Max Allan Collins

Author

The success of the first four film adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, beginning with Dr. No (1962), ignited a world-wide explosion of spy movies, fueled by the realities and anxieties of the Cold War.

Carol Muske-Dukes

Former Poet Laureate of California; Professor, University of Southern California, Dept. of English/Creative Writing

Anthologies are intriguing in what they reveal of the editor's passions. Robert Pinsky opens his new poetry anthology (with its long title): SINGING SCHOOL: Learning to Write (and Read) Poetry by Studying with the Masters -- with an anecdote about the great saxophonist, Dexter Gordon.

Susan Bordo

Author

Anne Boleyn. There are few famous people about whom we have imagined so much, yet know so little. She wasn't royalty, so her childhood wasn't chronicled.

Richard (RJ) Eskow

Writer; host, 'The Breakdown'; Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

Debtors' Prison should be required reading for anyone who influences economic policy in this country. Open-minded readers should come away convinced that we need to reject the economics of despair for an economics of hope.

Ken Ilgunas

Writer, Traveler

I was determined to get my degree debt-free. I bought a 1994 Ford Econoline for $1,500 and secretly lived inside it in a campus parking lot for two years.

Victoria Jackson

Author of Saving Each Other

If you've been hungry lately for some soul-charging inspiration -- or for a cookbook by a true Master Chef -- I highly recommend Christine Ha's Recipes from My Home Kitchen.

Lois Alter Mark

Co-founder, StyleSubstanceSoul.com; Winner, BlogHer Voices of the Year "People's Choice" Award

Bill starting writing stories for his granddaughter when he realized she was having trouble pronouncing certain letters, and he turned them into a book, Stories for Amanda.

Nancy Vu

Author

I've found that one of the best ways to clear my mind is to drive. And if it weren't for the soaring gas prices, I would love to just drive around town, all the time, with no real destination. There's something strangely therapeutic about driving.

Matthew Dicks

Author

I took my friend to a local bookstore to listen to a well-known, New York Times bestselling author speak. He was excited.

Andrew Cotto

Author

Dennis joined me to discuss a myriad of current projects, his novels as films, the state of the publishing industry, the state of his hometown after the Boston Marathon bombings, as well as this season's Yankees/Red Sox rivalry.

Cecil Castellucci

Author

When I was a little girl, I loved the muppets. We all did. We all do! There was something about the muppet movie that struck all the right notes in my heart. There was something so right about it.

Kimberlie I. Leon

General Manager, bookbliss.com

Where are book lovers gathering these days with less and less bookstores around? And where will they gather in years to come as technology continues to change the way we live?

Evan Gottlieb

Associate Professor of English, Oregon State University

Look up any review of Brown's fiction, scan it for descriptions of his prose, and you'll likely find the adjectives "clunky" and "repetitive" playing central roles. What redeems Brown's novels -- or, at least, compels readers to buy and read them?

John Paul Rollert

Law Lecturer, The University of Chicago Law School

Hollywood adaptations of great novels tend to unnerve devoted readers. The effort seems hubristic and slightly profane, akin to painting a second Sistine Chapel or adding a chorus to King Lear. Perfection, by definition, can't be improved upon, and it seems suspect even to try.

Robert J. Elisberg

Screenwriter and columnist

George Plimpton lived a life like James Thurber's dreamer, Walter Mitty, except he didn't dream about doing any exciting job in the world. He did the job. And then wrote about it.

John J. Healey

Author

I remember looking at it out of curiosity, knowing nothing at all about Joyce, when I was eight or nine-years-old. It stood out from the other books adorned with more romantic covers and titles. And I remember leafing through it, lying on the floor, and finding it absolutely nonsensical.

Adam Grant

Wharton professor and author, 'Give and Take'

What if searching for happiness actually prevents us from finding it? There's reason to believe that the quest for happiness might be a recipe for misery.