As the title of my new book makes clear, I spent seven seasons in the Tuscan city of Siena, learning the remarkable ways of its ancient, proud, and very clannish people, whose neighborhoods—called contrade—are like very small sovereign states (and often equally combative). But my travels to and from Siena also brought me through many other Italian cities, equally singular, and increased my appetite to understand them all... a lifetime's work, certainly, but hey, what a lifetime! Here are some of the books I've found the most insightful—and delightful.

Novels with fractured narratives were once considered experimental and edgy but today they've become mainstream. Our complicated and increasingly uncertain lives seem to be mirrored by the fragmented structure of these often challenging novels. We’re obliged to work a little harder but the rewards can be greater. Here are some of my favourites:

As much as I have enjoyed a few novels over the years, I must confess that I find real people more interesting than made up people. Most of my reading since I left school and was able to freely choose has been confined to biographies, autobiographies and books of essays. Here are some of my favorite favorites:

This list includes a collection of tween romances that are delightful reads for any middle school student (ages 10-14). They combine humorous stories, princess' adventures and school stories to stir the imagination. These compelling novels will have your reader up all night reading under the covers!

This is a list of Coming-of-Age novels that rocked my world, altered my course and expanded my consciousness. By no means a definitive list — more a personal debt of gratitude to books that set me dreaming with eyes wide open and an insatiable hunger, finally, at last, for... something more. Like some big blowhorn going off, at the end of each of these books I felt the ears of my ears open and heeded a clarion call to action — to save myself.

Can't tell a Duchess from a dustman? A banger from a biscuit? With the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton saturating daily news reels, The King's Speech taking multiple top honors at the Academy Awards, and London preparing to be the world's center stage for the 2012 Olympics, it's time to make the land across the pond your cup of tea. Read this list, and when you hear "The British are coming!" you'll know you're ready.

Young Adult literature has come a long way in the past fifty years, from a concept to a genre. To track GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender/transsexual) literature as a sub-genre was quite hard for a long time, because — aside from a few notable exceptions like I'll Get There: It Better be Worth the Trip by John Donovan and Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden — there were not many novels that prominently featured GLBT characters until the last decade. And that's why this booklist exists, to highlight some delightful titles for those who are interested in GLBT issues or may be searching for a character struggling through adolescence just like you do/did.

Most people seem to be in a box. We work in cubicle like boxes and we are always told to think "outside the box." Heck, we are even buried in boxes. So if you're like me and don't like being in a box, then the books on this list are for you.  Reading them might not get you out of the box, but they are sure to give you a peek outside.

I used to have a box filled with letters. Letters from my mom when I was at camp. Notes from my best friend scribbled during geography. Cards from an ex-boyfriend when I was a camp counselor. I tossed the box during one of my many moves and will always wish I hadn't, becuase letters tell the story long after memories fade.

My list is comprised of books that explore race relations in America from days of slavery to the modern era. Most deal with the complex relationship between African Americans and White Americans, with the exception of one title that focuses on Japanese Americans struggling to be seen as simply Americans.

Our nation's history of dealing with racial/religious/cultural differences is a subject of much interest to me, as evidenced not only by this reading list but also in my own writing, most notably my novel Patches of Grey. I initially thought that the list was going to end up dominated by black male authors, so was surprised and pleased to find that I managed to strike a balance not only between black and white writers, but also male and female.

From the days of enforced servitude where the nature of a one sided power struggle was characterized by evil and blatant cruelty, to contemporary times where much has changed for the better yet problematic attitudes persist on all sides, the issues addressed by such literature are not simplistic. My goal with this list is to present a broad range of perspectives rather than one dominated by a particular outlook.

This is my first list for Flashlight Worthy-- great old Caldecott Award Winners. The site already has a list of the newer winners -- from 1990 on. But 1940 to 1988 holds some of my absolute favorite titles that I hope, no matter how old they grow, will never be forgotten.

Even though each has the similarity of being Caldecott Winners, beyond that they're all quite unique. They have widely differing illustration styles and completely different types of stories. Some are about children, one is about ducks, one about a house, some about families working together, discovering together, or just having fun together. I hope you enjoy my list. :-)

I wanted to share a list of books that have helped me overcome what I consider to be the lowest point of my life.

It was not at all intentional that I seek refuge in the Japanese and Chinese characters of these novels, however one book lead to another and within a year and a half , not only was I healed but I was convinced I had to have been a Geisha in my past life!

Each of these remarkable stories are beautiful, fragile, vivid, captivating and just like a kimono — they soon became "a thing to wear" for me, as I learned from the women in these novels that with self discipline, control and patience — I, too could rise above the darkness and see the light of life again. More importantly, I learned the importance of relationships between people, those we cherish, those we take for granted and those we overestimate the value of.

I call them "bathtub books." I'd grab a cigar, a ceramic cup of wine, a pen for Marginalia, and I'd take the precious few mystical, magical books that prodded me to wake up psychically into a warm bath. Again and again, I found myself refilling the tub over and over because I couldn't tear myself away. The water would go cold, but I'd read on. My fingers and toes would prune, but my soul would sing.

My bathtub books are a hungry bunch. They devour cynicism, pessimism, misanthropy, Nihilism. I consider them Mythopoetic. That is to say, they all use, in some way, allegories or archetypes to express greater truths.

Here they are. Jump in! The water's warm... at first.

As a timeless topic, many a writer have tried their pens at conjuring up tales that tug at our heartstrings. More often then not, these novels give us the opportunity to sit back and contemplate on what is truly important; there is a very sustained sense of reflection in all the flashlight-worthy books of this particular genre. The best books often deal with a character's self-realization or discovering their true purpose amid seemingly insurmountable odds.

Our world is peopled with individuals with differences. Those who do not live with these challenges often do not understand them, and are sometimes uncomfortable in the presence of those who do have them. This list is a sample of some excellent and inspiring (mostly) contemporary fiction and nonfiction titles for children and young adults on this important topic. Adults will also find these books to be worthwhile reading, and will want to share them with the young people in their lives. 

Every year the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association nominates a handful of books for the Dilys Award — an award given to the new mystery titles which member booksellers most enjoyed selling.

Unfortunately, mysteries aren't my thing. I don't think I've read one in over a decade. So I turn to you, Flashlight Worthy Readers, to submit your descriptions of what makes the below books so great. Take a look at the list below and for the books you've read, take a moment to submit your descriptions in the provided submission boxes.

What should you say? A few sentences about the plot is great. Adding why it's such a great book is even better. Have at it!

It's a ritual repeated every weekend in cities and towns across the country: as Saturday morning dawns, antique hunters converge upon yard sales, antique malls, flea markets, and swap meets. These tenacious folks scrutinize every piece of old furniture they can find, pulling out drawers, turning things upside down. They are not beyond crawling on the ground. The following books offer an overview of what these people are looking for. Developing an eye for antiques takes years of practice, but a little book smarts goes a long way.

In his day, Anthony Trollope was one of the most popular and prolific Victorian novelists, producing 47 novels and numerous essays and short stories. He is not as well known as many of his contemporaries and I will always be grateful to the friend who suggested him to me. His novels are my literary comfort food. The following will introduce you to his profound understanding of the timeless themes of money, politics and romance.

When my wife was diagnosed with cancer I started to read up on a subject that I knew too little about. I was to read over 200 books — and none of them was the book we needed to help us make sensible decisions — so I wrote Cancer: The Complete Recovery Guide (the big book) and Cancer Recovery Guide: 15 Alternative and Complementary Strategies for Restoring Health (the little book). My reading led me to some books that I believe every cancer patient, and family member of a cancer patient, should read. Below are 11 that I think you will find most useful.

Good things come in threes. Bad things, too, they say. The point being that the number three has a ring to it. Three cheers. Fairy tales with three wishes, not to mention three little pigs, three bears, three billy goats gruff. Spiritually, three represents unity.

All of which suggests an underlying harmony — the collective unconscious at work — when I think of books with three-word titles, which seemed to jump out at me after publishing my short story collection, Shoes Hair Nails. Many of the stories are one-word titles, narratives constructed around them, pulled together by three stories chosen as a keystone framing the collection. A book title is always telling, the first hook, along with a (hopefully) alluring cover. Book titles that cut to the chase with three simple words are easy to remember, not just for their brevity; they have an archetypal undercurrent reminding us of beginning, middle end; dawn, noon, and dusk; the three phases of the moon.

I never tire of the stories and photos about unusual animal pairs — the momma dog who adopted the fawn, or the tortoise and the baby hippo who became best friends. So I guess it should come as no surprise that among my favorite children’s literature are stories on friendships so strong that they transcend species lines. Here's my pick of the litter.

I was vegetarian and relatively health-conscious before I became pregnant, but it wasn’t until I gave birth to my daughter that I fully realized the importance of eating wholesome food. We literally build our babies’ bodies with the foods we feed them! With that in mind, these are the books I like to give people at baby showers that have inspired me in the kitchen.

Put simply, 2010 was a monster year for cookbooks. It's the last thing you'd expect in the heyday of the food blog, the TV tie-in, the crowd-sourced recipe. But what we have here is an overwhelming display of carefully crafted books produced after years of research, recipe-testing and tireless detective work. These labors of love — for the most part written or edited by women — are the work of cooks who not only have a remarkable, monklike ability to delve into their subject precisely and thoroughly, but also have a passion for sharing it.

We have cookbooks that take on whole lives at one go — the memoirs of one food columnist, the life stories of a veteran cook and religious culture taken root in France; 70 years of one publication, 150 of another — and in one mindblowing, fantastically ambitious case, the life of an entire country as it cooks and eats today. These books haven't just captured the cultural memory of their subjects; they're creating it as well.

There's one more perk, as if one were needed: These are the work of real-life cooks, who are food writers, small-business owners and moms first — famous, second. That means every recipe is human-sized, and every recipe actually works. This year's books are like a properly seasoned skillet — heavy-duty, battle-tested and much to be prized.

So give them a big hand, folks — and then tie on your aprons. You're going to need them.

People say that guys make better comedians than gals. With the high unemployment rate and “men’s work” becoming harder to find than “women’s work” I almost wish it were true. This list is about women who write funny. Although these books are meant to make you laugh and chase away any blues, they’re also good study tools for anyone interested in the art and process of humor writing. Not included are standup comedians who put their act and/or career trajectory into print form (but would make another great list) except for the last book since the author was a pioneer in the field of funny females.