The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books

Just got my copy of J. Peder Zane's The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books. I was lucky enough to be one of 125 "leading writers" that was asked to contribute a list of ten favorite books. (I also wrote a brief appreciation of one of them, The Green House, by Mario Vargas Llosa. )

Flipping through it is quite interesting. The lists have some definite similarities, but there are also plenty of variety and quite a few surprises. And it's nice to be in good company here. There are lists from Andrea Barrett, Annie Proulx, Bebe Moore Campbell, Barry Unsworth, David Foster Wallace, David Mitchell, Ethan Canin, Edwidge Danticat, Francine Prose, George Pelecanos, Ha Jin, Heid Julavits, Ian Rankin, Jim Harrison, Jonathan Lethem, Kent Haruf, Michael Chabon, Norman Mailer, Paul Auster, Pearl Cleage, Percival Everett, Russell Banks, Richard Powers, Sherman Alexie, Stephen King, T C Boyle, Thomas Mallon and Wally Lamb, just a name a few. Nice company to keep, even if it's just within the pages of a book about books.

You could check it out on Amazon here The Top Ten.

My list? Well, it includes titles by Toni Morrison, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Milan Kundera, Cormac McCarthy, Ben Okri and Frank Herbert, just to name a few. Honestly, I find this quite an interesting book. It's reminded me of a lot titles I need to check out, and it's also given new insights to some of these recommenders, who at times really surprise with their choices.

Thanks to Peder for putting it all together.