NIGHT TABLE READING

LAURENT DE BRUNHOFF author, Babar and the Succotash Bird

Love and War in the Apennines, by Eric Newby (Lonely Planet). "Not only is it beautiful to see the compassion of the human heart, but it gave me a new vision of the political place of Italy during World War II."

MATTHEW KENNEY chef, restaurateur

The Castle, by Franz Kafka (Schocken). "It reaffirms the joy people find if they abandon their search for 'the castle' in favor of the days and minutes of life."

LINDA BLAIR actress, The Exorcist (re-released this month)

The Legacy of Luna, by Julia Butterfly Hill (HarperSanFrancisco). "Living in the 21st century, it is hard to ignore the courageous spirit of Julia Butterfly Hill and her stand to save the redwood forest."

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH author, Talk to Me

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families, by Philip Gourevitch (Picador). "An emotionally searing, relentlessly lucid account of Rwanda's genocide. The book compels one to re-examine the concepts of history, memory, community, humanity."