Collected Poems by Edith Sitwell (Overlook, $25). My No. 1 choice, because rhythm is part of my soul as are poems of all kinds, ancient to contemporary. Sitwell’s spirited humor and love of language make her so alive! Her “Sylph’s Song” can set me off with a jaunty air: “Daisy and Lily, lazy and silly / walk by the shore of the wan grassy sea ...”
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner, $15). I am often drawn to a book title. Certainly I was by Tender Is the Night. To one of my generation, born in 1915, Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel was our romantic setting as was the French Riviera and the tragic delusion of the glamour of the ’20s. Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, are part of my landscape.
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A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (Back Bay, $15). A tragedy? Well, yes, but one steeped in satire. Waugh’s speedy, biting humor has a way of taking over a part of my brain.
Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Penguin, $25). I never tire of reading about the Middle Ages, and Undset’s Nobel Prize winner is a book I shall continue to read until I die. I still say to Kristen, “Oh please don’t go up the church steps on your knees again without at least trying to understand this very special man you’re married to, please, before it is too late.” Alas, it always is.
Nureyev by Julie Kavanagh (Vintage, $20). I have many books on dance, but this wonderfully researched recent work is one of the best. There is so much of Nureyev’s energy in its pages that I worry Kavanaugh’s pen might run dry before she gets to the end of his brilliant career.
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5 seriously spooky cartoons about HalloweenCartoons Artists take on the GOP boogeyman, a white sheet, and more
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Political cartoons for October 25Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hospital bill trauma, Independence Day, and more
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Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
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Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
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Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
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Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
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Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
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Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
