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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.
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You Must Read This

Writers recommend their all-time favorite books

Monday

In 'Believers', Courage And Cowardice Of Conviction

Review

In 'Believers', Courage And Cowardice Of Conviction

Who says unlikable characters make for unlikable books? The prickly people in Zoe Heller's The Believers are infused with wit and intelligence. Author Meghan Daum says she has recommended the poignant satire to more friends than she can count.

In 'Believers', Courage And Cowardice Of Conviction

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Wednesday

Review

Tasting The Flavors Of Life As Only 'George' Could

When author Simon Van Booy looks to puncture the solitude of writing life, he reaches for George, Being George, the oral biography of George Plimpton. Based on hundreds of interviews with his intimates and colleagues, the portrait of Plimpton reveals the richness and flavor of life that the actor and writer knew how to capture so well in his own work.

Tasting The Flavors Of Life As Only 'George' Could

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Wednesday

'Passing' Across The Color Line In The Jazz Age

Nella Larsen was a prominent novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1891, her mother was Danish and her father was West Indian. James Allen/Harmon Foundation Records hide caption

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James Allen/Harmon Foundation Records

Review

'Passing' Across The Color Line In The Jazz Age

Writer Heidi Durrow says she has read Nella Larsen's Passing more than a dozen times. The 1929 novel tells the story of two light-skinned, African-American women — childhood friends who are reconnected after leading drastically different lives. Durrow says Larsen demands that her readers transcend society's assigned labels.

'Passing' Across The Color Line In The Jazz Age

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Wednesday

Review

An 'Apprenticeship' In First-Generation Chutzpah

When David Sax was 11, his father handed him The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and said: "Read this if you want to know where I came from." Mordecai Richler's novel about an ambitious teen from Montreal's Jewish working class helped Sax learn to appreciate the immigrant drive.

An 'Apprenticeship' In First-Generation Chutzpah

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Tuesday

Review

Finding Escape In The Familiar With 'Riddley Walker'

When author John Wray is looking for an escape, he doesn't search for a world filled with giants and wands. Instead, he dives into Riddley Walker's post-apocalyptic England. Even this grim, mutant-filled world is riddled with surprising shocks of recognition.

Finding Escape In The Familiar With 'Riddley Walker'

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Friday

Tuesday

Review

All Aboard Historical Thriller 'Finland Station'

Author Aravind Adiga was not interested in stuffy classics or long, drawn-out historical accounts. But Edmund Wilson's history of socialism, To the Finland Station, proved to be anything but dull — it's electrifying.

All Aboard Historical Thriller 'Finland Station'

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Friday

Review

'Book Of Disquiet' Reveals A Reclusive Author's Soul

Author Fernando Pessoa may have been a loner who lived most of his life in a single room in Lisbon, Portugal. But he wasn't alone: He created numerous literary alter egos. Rabih Alameddine describes Pessoa's work, The Book of Disquiet, as one of life's great miracles.

'Book Of Disquiet' Reveals A Reclusive Author's Soul

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Tuesday

Review

The Unexamined Life Examined In 'Mrs. Bridge'

Best-selling mystery novelist James Patterson may be known for his thrillers, but the little book that profoundly influenced his writing was far less conspicuous. Mrs. Bridge, the tale of a Kansas City husband and wife, would stay with him forever.

The Unexamined Life Examined In 'Mrs. Bridge'

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Thursday

Review

A Cape Cod Connection In 'The Outermost House'

When she needs inspiration for writing about the natural world, author Lucinda Fleeson opens Henry Beston's 1929 classic: The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod.

A Cape Cod Connection In 'The Outermost House'

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Monday

Thursday

Review

A Wild, 'Burning' Journey Back To Old Mexico

Author Oscar Casares never used to be a reader — until the excitement of The Burning Plain and Other Stories showed him what he had been missing.

A Wild, 'Burning' Journey Back To Old Mexico

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Tuesday

Thursday

Review

'Sargasso' Re-Imagines The Madwoman Of 'Jane Eyre'

Jean Rhys' 1966 novel Wide Sargasso Sea endeavors to create a back story to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Though author Sara Paretsky usually resists such "vampire novels," she fell hard for Rhys' heart-chokingly urgent tale of Rochester's Madwoman.

'Sargasso' Re-Imagines The Madwoman Of 'Jane Eyre'

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Monday

When It Comes To Food, You Can't 'Beat This' Book

Review

When It Comes To Food, You Can't 'Beat This' Book

According to author Elizabeth Berg, Beat This! is more than just a cookbook — it's a humor book, a self-help book and a kind of bible.

When It Comes To Food, You Can't 'Beat This' Book

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