Staff Picks: Alison's Ten Favorite Books

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Each month, we ask one employee to tell us about their ten favorite books. This list is no holds barred -- any genre, any size -- whatever they really want to talk about. The only restriction is that the books still be in print so that we can help you find them if they sound good. This month's presenter is Alison (pictured here in self-portrait in the medium of ink and napkin). When asked to come up with a list of only ten books, she complained bitterly at the limitations of both the number of books she could pick and the fact that they all had to be in print. Alison is currently lobbying for a new system by which staff would be able to choose a certain number of books for each decade that they had been alive. But this is still under negotiation, so here we present her ten reluctantly chosen books. As you read her selections, keep in mind that they only begin to scratch the surface of a life spent reading and loving books.

Other Staff Picks: Ed | Jed | Cinnamon | Brad | Ingrid | Erika | Doug | Stacy | Kim | Jessie | Louisa | Cynthia

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino "Italo Calvino died way way way too young, and it is criminal to think of the books that might have come since he was so excellent a writer. This amazing feat of magic--story within story within... has a special fascination. How did he do it?"

The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys "The why and how of the madwoman in Dr. Rochester's attic--this is one of the most beautiful and stunning leaps of imagination ever written. The very air of the Caribbean is made tangible. Rhys' books about sad-lived women, short changed by men, drinking and smoking in Paris are great, but this is unique."

Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov "I love Lolita, but Ada has every great Nabokovian quirk and turn and is a motherlode of language(s) and has the sexiest description of the nape of a neck ever written."

History, A Novel by Elsa Morante "This book made a profound impression on me and is certainly one of the most powerful condemnations of war ever written. Warning: You will weep!"

The Thought Gang by Tibor Fischer "I like all of Tibor Fischer's books, but this one is especially crazy and entertaining. Who would have thunk of philosophical robbers?! A very funny book. Eddie Coffin is a marvelous creation."

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West "There have been lots of Hollywood novels, but this little nightmare remains the best for me."

The Bell by Iris Murdoch "Another author who should never never ever have died. I only picked this title because it is a good appetizer--really, every one of her novels belongs on this list. Iris Murdoch was absolutely brilliant and brought her characters completely to life--you always knew what they looked like, ate wore, what their houses or flats were like. Her characters are often AWFUL and aggravating and always fascinating and vastly entertaining. This book concerns the deluded doings of a religious lot. (Don't miss The Philosopher's Pupil or The Green Knight.)"

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger "Because after forty-plus years since first reading it, A Perfect Day for Bananafish is still one of my favorite short stories."

A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell "Living along with a group of characters for this extended time is so satisfying and engrossing that it is just unlike any other reading experience." 1st Movement 2nd Movement 3rd Movement 4th Movement

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James "I am addicted to James' wonderful, endless sentences and perfect phrases, and his often shady characters, of which Madame Merle is one of his best. The opening paragraphs of this novel are perfection to me, and a bit of heaven would be to have someone read them aloud."

Other Staff Picks: Ed | Jed | Cinnamon | Brad | Ingrid | Erika | Doug | Stacy | Kim | Jessie | Louisa | Cynthia

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