Favorite books of famous people

The Pinellas Park Public Library has asked famous people their favorite books. The list includes favorite books of Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Roger Ebert and Ralph Nader, and many more, along with comments from these people.

Dave Barry

- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Anything by Robert Benchley
- Anything by P.G. Wodehouse
- Any of the Pogo Books
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

William Bennett (American conservative politician and pundit)

- The Odyssey by Homer
- The Republic by Plato
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- MacBeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and King Lear by William Shakespeare
- The novels of Walker Percy

Judy Blume

- As a 10 year old -- The Betsy-Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace
- As a teenager -- The novels of Thomas Hardy
- As a young wife, mother, and aspiring writer -- The novels of Joyce Carol Oates
- The novels of John Updike
- 20 years later -- Any book, fiction or non-fiction that stays with me, making me think, question, and remember

Bobby Bowden (coach with the most wins in NCAA Division I football history, head football Coach at Florida State University):

- Holy Bible
- D-Day by Stephen Ambrose
- The Civil War by Shelby Foote
- Bear: The Hard Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach by Paul W. Bryant and John Underwood
- Just As I Am by Billy Graham

Jimmy Buffett (singer, songwriter, businessman, film producer):

- Following the Equator by Mark Twain
- Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk
- Key West Reader: the Best of Key West's Writers, 1830-1990 edited by George Murphy
- Ninety-two in the Shade by Thomas McGuane

Jimmy Carter

- Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee (The book tells vividly and beautifully about life during the depression when I was a child.)
- The Bible (...had the greatest impact on my life.)

Tom Clancy

- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (The first real adult book I ever read; it also started me off on science fiction.)
- The Struggle for Guadalcanal by S.E. Morison (This one began my love for history.)
- The Day of the Jackal by Freddy Forsyth (The best thriller of all time, it also redefined the genre.)
- Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie (Perhaps the best piece of political history I've yet to read.)
- Shogun by James Clavell (I've always been a sucker for a fine historical novel.)

Howard Dean

- All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (Great insight into the appropriate use of power in a democratic state. Good exploration "means to an end dilemma.")
- Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey (Really good writing about all of the human emotion.)
- The Day on Fire; a novel suggested by the life of Arthur Rimbaud by James Ramsey Ullman (Fictionalized biography of the French poet, Arthur Rimbaud. Good insight into what went on in French colonialism and into the absinthe based cafe society in the Left Bank of Paris.)

Roger Ebert

- The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
- The Golden Bowl by Henry James
- Victory by Joseph Conrad
- Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
- Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki

Edge (Adam Copeland) (World Wrestling Entertainment superstar):

- To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust
- Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini
- Omerta by Mario Puzo
- The Stand by Stephen King
- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

John Edward (TV personality, psychic medium):

- Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Read in school and loved it!)
- Flowers in the Attic series by V.C. Andrews (They were free summer reading and my entire family read them and passed them around.)
- Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Read it in school and loved it.)
- The Stand by Stephen King (Great story about good versus evil.)
- Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Great adventure that educates along the way.)

Bill Gates

- The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
- Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- My Years With General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Language Instinct by Steven Pinkler

Anne McCaffrey (Regarding her list of books, she stated: "Not, perhaps, any of them classics, with the exception of KIM, by books I enjoy rereading for the satisfation they give me."):

- Kim by Rudyard Kipling
- Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
- Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay
- The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer
- The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Ralph Nader

- Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy: A Book of History & Strategies edited by Dean Ritz
- The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception by David Corn
- "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power
- The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It by Maria Angell, M.D.
- Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling of Democracy by Lewis H. Lapham

Oliver North (Former Lt. Colonel, conservative commentator):

- The Bible
- The Book of Virtues by William Bennett
- The books of Winston Churchill

Ted Nugent (hard rock guitarist)

- Blood Trails: The Truth About Bowhunting by Ted Nugent
- Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Fred Bear's Field Notes by Fred Bear
- Trailing a Bear by Bob Munger

Howard Rheingold (writer of Virtual Reality, The Virtual Community, Tools for Thought and Smart Mobs among others)

- The Way of Life by Lao Tse
- The Myth of the Machine by Lewis Mumford
- Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
- Out of Control by Kevin Kelly
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The Reverend V. Gene Robinson (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire):
- From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (Best single resource for understanding the intractable conflict in the Middle East, especially Isreal and Palestine. Anything by the NY Times columnist is great!)

- Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King (Behind the scenes story of how Michelangelo came to paint the Sistine Chapel. Fascinating and well written.)
- Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver (All of her novels are fabulous, especially Prodigal Summer, but this book of essays, mostly on ecology themes is a must read; the essay on biodiversity is brilliant!)
- Wrestling with God and Men by Steve Greenberg (Just when you think everthing has been said about the religious debate over homosexuality, this new book explores new territory, just published in 2004.)
- The Way of the Wolf by Martin Bell (Stories which cast the message of the Gospels in new images. There is an accompanying tape with Martin Bell dramatically reading some of them.)

David Rothman (Internet personality)

- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Or perhaps Babbitt Lewis is passe now, but I can't get his characters out of my mind)
- What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg (Although it isn't great, we're talking favorites here)
- Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (This book made me--a Virginian--want to go to the University of North Carolina, and I did. And for good measure, I ended up years later with a Tar Heel wife.)
- All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (Primary Colors is lifeless compared to the book that inspired it.)

Buffy Saint-Marie (folk singer):

- Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by Jack Weatherford
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
- The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
- The Grass Dancer by Susan Power
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Steven Spielberg

- The Leatherstocking Tales by James Fennimore Cooper (Including titles: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prarie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer.)
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

George M. Steinbrenner (principal owner of the NY Yankees):

- Why Courage Matters by John McCain with Mark Salter
- Patton: A Genius for War by Carol D'Este
- Operation Iraqi Freedom by Tom Brokaw
- Patton on Leadership by Alan Axelrod
- John Paul Jones by Evan Thomas

R. L. Stine (author of the Goosebumps series):

- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
- Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
- Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodenhouse
- Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
- Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

Studs Terkel (American author, historian and broadcaster)

- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
- Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren
- The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor by Flannery O'Connor

The coffee table book on coffee tables

Kramer's coffee table book on coffee tables was a story arc through a few seasons of Seinfeld. It turns out, a coffee table book on coffee tables has been published in 2003 long after Kramer published his:

The Coffee Table, Coffee Table Book by Alexander Payne and James Zemaitis.

Best selling children's books of all times

Here is a list of 150 best selling children's paperbacks through the end of 2000, compiled by Publishers Weekly. The list has obviously changed a lot in the last years, with Harry Potter books sitting at the top. When buying gifts for children, that's a good list to consult.

1. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams (1974)
2. The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton (1968)
3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume (1976)
4. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch; illustrated by Sheila McGraw (1986)
5. Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls (1973)
6. The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell (1971)
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J. K. Rowling (1999)
8. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Judy Blume (1972)
9. Shane, Jack Schaeffer (1972)
10. The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (1982)
11. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle (1974)
12. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
13. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
14. The Incredible Journey, Sheila Burnford (1984)
15. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1968)
16. Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes (1969)
17. Just Me and My Dad, Mercer Mayer (1977)
18. Go Ask Alice, Anonymous (1976)
19. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling (2000)
20. Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Judy Blume (1976)
21. Blubber, Judy Blume (1976)
22. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare (1972)
23. Superfudge, Judy Blume (1981)
24. Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson (1987)
25. Freckle Juice, Judy Blume (1978)
26. On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
27. That Was Then, This Is Now, S. E. Hinton (1972)
28. Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar (1985)
29. The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger (1951)
30. Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
31. Just Go to Bed, Mercer Mayer (1993)
32. Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak (1984)
33. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd (1977)
34. The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
35. The Berenstain Bears' New Baby, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1974)
36. By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
37. Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
38. The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1983)
39. The Pigman, Paul Zindel (1978)
40. The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1961)
41. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg (1973)
42. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad, Mercer Mayer (1982)
43. Just Grandma and Me, Mercer Mayer (1975)
44. Just for You, Mercer Mayer (1975)
45. Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan (1987)
46. When The Legends Die, Hal Borland (1984)
47. Bunnicula, James Howe (1980)
48. James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl; illustrated by Nancy Burkert (1988)
49. The Berenstain Bears Go to School, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1978)
50. The Night Before Christmas, Clement Hurd; illustrated by Douglas Gorsline (1975)
51. These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
52. All by Myself, Mercer Mayer (1983)
53. Stuart Little, E. B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams (1974)
54. The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
55. Hatchet, Gary Paulsen (1988)
56. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson (1979)
57. The Cay, Theodore Taylor (1970)
58. Kristy's Great Idea (Babysitters Club #1), Ann M. Martin (1986)
59. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
60. Then Again, Maybe I Won't, Judy Blume (1973)
61. I Was So Mad, Mercer Mayer (1983)
62. The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1984)
63. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1994)
64. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1984)
65. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl (1988)
66. The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
67. The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
68. Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George (1974)
69. The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
70. The Berenstain Bears and the Truth, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1983)
71. Gremlins, George Jipe (1984)
    
72. Stone Fox, John Gardiner; illustrated by Marcia Sewall (1983)
73. I Just Forgot, Mercer Mayer (1988)
74. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz (1976)
75. How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell (1975)
76. The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary (1980)
77. When I Get Bigger, Mercer Mayer (1983)
78. The Berenstain Bears in the Dark, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
79. 500 Words to Grow On, Harry McNaught (1973)
80. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor (1984)
81. Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Lynn Sweat (1987)
82. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry (1990)
83. The Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White; illustrated by Edward Frascino (1973)
84. The Cricket in Times Square, George Selden; illustrated by Garth Williams (1970)
85. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry (1956)
86. It's Not What You Expect, Norma Klein (1976)
    
87. Matilda, Roald Dahl; illustrated by Quentin Blake (1990)
88. The New Baby, Mercer Mayer (1983)
89. The Chocolate Touch, Patrick Catling (1984)
90. Corduroy, Don Freeman (1976)
91. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis (1970)
92. The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
93. The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
94. Sounder, William H. Armstrong (1972)
95. The Return of the Indian, Lynne Reid Banks (1987)
96. The Kitten Book, Jan Pfloog (1968)
97. Dinosaurs, Peter Zallinger (1977)
98. Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays (1977)
99. The Truck Book, Harry McNaught (1978)
100. Barney's Hats, Mary Ann Dudko and Margie Larsen (1993)
101. The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare (1984)
102. Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, Judy Blume (1978)
103. The Berenstain Bears: No Girls Allowed, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
104. Farm Animals, Phoebe Dunn (1984)
105. Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You, Richard Scarry (1973)
106. Rascal, Sterling North (1964)
107. Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (Babysitters Club #2), Ann M. Martin (1986)
108. Just Me and My Mom, Mercer Mayer (1990)
109. Me Too! Mercer Mayer (1983)
110. A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle (1974)
111. Iggie's House, Judy Blume (1976)
112. Meet Samantha, Susan Adler; illustrated by Dan Andreasen (1986)
113. Poems & Prayers for the Very Young, Martha Alexander (1973)
114. The Farm Book, Jan Pfloog (1964)
115. The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
116. Just Me and My Puppy, Mercer Mayer (1985)
117. Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1), R. L. Stine (1992)
118. The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier (1986)
119. Chocolate Fever, Robert K. Smith (1978)
120. Say Cheese and Die (Goosebumps #4), R. L. Stine (1992)
121. Meet Addy, Connie Porter; illustrated by Dahl Taylor and Melodye Rosales (1993)
122. Frog and Toad Are Friends, Arnold Lobel (1979)
123. The Alphabet Book, P. D. Eastman (1974)
124. The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1988)
125. Rumble Fish, S. E. Hinton (1976)
126. The Little Duck, Judy Dunn; photos by Phoebe Dunn (1976)
127. A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L'Engle (1979)
128. The Secret of the Indian, Lynne Reid Banks (1990)
129. Curious George, H. A. and Margret Rey (1973)
130. The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams (1979)
131. Good Work, Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish (1996)
132. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
133. The Zoo Book, Jan Pfloog (1967)
134. 101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith (1976)
     
135. The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Friends, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1987)
136. The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
137. In & Out, Up & Down, Michael Smollin (1982)
138. Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Fritz Siebel (1983)
139. The Berenstain Bears Go Out for the Team, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1987)
140. The Berenstain Bears Go to Camp, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
141. Amelia Bedelia and the Baby, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Lynn Sweat (1982)
142. Just Shopping with Mom, Mercer Mayer (1989)
143. Richard Scarry's Find Your ABC's, Richard Scarry (1973)
144. Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum, (1974)
     
145. The Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd (1977)
146. Sunshine, Norma Klein (1976)
     
147. Deenie, Judy Blume (1974)
148. The Berenstain Bears and Moving Day, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
149. Meet Kirsten, Janet Shaw; illustrated by Renee Graef (1986)
150. Clifford the Big Red Dog, Norman Bridwell (1985)

Best selling fiction books of all times

I was curious about the best selling fiction books of all times and did some research. Most listings on the Internet were from the book Top 10 of Everything by Russell Ash. Of course these are only best guesses since there are no perfect book sale records. Yet a safe guess is that these books sold at least 10,000,000 copies. Here goes the list:

• Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
  
• The Exorcist by William Blatty
• Jaws by Peter Benchley
• God's Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
• Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
• Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
• 1984, Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Godfather by Mario Puzo
• The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
  

What surprised me was that there were a few books in the list I never every heard of; like The Thorn Birds (1977), Peyton Place (1954) and The Carpetbaggers (1961). I guess these books were not saying something of timeless worth but they were capturing something crucial for their times. For example Peyton Place is about three women who came to terms with their identities as sexual beings.

Feminine boys

Do you know a boy who wants to wear his mother's high-heels and likes to put on make-up? A boy who claims he is a girl? Michael Bailey is a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. In his book The Man Who Would Be Queen Bailey discusses the science on 'feminine boys' and empathetically presents the pain and struggles these children and their families go through. He also makes clear that at the present psychological science does not offer any clear-cut solutions on how to improve these children's lives.

PS: Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink) is a great Belgian movie on this topic. It's a sad and funny story about a boy who believes he is meant to be a girl. And there is a wonderful documentary on the various techniques to "cure" homosexuals, including psychoteraphy and religion: One Nation Under God.

Best book gifts

There are a few books I have given as gifts which were appreciated a lot. One of them is Lonely Planet the Travel Book. It has beautiful pictures from every single country in the world and I think it's worth more than it's price ($19.80 last time I checked.)


Another similar one is Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs. This book features 250 of about 10.5 million pictures in the archives of National Geographic Society. Has stunning pictures and again is really cheap for what it offers.

Finally, The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker and The Complete New Yorker: Eighty Years of the Nation's Greatest Magazine are received very well by New Yorker readers.

I discovered Minette Walters this summer

After reading Agatha Christie all my teenage years, I was set up for a lot up disappointment in the rest of crime fiction. Nothing compared to the sense of anticipation and joy when Hercule Poirot gathered everybody in one room to unravel the mystery. Over the years, though, there have been two writers that I came to enjoy. One was Sue Grafton, the other one Richard North Patterson. This summer, I discovered a new one.

It's Minette Walters from Britain. I first read The Ice House which was impossible to put down. Then, I read The Devil's Feather, The Scold's Bridle, and The Sculptress. What I like best about these novels is the presence of very sophisticated, intelligent, strong characters, in particular women. These women have a certain integrity and intensity that is inspiring.

PS: If you like this genre, make sure you have seen Monk and Veronica Mars, two favorite TV shows.