Book Bag: Lyrical By Janet Fitch
The author of "White Oleander" picks four novels and one memoir that read like poetry.
(12/20/99)

Sincerely ours By Thomas Mallon
The author of "Dewey Defeats Truman" selects five great collections of letters.
(12/13/99)

Black comedy By Claire Messud
The author of "The Last Life" picks five favorite books to make you laugh and cringe.
(12/06/99)

One-handed reading By Susie Bright
Salon's resident sexpert picks five books that taught her what "dirty" meant.
(11/29/99)

Books to snack on By Michael Chabon
The author of "Wonder Boys" selects a literary menu for blocked writers.
(11/22/99)

Men at extremes By Mary Gaitskill
The author of "Bad Behavior" picks five tales of guys at the end of their ropes.
(11/15/99)

Who's screwing who By Fay Weldon
The author of "The Lives and Loves of a She-Devil" picks five great novels about exploitation.
(11/08/99)

Funny pages By Calvin Trillin
The deadline poet and author of "The Tummy Trilogy" picks five books that made him laugh.
(11/01/99)

Strictly Southern By William Styron
The author of "Sophie's Choice" picks five great contemporary Southern novels.
(10/25/99)

Screened out By Jonathan Lethem
The author of "Motherless Brooklyn" spotlights five terrific novels overshadowed by their film versions.
(10/18/99)

Rockets' red glare By Robert Stone
The author of "Dog Soldiers" picks five great contemporary war novels.
(10/11/99)

Pitch black By Ishmael Reed
The author of "The Terrible Twos" picks five African-American novels that refuse to behave.
(10/04/99)

Primal loss By Jayne Anne Phillips
The author of "Black Tickets" picks six powerful books on the first wounds of childhood.(09/27/99)

The docu-novel By Joyce Carol Oates
The author of "Bellefleur" selects five great "nonfiction novels."
(09/20/99)

Guided tours of dystopia By Lorrie Moore
The author of "Birds of America" selects five favorite novels about the future.
(09/13/99)

Fiction, 9 to 5 By Ian McEwan
The author of "Black Dogs" and "Enduring Love" picks five favorite novels about work.
(08/30/99)

What children know By Wendy Lesser
The editor of the Threepenny Review selects her five favorite novels about childhood.
(08/23/99)

Smart and sexy By Erica Jong
The author of "Fear of Flying" selects six novels for those who believe that the brain is the most important erogenous zone.
(08/16/99)

"This is it!" By Penelope Fitzgerald
The author of "The Blue Flower" picks five novels that rocked her world.
(08/02/99)

Back to the '50s By E.L. Doctorow
Five favorite novels from a decade that was wilder than you think.
(07/26/99)

The wild side by Michael Cunningham
The author of "The Hours" picks five books from the edge that belong in the center.
(07/19/99)

Peerless By Peter Carey
The author of "Oscar and Lucinda" picks five very original works of fiction
(07/12/99)

Hard boiled By David Bowman
Five great noir novels from the post-Chandler generations.
(06/28/99)

Other pasts, other places By A.S. Byatt
The author of "Possession" recommends five unforgettable historical novels.
(06/21/99)

Navel-gazing raised to an art By Ann Beattie
Five great contemporary books about self-consciousness.
(06/14/99)

Editor's pick By Michael Korda
Michael Korda, editor of Jacqueline Susann and Tennessee Williams, picks his five favorite novels of the past 40 years.
(06/07/99)

Updike in love By John Updike
The author of "Rabbit, Run" picks the five greatest novels about romance.
(05/24/99)

In the shadow of the screen By Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael picks five favorite novels that have something to do with the movies.
(05/17/99)

True Gore By Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal picks five favorite postwar novels, including one by ...Gore Vidal.
(05/10/99)

In play By Pete Hamill
A legendary newspaperman picks five sports novels that really hit home.
(05/03/99)

World English By Richard Powers
The author of "Gain" and "The Gold Bug Variations" picks five novels from the edge of a new language.
(04/26/99)

L.A. stories By Steve Erickson
The author of "The Sea Came in at Midnight" recommends five great contemporary novels about Los Angeles.
(04/19/99)

Overlooked By David Foster Wallace
Five direly underappreciated U.S. novels.
(04/12/99)

Short list By Mary Gaitskill
The author of "Bad Behavior" picks
her five favorite short stories.
(04/05/99)

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