Katharine Weber
Katharine Weber’s third novel, The Little Women, has just been published. She teaches fiction writing at Yale, and here chooses “six books I plan to reread every few years for the rest of my life.”
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Vintage, $13). Nabokov’s brilliant novel is a savage satire of complacent American values. An astonishing doom-dark narrative of obsession, written in exquisite and inventive language, Lolita is an endlessly rewarding masterpiece.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner, $13). Another skewering of American values, this really is a perfect novel. It’s a portrait of the Jazz Age that reads like a parable of contemporary issues. Read it now and discover that Jimmy Gatz is alive and well and shopping for shirts at Paul Stuart.
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.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Lb Books, $6). Sure, you read it when you were an angst-y teenager. Now read it again as an angst-y grown-up. It’s still great, and still important. Holden Caulfield’s despair will strike you just as deeply, but in a different, darker place.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Little, Brown, $7). The world needs more lawyers like Atticus Finch. This novel takes on the biggest and most divisive issue in American life in the 20th century—race relations—and makes it personal. If this were your first novel, you might also stop right there, as did Miss Lee.
The Diary of Anne Frank (Doubleday, $75). Anne Frank was a genuinely gifted writer who had every intention of publishing her diary and had already begun to revise it by the time the police raided the secret annex. Had she survived the war, I have no doubt that today she would be a 74-year-old celebrated novelist. Instead of reaching for that dog-eared paperback, get the new Revised Critical Edition from Doubleday, which contains much previously censored material.
Little Women
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Little Women
-
The struggles of Aston Martin
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rights
The Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Grecotel Luxme Dama Dama: Greek luxury with a breezy beach vibe
The Week Recommends Rhodes is reimagined in this refined and relaxed resort
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytelling
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
-
Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficulties
Feature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious characters
Feature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
-
Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short stories
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more