On your nightstand now:
I just received an early copy of Kevin Guilfoile's second novel, The Thousand. I adored Cast of Shadows, so I can't wait to dig into this one. I keep Al Silverman's masterful recollection of mid-20th century American publishing, The Time of Their Lives, nearby for perspective for those moments when I'm confronted by a lament about the modern book business. I'm happily wading through Michio Kaku's Physics of the Impossible because I am fascinated by physics, awed by the author's capacity for simple prose about complex concepts and humbled by my ignorance. I'm determined, someday, to be able to say something intelligent about string theory. I am also re-reading my brother Richard's remarkable book, The Middle Ground.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I was a voracious reader as a child, but not much of a re-reader. The book I remember being most enamored with was Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island.
Your top five authors:
May I say how much I try to avoid this question? Thank you. I will limit myself to listing some writers I've never met who have written things that, were I a less mentally healthy person, I might be tempted to envy: Jonathan Lethem, T. C. Boyle, Anne Tyler, Pete Dexter, John Irving.
Book you've faked reading:
The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien. I tried. I really did. During one of the book's many renaissances (the enlightenment in Berkeley in 1970) it seemed important, even crucial, that I had read it, so I memorized a few names--Gimli? Bilbo?--and I encouraged my friends to believe I was a fan. Hey, I'm sorry. But not sorry enough to try again.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Peter Barton's and Laurence Shames's uplifting memoir about living and dying, Not Fade Away. And Anne Fadiman's love letter to books, Ex Libris. Her voice is exquisite and her affection for her subject is, at once, personal and universal.
Book you've bought for the cover:
With my apologies to art directors, any specific reply to this question would be an act of fiction. I don't recall ever being swayed by a cover alone.
Book that changed your life:
Can I have two? John Fowles for The French Lieutenant's Woman. Perhaps I read it at a perfect time in my life, but it showed me the possibilities inherent in the novel form.
And I don't think I would have a career as a writer had I not met Jonathan Kellerman when he and I were both practicing pediatric psychologists specializing in the care of children with cancer. A few years later, his first novel, When the Bough Breaks, convinced me that psychology and crime fiction could coexist.
Favorite line from a book:
I love a first line that says an enticing thing or two, and that leaves a thousand things unsaid. Like, "When Pearl Tull was dying, a funny thought occurred to her." That's Anne Tyler's, from Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Or, " 'I should feel sorrier,' Raymond Horgan says." That's Scott Turow's intro to Presumed Innocent.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
How about one each from a couple of childhood friends? To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. What are the odds of that happening? Throw in Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence, just because.