Just finished reading your By the Book piece. I loved it, and I haven't read any of your books yet. Which would you suggest I start with?

I'm so glad to hear your audiobook recommendations. I listen to a lot of books, and I've never yet read Don Quixote in English (a little of it in Spanish) or Middlemarch. Now I plan to listen to both -- the Juliet Stevenson version of Middlemarch, since she's a favorite of mine. And I'm really looking forward to Hilary Mantel's newest, too.

About The Lottery, which I do like a lot, you might try another side of Shirley Jackson. Her books about her family are just fabulous. Life Among the Savages, and Raising Demons. She had a truly brilliant ear for dialogue.

Thanks for that great piece. I look forward to reading one of your books soon.