In the first recording, the writers discuss their childhood favorites and the first books that made them readers.

In the second they reveal how reading an author's entire body of work -- which they had to do in order to contribute to the "Reader's Guide" -- can turn off even the most faithful fan, and how their own final verdicts sometimes surprised them.

In the third, the panelists discuss what makes a truly good reader and why.

The "Reader's Guide" is an opinionated and sometimes irreverent guide to the works of the most fascinating authors of our time, by almost 100 writers, critics and readers. The panel took place at Barnes & Noble in New York.