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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

Monday

Review

Head Over Heels For 'Boys Over Flowers'

Japan has been devastated by an earthquake and a tsunami — but author Marie Mutsuki Mockett has faith in the resilience of the Japanese people. She recommends Yoko Kamio's manga series, Boys Over Flowers, about a young heroine, who embodies Japanese perseverance.

Head Over Heels For 'Boys Over Flowers'

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Monday

Tuesday

Well-Written 'Letters': Saul Bellow Shows Us How

Review

Well-Written 'Letters': Saul Bellow Shows Us How

The famed writer doled out hundreds of letters to friends, enemies, multiple wives, ex-wives and lovers. Writer Rebecca Newberger Goldstein recommends a hefty collection of Bellow's works of correspondence — brimming with savory morsels of masterful prose.

Well-Written 'Letters': Saul Bellow Shows Us How

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Monday

'Oreo': A Satire Of Racial Identity, Inside And Out

Review

'Oreo': A Satire Of Racial Identity, Inside And Out

Fran Ross' Oreo is an uproarious look at American identity, through the eyes of a biracial girl. The funny, poignant novel was largely ignored when it was published in 1974 — but writer Mat Johnson says the time for the quirky novel is now.

'Oreo': A Satire Of Racial Identity, Inside And Out

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Thursday

Review

A Haunting Tale To Judge 'The Quick And The Dead'

In The Quick and the Dead, Joy Williams fixes a gaze of cold but evocative detachment on the lives of an eclectic cast of characters living in the arid Southwest. Writer Sarah Braunstein says the surreal novel uses wit, candor and virtuosic prose to delve into "our subterranean selves."

A Haunting Tale To Judge 'The Quick And The Dead'

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Wednesday

A Harsh Tale Of War, But An Unforgettable Read

Review

A Harsh Tale Of War, But An Unforgettable Read

How can we understand the experiences of those who have lived through war? What do they have to teach us? Author Hilary Thayer Hamann's favorite book attempts to answer these questions, and reinforces just how beautifully implausible life during conflict can be. It's The War by Marguerite Duras.

A Harsh Tale Of War, But An Unforgettable Read

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Monday

Review

Spare And Sublime: A Monastery's Spell Of 'Silence'

Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time To Keep Silence replicates in style and rhythm the very experience that it seeks to describe. The 95-page book recounts Fermor's visits to several French monasteries in the 1950s, and writer Adam Haslett found the book draws readers into deep contemplation.

Spare And Sublime: A Monastery's Spell Of 'Silence'

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Thursday

Thursday

Wednesday

In 'Last Exit,' Brooklyn Is A Character, Too

Review

In 'Last Exit,' Brooklyn Is A Character, Too

It may be graphic, it may be violent, but author and humorist Mishna Wolff has purchased no less than three copies of Hubert Selby Jr.'s Last Exit to Brooklyn. As much as she is revolted by the characters' flaws, she is inspired by their courage.

In 'Last Exit,' Brooklyn Is A Character, Too

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Tuesday

Tragic Loss And Love Affirmed In 'Figment'

Review

Tragic Loss And Love Affirmed In 'Figment'

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination is much more than a memoir about a stillborn child. Elizabeth McCracken's story of stunning loss and grief is also a moving and affirming story of love.

Tragic Loss And Love Affirmed In 'Figment'

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Monday

'If I Stay': Trapped Between Life And Death

Review

'If I Stay': Trapped Between Life And Death

Writer Kaleb Nation admits that he buys books for their covers — that's why he first picked up Gayle Forman's If I Stay. But he was quickly drawn into the story of Mia, a young cellist who must choose whether to return to her destroyed life, or simply let it all go.

'If I Stay': Trapped Between Life And Death

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