. Like all good literature, it's relevant read in another time and place, too.
The Chosen by Chiam Potok
A really interesting glimpse into the world of Orthodox Judaism in America, and an almost unparalleled coming-of-age tale.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This moving, ironic book tells the story of a distant future in which people are engineered to fill certain roles in society, intimacy doesn't exist, and Henry Ford is God. Brilliant and eerie. 
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers*
McCullers's first novel is the introspective coming-of-age story of a Georgia girl in the 1930s and the characters who make up her community. Powerful and rich. Don't miss her short stories, either.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The jazz age comes glitteringly to life in the pages of this lovely book. Worth every bit of the hype. 
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
This book is the dictionary definition of "ironic." Delightfully sharp and witty, it pokes fun at war, the military, and human nature.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Beautifully told story of a young girl's coming of age in yesterday's New York City.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Mentally handicapped Charlie is the subject for an experimental operation that endows him with an astronomical IQ. The story, written from Charlie's perspective, is extraordinary. 
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Indulge in this melodramatic, yet undeniably wonderful, page-turner that tells the tale of the inimitable Scarlett O'Hara, the quintessential Southern belle, before, during, and after the Civil War.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A chillingly original story of a dystopian society ruled by youth gangs.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Narrated by an inmate at a mental hospital, this is the tale of the renegade patient who challenges the rules and changes the lives of everyone in his path.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The predictions Bradbury makes about the future in this futuristic dystopia line up uncannily with our world. A must-read.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
It's tough to enjoy reading a play - they're really meant to be seen - but this one is spectacular even on the page. Also worth both reading and seeing is The Crucible.
Of Mice and Men and East of Eden by John Steinbeck*
Steinbeck's writing is spectacular. Of Mice and Men is one of the most moving stories about relationships I know, and East of Eden is an intriguing retelling of some of the first Bible stories.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Chilling and urgent, even more than a century after its first publication. This tale of the dark truths behind industrialized food production in Chicago heavily influenced food and labor laws.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A sumptuous read about high society set in New York's Golden Age about (what else?) forbidden love.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Profoundly moving, this story of the complex relationship between prep school boys in the shadow of WWII is unforgettable. 
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Celie is a poor, black woman who is abused, forced to marry, and torn away from her beloved sister. Brace yourself for a heartbreaking start, but rest-assured that Celie's tale ends luminously. 
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway*
Obviously, any one of Hemingway's spare, gorgeous novels is a good choice, but this one about bullfighting and expats in Spain is a particular favorite. 
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Nothing is better than this lyrical story of love, growing up, justice, and deep unfairness.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Even those suspicious of sci-fi will be mesmerized by this philosophical gem. I've heard the sequels are less thrilling, however.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein's monster, cobbled together from the parts of cadavers, is a nuanced character, not a mindless ghoul, and the complex narrative is more than a mindless horror story.
Lolita by Vladmir Nabakov*
This exploration of the conjunction between love and obsession nearly defies description. Nabakov is one of the most distinguished literary geniuses in the history of the written word. 
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens*
One of my favorite Dickens novels, though, of course, they're all page-turners.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Poignant, haunting, lovely, and timeless.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
High adventure and swashbuckling drama.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde*
One of the funniest writers in the history of literature, Wilde will have you hooting with his story of mistaken identities and ludicrous antics among the British aristocracy. I also loved his very different The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Wilde's wonderful wit is missing from this dark tale, but it is thought-provoking and exceptionally inventive and therefore an excellent read.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The prescient, chilling story of a band of boys cast away on a remote tropical island who create their own society. 
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Shattering account of the poverty and unrest that led to the French Revolution. The musical has ensured that most know the story, but the book is well worth reading anyway. 
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The first is a warm, good-humored portrait of boyhood in the South, but its sequel is a darker tale featuring the same setting but a much different protagonist. Read both to luxuriate in Twain's range. 
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Incredible tale of a humble, hardworking family of farmers in China whose fortunes ebb and flow throughout the novel.
Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut*
Some of the imagined moments may seem overly outrageous, but the bombing of Dresden was an unreal, outrageous event. Vonnegut's real memories mix with fantasy in this zany triumph.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
This substantive page-turner tells the story of four Chinese immigrants who settle in San Francisco and their American-born daughters. It deftly explores family, culture, tradition, and rebellion.  
1984 by George Orwell
A chilling, relevant book, even decades after the year it was supposed to portray.

Finally, while I don't have a specific collection to recommend, any short story written by P.G. Wodehouse is all but guaranteed to leave you guffawing helplessly.

Poets I Love:
Maya Angelou
W.H. Auden
William Blake
Gwendolyn Brooks
Bill Brown
Alfred, Lord Byron
e.e. cummings
Lewis Carroll
Billy Collins
Emily Dickinson
John Donne
T.S. Eliot
Robert Frost
Nikki Giovanni
Thomas Hardy
Robert Hayden
Seamus Heaney
Robert Herrick
A.E. Housman
Langston Hughes
John Keats
Rudyard Kipling
Andrew Marvell
John Milton
Pablo Neruda
Naomi Shihab Nye
Marge Piercy
Sylvia Plath
Alexander Pope
Adrienne Rich
E.A. Robinson
Theodore Roethke
Rumi
William Shakespeare
William Stafford
Dylan Thomas
William Carlos Williams
William Wordsworth
William Butler Yeats

Wondering where the plays are? I love a good play, but it's hard to argue that they make good reading material. As such, I've listed only a few here, even though Ibsen, Shakespeare, Williams, etc., are admirable and should be seen, if not read, by everyone.