Book magazine recently named Harriet Klausner the “No. 1 reader in America.” A speed reader who regularly finishes two books per day, she’s Amazon.com’s most prolific customer reviewer.
Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley Publishing Group, $8). All the key Scarpetta novels are crime-thriller masterpieces, but her latest work gives a new twist to the word “justice.” The heroine is under investigation for a crime perpetrated against her. This forces her to make life-altering decisions that take an already majestic series in a new direction, yet it continues the stratospheric level of greatness.
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Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (Random House, $7). This is the first novel from the “Dragonriders of Pern” series, and it holds a special place in my heart because after reading this work, I realized fantasy is not only for males. I soared on the back of a dragon fighting an evil life form called a “thread”—and still have that copy (though, like me, a little worse for wear) that opened the portal to a new adventurous world.
The Stand by Stephen King (NAL, $9). King is the king of horror, but this novel is his loftiest best. It is the quintessential, classic good vs. evil metaphysical battle, played out on an earthly plain.
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (Ballantine Books, $30 box set). This is one of the best fantasy series ever written, judging by all the imitators. Though a bit verbose, these tales are great escapist literature that keeps drawing me back to a world that I would like to visit (at least that of the hobbits, those bravest of creatures).
Bones: An Irene Kelly Mystery
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Africa's largest dam is making diplomatic wavesUnder the Radar Ethiopians view using the Nile as a 'sovereign right' but the vast hydroelectric project has 'fuelled nationalist fervour' in Egypt and Sudan
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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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Trump's drug war is now a real shooting warTalking Points The Venezuela boat strike was 'not a mere law enforcement action'
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
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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
