Lolly Winston

Lolly Winston is the best-selling author of Good Grief, a comic novel about a young widow.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Vintage, $14). I love this book because it’s so dark and funny at the same time, and because the language is so extraordinary. And it has one of my all-time favorite moments: Humbert Humbert drives down the wrong side of the road; he figures he’s already violated every other law of human nature, so why not drive down the wrong side of the road and see how it feels? It’s great how this one moment captures the essence of the story and his angst.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Perennial, $14). Another dark yet funny novel. Lolita is about obsession, while The Bell Jar is about depression. Two of my favorite topics, I hate to admit.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (Vintage, $12). I just read this book this past summer, and I’m convinced it will be one of my all-time favorites. It broke my heart and made me laugh at the same time.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Ballantine, $8). A thriller and a literary masterpiece all in one. What I particularly like is how we learn right up front that the character Bunny is murdered by his friends. If we already know what happens, then why keep reading? Because we need to know how and when and why.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Picador, $13). I usually fall in love with a book because I fall in love with the beauty of the writing, and that was certainly the case with this book. I loved it more than Mrs. Dalloway, its inspiration. Can I say that? Will someone come and take my English degree away?

The Age of Innocence