You Must Read This "You Must Read This" presents conversations with writers about the books they love to read and recommend.

Special Series

You Must Read This

Writers recommend their all-time favorite books

Wednesday November 28, 2012

Getty Images

A Warrior's Welcome In 'Billy Lynn'

November 28, 2012 • Ben Fountain's newest book, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, takes place over the course of a single day in the life of Spc. William Lynn. Author Jonathan Evison writes that this is a book so vivid he felt like he lived it. Have you ever read a book that felt real? Tell us in the comments.

Monday November 26, 2012

Review

Strange Fruit And Stranger Dreams In The Deep South

November 26, 2012 • The Battlefield Where The Moon Says I Love You may be more than 15,000 lines of almost entirely unpunctuated poetry, but author Steve Stern says this Southern gothic fun house is so bewitching you'll have to finish it. Do you have a favorite impossible book? Tell us in the comments.

Wednesday November 14, 2012

Review

Death At The Lighthouse: Witless Bay Comes Alive

November 14, 2012 • The Bird Artist, Howard Norman's 1994 novel about the murder of a lighthouse keeper, is set in Witless Bay. Author Da Chen writes that the distinctive setting makes this novel a success. What is your favorite book with an unforgettable setting? Tell us in the comments.

Monday November 5, 2012

Cosmic Love: A Sensual Sanskrit Epic Revived

iStockphoto.com hide caption

toggle caption

Review

Cosmic Love: A Sensual Sanskrit Epic Revived

November 5, 2012 • The great Sanskrit epic The Birth of Kumara details the heavenly lovemaking of Shiva and Parvati. Author Aatish Taseer tells how reading the fifth-century epic connected him to classical India. What work of literature brought you closer to home? Tell us in the comments.

Monday October 15, 2012

Review

A Historical Account Of Revolution In Present Tense

October 15, 2012 • After the first manuscript of Thomas Carlyle's French Revolution was accidentally burned, he began again with renewed fervor. Historian H.W. Brands explains why Carlyle's book remains fresh as ever. Have you ever lost your magnum opus to fire or flash drive? Tell us in the comments.

Monday August 6, 2012

An Apocalyptic Romp Through The 'Golden' State

iStockphoto.com

Review

An Apocalyptic Romp Through The 'Golden' State

August 6, 2012 • Golden Days starts out as a fun tale of '80s Los Angeles. By the end, it's a devastating portrait of life after a nuclear blast. Author Gabrielle Zevin says it showed her that novels, like life, can span multiple genres. Do you have a favorite book about life in California? Tell us in the comments.

An Apocalyptic Romp Through The 'Golden' State

Listen · 3:33 3:33

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/156969670/158232609" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Monsters In Black Tie: A World Of Cliques And Class

cover detail hide caption

toggle caption

Review

Monsters In Black Tie: A World Of Cliques And Class

August 6, 2012 • The five interconnected Patrick Melrose novels may first seem like vapid tales of the wildly rich, but to author Mark Saunders they're also harsh dramas about the excesses of the British upper crust. What's your favorite story of the upper class? Tell us in the comments.

Monday July 30, 2012

An Existential Guide For When You're Really 'Lost'

cover detail hide caption

toggle caption

Review

An Existential Guide For When You're Really 'Lost'

July 30, 2012 • Astrophysicist Adam Frank doesn't usually read self-help books, but something about Walker Percy's existential optimism in Lost In The Cosmos actually changed his outlook on life. Do you have a favorite self-help book? Tell us in the comments below.

An Existential Guide For When You're Really 'Lost'

Listen · 2:39 2:39

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/157305871/166259092" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Monday June 25, 2012

In Old Havana, A Story Of Sunlight And Mystery

A vintage car on the streets of Cuba. iStockphoto.com hide caption

toggle caption

iStockphoto.com

Review

In Old Havana, A Story Of Sunlight And Mystery

June 25, 2012 • For Pablo Medina, Guillermo Cabrera Infante's Three Trapped Tigers was powerful enough to transport him back to his homeland of pre-revolutionary Cuba. Is there a book that has whisked you back to the place where you grew up? Tell us in the comments.

Monday May 28, 2012

Cowslips To Kingcups: Finding Joy In The Garden

iStockphoto.com

Review

Cowslips To Kingcups: Finding Joy In The Garden<br>

May 28, 2012 • When author Lauren Groff found herself anxious and unable to work, she needed a book to get lost in. Elizabeth and Her German Garden, with its great, hidden depths, consoled her through her darkest time. Has a book ever gotten you out of a tough moment? Tell us about it in the comments.

Cowslips To Kingcups: Finding Joy In The Garden

Listen · 3:17 3:17

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/148673419/153880826" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Recalling The Past: The Intimate Objects Of Childhood

Harvard University Press

Review

Recalling The Past: The Intimate Objects Of Childhood

May 28, 2012 • Sometimes rediscovering an object from childhood can bring back a flood of memories. Jeffrey Lewis rediscovered much of his young self when he read Berlin Childhood around 1900. Has a book ever reminded you of your own early life? Tell us about it in the comments.

Monday May 21, 2012

Wisteria And Sunshine: One Enchanted Italian April

Wisteria grows in Guerneville, Calif. smilla4/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption

smilla4/Flickr

Review

Wisteria And Sunshine: One Enchanted Italian April

May 21, 2012 • An April spent in an Italian castle? Yes, please. The four women of Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April are lucky to have a grand adventure. But author Madeline Miller recommends the book even if you're stuck at home. Do you have a favorite book about exotic travel? Tell us in the comments.

Monday May 14, 2012

Mamma Mia! A Mother Tougher Than The Godfather

cover detail hide caption

toggle caption

Review

Mamma Mia! A Mother Tougher Than The Godfather

May 14, 2012 • Mario Puzo isn't known for his strong female characters — but if you've read his pre-Godfather work, The Fortunate Pilgrim, you might think otherwise. Author Zoe Ferraris recommends this book, which is based on Puzo's own mother. Do you have a favorite literary matriarch? Tell us in the comments.

Mamma Mia! A Mother Tougher Than The Godfather

Listen · 3:59 3:59

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150733894/153639686" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Thursday April 26, 2012

Bradbury's Tale: A 'Wicked' Read, A Haunted Book

carousel Jeremy Brooks/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption

Jeremy Brooks/Flickr

Review

Bradbury's Tale: A 'Wicked' Read, A Haunted Book

April 26, 2012 • It wasn't just the creepy carnival that drew Seth Grahame-Smith to Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was also the book's frank portrayal of parents who don't behave like grown-ups. Do you remember when you realized your parents weren't perfect? Tell us about it in the comments.

Bradbury's Tale: A 'Wicked' Read, A Haunted Book

Listen · 2:45 2:45

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150727050/151473639" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Monday April 23, 2012

Beyond The 'Blonde': A Look At Marilyn's Inner Life

Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

Review

Beyond The 'Blonde': A Look At Marilyn's Inner Life

April 23, 2012 • Flamboyant and confident, Marilyn Monroe oozed sex appeal. But in Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde, we see a woman overshadowed by her onscreen persona. Author Manuel Munoz says the novel gives a glimpse into the star's interior life. Have a favorite book about a celebrity? Tell us in the comments.

Beyond The 'Blonde': A Look At Marilyn's Inner Life

Listen · 4:00 4:00

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150365050/152368680" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript