Olivia Judson is the author of Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation. A research fellow at the Imperial College in London, she is currently filming a TV series based on her best-seller.
Narrow Roads of Gene Land, Volume 1: The Evolution of Social Behaviour by W.D. Hamilton (Oxford University Press, $55). This unusual book, written by one of the most original and important biologists of our time, is a collection of scientific papers that are paired with sketches of what the author was thinking at the time he wrote each one. The sketches are masterpieces of scientific autobiography: poignant, funny, and candid. All in all, a fascinating insight into a great mind.
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (Puffin, $5). I have always adored Alice and admired Lewis Carroll. He was among the first people to popularize science, and he’s the writer I would most like to write like. He’s simple, direct, witty, and light.
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The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West (New York Review of Books, $17). This story of a poor, chaotic, and idealistic family living in London on the eve of the First World War is a moving, engaging tale with a touch of magic, written in lyrical, evocative prose. I never get tired of it.
All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (Harvest, $14). I first read this book at school—usually the kiss of death for my literary enthusiasms. But the explosive mix of politics and power and corruption and love, told by such a masterful writer, seduced me, and I have read it again and again.
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (Random House, $11). This is the only book that I have ever read from cover to cover without moving—and on finishing, turned back to page one, and read from cover to cover again, still without moving. I don’t know of any other modern writer who has invented such a large and diverse array of real, complex characters, or who writes with such an absorbing and, sometimes, strangely erotic style.
The Iliad and The Odyssey
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Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
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October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, 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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Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
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Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
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Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
