Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Leaving Cecil Street and Tumbling:

All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward Jones. "A terrific collection of short stories."

Rattlebone by Maxine Clair. "A collection of connected short stories that really has a feel of a novel. Her October Suite is also wonderful."

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. "A master storyteller."

Sula by Toni Morrison. "She can be an intimidating writer. This is more approachable, a good place to start with a great artist."

A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terry McMillan. "A fun read."

Curtis Sittenfeld, author of the novels Prep and The Man of My Dreams:

When We Get There by Shauna Seliy. "A fantastic beautiful book that takes place in the '70s in a Western Pennsylvania coal-mining town. The narrator is 13-year-old Lucas. His father has died in the coal mine, and his mother has gone missing. It has a lot about Eastern European immigrants and mysticism, and manages to be funny and sad."

Filibuster to Delay a Kiss: And Other Poems by Courtney Queeney. "Intelligent but sexy poetry with sort of a crazy-girl element, which most good poetry has."

The Interloper by Antoine Wilson. "Creepy and suspenseful mystery about this guy whose brother-in-law was murdered and he's corresponding with the murderer."

Open Secrets by Alice Munro. "She's a writer whose stories are so complicated, they're actually more enjoyable on the second reading. She's my favorite writer."

Andy Kahan, director of author events, Philadelphia Free Library:

Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren. "A great history of the Middle East through a human perspective through little biographies and vignettes."

Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon. "Anarchy and conspiracy, corporate capitalism and greed, so it's typical Pynchon. A monster."

Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan. "She's an Israeli graphic novelist. It's a ground-level look at love and its emotional trajectory."

On the Road: 50th Anniversary Edition by Jack Kerouac. "Just as engrossing and absorbing as the first time you pick it up in your youth."

Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of the young-adult novels Dairy Queen and The Off Season:

Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book One) by Angie Sage. "Just raced through this - woke up every morning to plunge back in. Better, in my humble opinion, than the Harry Potter books."

The Wayfarer's Redemption Series by Sara Douglass. "Not really kids' lit per se, but a big hit with teens (and me)."