Every Jewish home should have some Jewish books.
And every Jew should read a few of them, too! Here is a list to get started.

Suggestions for Chanukah below

Basic Judaism
Borowitz, Eugene: Understanding Judaism (U.A.H.C. Press)
Diamant, Anita: Living a Jewish Life (Harper)
Einstein and Kukoff: Introduction to Judaism (U.A.H.C. Press)
Olitsky, Kerry: The How To Handbook for Jewish Living (Ktav)
Samuel, Edith: Your Jewish Lexicon (U.A.H.C. Press)
Schauss, Hayyim: The Lifetime of a Jew (U.A.H.C. Press)
Steinberg, Milton: Basic Judaism (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)
Strassfeld, Michael and Sharon: The Jewish Catalog I, II, & III (JPS)
Syme, Danny: The Jewish Home (U.A.H.C. Press)
Wylen, Stephen: Settings of Silver (Paulist Press)

Holidays
Gates of The Seasons (C.C.A.R. Press)
Waskow, Arthur: Seasons of Our Joy (Bantam Books)
Strassfeld, Michael: The Jewish Holidays (Harper & Row)
Greenberg, Irving (Yitz): The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Touchstone Books)

Home Ritual
On the Doorposts of Your House (C.C.A.R. Press)
Gates of Mitzvah (C.C.A.R. Press)
Gates of Shabbat (C.C.A.R. Press)
Olitzky and Issacs: The How To Handbook for Jewish Living and The Second How To Handbook for Jewish Living (Ktav)

History
Dimont, Max: Jews, God and History (Signet)
Eban, Abba: Wanderings (Faucett)
Grayzel, Solomon: A History of the Jews (Mentor)

Theology
Borowitz, Eugene: Liberal Judaism, and Renewing the Covenant (both U.A.H.C. Press)
Hirt-Manheimer, Aron, ed.: The Jewish Condition (U.A.H.C. Press)
Books by Lawrence Kushner re: spirituality (Jewish Lights)
Books by Harold Kushner re: existential issues (Summit)

Conversion
Lester, Julius: Lovesong (Little Brown & Co.)
Diamant, Anita: Choosing a Jewish Life (Random House)
Kukoff, Lydia: Choosing Judaism (U.A.H.C. Press)
Romanoff, Lena; Your People, My People (JPS)

Women & Judaism
Goldstein, Rabbi Elyse: ReVisions: Seeing Torah through a Feminist Lens (Key Porter)
Heschel, Susanna: On Being a Jewish Feminist (Schocken)
Half the Kingdom (film: available at Barbara Frum library)- study guide: Zukerman, Francine, ed. (Vehicle Press)
Schneider, Susan Weidman: Jewish and Female (Simon and Shuster)

Bible
The Torah: A Modern Commentary (also known as The Plaut Commentary) (UAHC)
Etz Hayim
The Soncino Chumash
The JPS Torah Commentary
(for kids) Sedra Scenes (Beiner), Sidra Stories (Rosman), books by Sandy Sasso

Suggestions for Book Month and Chanukah

For Adults

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant see review	One of my favorite new Jewish novels is the incredible modern midrash of Anita Diamant in The Red Tent (St. Martin's Press). She tells the tale of the rape of Dinah, from Dinah's own perspective, in her own words, as it were- a perspective lacking in the actual Torah text but woven skillfully by Diamant. By the end you know the matriarchs like they were your neighbors, and you wish the story would go on and on. You'll never read the Biblical story of Dinah with the same eyes again. Now in paperback, making it the kind of novel you can buy in bulk and give to everyone!
The Busy Soul by Terry Bookman	If you're looking to incorporate some daily spiritual exercise into your life, try The Busy Soul: Ten Minute Spiritual Workouts Drawn from Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Terry Bookman (Perigee Books). Its an unthreatening little paperback with great quotes and thoughtful ways to introduce meditation, prayer, and moments of gratefulness in a Jewish context into a busy secular day.
JEWS by Aron Hirt-Manheimer & Arthur Hertzberg	If you are looking for some more serious reading, a great sweep of Jewish history and an interesting analysis of how being the "other" has made for Jewish survival is found in Jews: The Essence & Character of a People by Aron Hirt-Manheimer and Arthur Hertzberg (Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers).
A Heart of Many Rooms by David Hartman	On a scholarly note, David Hartman's new book A Heart of Many Rooms (Jewish Lights) calls for religious pluralism from an Orthodox perspective, and looks at its implications for both the Diaspora and modern Israel.
The Jewish Holidays by Michael Strassfeld	My single favorite book on the Jewish holidays, both the familar celebrations and the less well known observances. Michael Strassfeld collects not only historical background, but practical information about home rituals, food, family projects, comparisons of customs between different communities, and spiritual guidance for those looking to make the holidays part of their religious rhythm throughout the year. Topping it all off, his text is surrounded on the margins by the comments of some of the most creative and influential rabbis of our day. Paperback.
Swimming in the Sea of Talmud by Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz	This book consists of short excerpts from all over the Talmud, along with short comments about historical contexts, the personalities named, and background to the issues discussed. Most importantly, "Swimming in the Sea of Talmud" shows us that the ancient rabbis discussed and illuminated situations that are still facing us today. An attractive and well designed paperback, this book is great for someone ready to, or just starting, study of this central text in Jewish life.
As A Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberrg	First published in 1939, As A Driven Leaf is both a historical novel and a philosophical meditation. Set in the time of the Talmud, in the period when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, the central character of this unique book is a unique figure in ancient Jewish history: Elisha Ben Abuyah, the only Jewish scholar named in the Talmud who rejected Judaism and adopted other philosophies. From the fragments of his life mentioned in the ancient texts, Rabbi Steinberg imagined a man driven by fateful questions and powerful temptations, and along the way he introduces us to the ancient Jewish world from which our religion and way of life evolved. This book is great for those already thinking about Jewish life and religious issues, or for those who may be ready for a novel, and not yet ready for more traditional Jewish study.

For Kids
Ages 9-13: The Do-It-Yourself Jewish Adventure Series by Kenneth Roseman, UAHC Press. This series are in the mold of those choose-your-own ending books that bring kids right into history. But these will bring your kids into Jewish history, and are written so well that your kids will enjoy reading them- and changing their endings- over and over again. Readers experience and have to make critical decisions at the Temple's destruction in 70 C.E. (The Tenth of Av), as a marrano Jew during the Spanish Inquisition (The Cardinal's Snuffbox), a turn-of-the-century immigrant in New York (The Melting Pot) or a child escaping from Nazi Germany (Escape from the Holocaust).

Ages 4-9: For those parents always on the look-out for books that explain and depict God in non-stereotypical ways, I suggest any of these three books by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso: God's Paintbrush, In God's Name, or God In Between. They are all published by Jewish Lights, and with their beautiful artwork and pluralistic, non-judgmental text, they make talking to younger kids about the difficult concept of God engaging, spiritual, and fun.