Diane Johnson's Reading List

"What's the last great book you read? "The Leopard," by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa."

"This charming novel about an eccentric English family that lives in the ruins of a castle bears rereading every few years and has never lost its freshness."

"Although maybe reading it for the first time at any age would still produce the riveting suspense of a great story. One you would stay up all night, to read under the covers with a flashlight."

"Read them in your teens for the stories, for one experience, and then later to appreciate Austen's genius, rewarding both times."

"Read them in your teens for the stories, for one experience, and then later to appreciate Austen's genius, rewarding both times."

"What's the last book you read that made you laugh? Molly Keane's "Good Behaviour.""

"What's the last book you read that made you laugh? Elif Batuman's "The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them.""