Helene Stapinski is the author of Five-Finger Discount and a second memoir, Baby Plays Around, which was published this month by Villard.
The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr (Penguin, $14). This book, my favorite memoir, is poetry disguised as literary nonfiction. Mary Karr’s story of growing up in East Texas was the first and best of the rash of memoirs that came out in the 1990s. Each and every sentence is a pleasure.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage, $13). Years of fiction writing were simply practice for what Truman Capote called his “nonfiction novel.” Capote saw a small story in a newspaper about the brutal murder of a Kansas family and took it from there. The first book of its kind, it brought the “new journalism” to new heights. In Cold Blood rocked the world in 1965 (the year I was born) and rocked me in 1989. It continues to do so. It’s so good, I can forgive Capote for taking a little “creative license” near the end.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Naked by David Sedaris (Back Bay, $15). Whenever I’m miserable, all I need to do is take down this David Sedaris collection and the dark clouds part. The man taught me to have no mercy.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (Riverhead, $14). I can’t leave Nick Hornby’s rock ’n’ roll novel off my desert-island top six. An incredibly smart, hysterically funny, and surprisingly touching story of a music geek in love, it’s required reading for all Elvis fans (Costello, not Presley).
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje (Vintage, $11). The writer Luc Sante turned me on to this little-known, luminescent gem, Michael Ondaatje’s impressionistic fictional account of the tragic life of New Orleans jazz cornet player Buddy Bolden. It may be the only book to ever nail down what music actually sounds like—and where it comes from.
To Kill a Mockingbird
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
-
Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventureFeature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90'sFeature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native charactersFeature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
John Kenney's 6 favorite books that will break your heart softlyFeature The novelist recommends works by John le Carré, John Kennedy Toole, and more
-
Andrea Long Chu's 6 favorite books for people who crave new ideasFeature The book critic recommends works by Rachel Cusk, Sigmund Freud, and more
