12 Authors Share Favorite Summer Books

Books to Dip Into and Out Of

Burroughs: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson ($22, amazon.com).
“We know Emily Dickinson lived in olden days and she was a poet and seldom left her home. But read one of her poems—any one will do—and you’ll see the evidence of a glittering genius. You will be amazed by what one brilliant woman can accomplish alone in her bedroom without e-mail, a telephone, or a best friend.”

Collins: “Anything by Elmore Leonard. His books are short, smart, and hilarious.”

DeMille: The Atlantic Book of British and American Poetry, edited by Edith Sitwell (find used copies online, amazon.com).
“Sitwell picked the best of the best in the English language. Excellent with a bottle of wine on the porch or the patio.”

Evanovich: Disney Princess The Ultimate Sticker Book ($7, amazon.com).
“Stick Snow White and Cinderella on the pages and make up your own stories.”

Fairstein: “I always keep a volume of 19th-century British poetry near my bed. It’s a delight to put myself to sleep with a sonnet or a love poem.”

Gilbert: Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius ($11, amazon.com).
“I keep a copy by my bed. And the fact that the ruminations of a second-century Roman emperor bring me comfort, delight, and inspiration is a clue to how timeless this is. Even those of us who aren’t governing empires can benefit from these musings on courage and decency.”

Gregory: Sappho: A New Translation, translated by Mary Barnard ($14, amazon.com).
“It sounds fearfully heavy, but it is absolutely contemporary in feel. A friend who teaches a course in Sappho sent me one poem: ‘Don’t ask me what to wear.’ This is a poet who lived thousands of years ago, yet her work will make a modern woman laugh with recognition.”

Kinsella: The Portable Dorothy Parker, edited by Marion Meade ($18, amazon.com).
“I adore her wit and dark humor.”

Macomber: Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis ($14, amazon.com).

“A series of radio broadcasts Lewis made during World War II, which can be absorbed chapter by chapter without loss of continuity.”

Patterson: Nine Horses, by Billy Collins ($15, amazon.com).
“Collins makes writing accessible poetry seem easy.”

Picoult: The Best American Short Stories ($14, amazon.com).
“I am a sucker for this collection and keep a copy of the 2007 edition, edited by Stephen King, in the guest room of our lake house.”

Steel: “Anything religious.”