Liz Smith
Nationally syndicated gossip columnist and author Liz Smith chooses six of her favorite books. Her memoir, Natural Blonde (Hyperion, $20.76), was published last year.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Simon & Schuster, $20.40). This is an almost perfect novel, with great events and great characters. What would we have done without it?
The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum (W.W. Norton & Company). And what would childhood have been like without this wonderful series, which also includes Tik-Tok of Oz and Rinkitink in Oz.
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.
Kitty Foyle by Christopher Morley (out of print). Back in 1936, this book opened a world to me, a world where a woman could be independent and successful in her “white collar” dress. The male author put himself into the body and soul of a young Irish girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She falls for a scion of the Mainline. Disaster—but she goes on to success in New York. This inspired me to get my act together and leave Texas.
A World Lit Only by Fire by William Raymond Manchester (Little Brown & Co., $12.80). This author, who also wrote The Death of a President (JFK) and a wonderful biography of Winston Churchill, never misses. His story of Vasco de Gamo in A World is just wonderful.
Act One by Moss Hart (St. Martin’s Press, $13.56). Hart’s theater autobiography was a model for all aspiring talents for the stage. And now Stephen Bach’s biography of Moss Hart, Dazzler (Knopf, $23.96), provides more lore. I love both Moss’ version of himself and Bach’s version of Moss.
A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman (Ballantine, $12.80). All of Tuchman’s histories are just wonderful, but this is a favorite—the story of life in the Middle Ages and during the Black Death. It makes you very glad to be alive in the 20th and 21st centuries.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Patricia Cornwell, Jeffrey Deaver, Kathy Reichs. Any book by these writers and their imitators. I love serial-killer, forensic-science stories and find them now my most relaxing and favorite reading.
-
Frauds: ‘fantastically stylish’ crime heist caper is a ‘triumph’
The Week Recommends Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker play a pair of ex-cons planning one last job
-
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
-
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