Celebs tout their favorite reads First lady among contributors to Mainer’s annual book list

GARDINER – Laura Bush joins actors, authors, newscasters and a former British prime minister in pitching her favorite books for the annual “Who Reads What?” list, out in time for National Library Week.

Among the nine books listed by the former teacher and librarian are Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” Katherine Anne Porter’s “Ship of Fools” and Truman Capote’s “Music for Chameleons.”

As first lady, Mrs. Bush has made reading a national cause. In a similar vein, the Gardiner library encourages reading by listing each year the favorite page-turners of world leaders, celebrities and athletes.

President Bush, a history and biography buff, was on the list in 1999 when he was Texas governor. Others have included the likes of Bill Clinton, Mel Gibson and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Glenna Nowell, who started the list 16 years ago, gets instant feedback from each year’s list.

“People say, ‘I’m so glad [a title] is there.’ Then they tell me what they’ve been reading,” the retired librarian said.

John Major, the former British prime minister, answered Nowell’s invitation to appear on the 2004 list by praising Anthony Trollope’s “The Palliser Novels” as “a superb depiction of Victorian political life and a delightful read.”

Nowell heard back from U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige the same day a furor erupted because he called the nation’s largest teachers union a “terrorist organization.” Paige listed as his favorites two books about business trends, “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.

NBC-TV was well-represented on this year’s list. Ann Curry from “Today” called “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White her No. 1 read, while MSNBC anchor Brian Williams cited “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Al Roker, NBC-TV personality, called “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley “an African American noir thriller. It doesn’t get any better.”

Broadway star Sutton Foster and Jeri Ryan of the “Star Trek” television cast both listed John Irving’s “A Prayer for Owen Meany” as their favorites.

British actor Tom Wilkinson, who has appeared in “Shakespeare in Love,” “In the Bedroom” and “The Full Monty,” had high praise for “The Wisdom of Crocodiles,” a modern thriller by Paul Hoffman. “The reputations of the masters need no boost from me,” he wrote.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm listed John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage” as her No. 1 read.

This year’s list, released before National Library Week began Sunday, has the usual strong representation by authors and writers, including U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, who puts “Train” by Pete Dexter first on his list.

Romance novelist Jennifer Crusie called fellow author Terry Pratchett “my comfort read” and said she was so amazed by Pratchett’s “Feet of Clay” that “I read it all over again the next day.”

Mystery writer James Lee Burke offered multiple favorites, including “The Sound and Fury” by William Faulkner, “Mildred Pierce” by James Cain and “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams.

Author Jonathan Franzen listed “Independent People” by Halldor Laxness and “The Man Who Loved Children” by Christina Stead as his favorites. Laura Lippman chose “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith.

R.L. Stine, author of the children’s “Goosebumps” series, called Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine” his favorite.

Ken Follett called “The Story of a Fierce, Bad Rabbit” by children’s author Beatrix Potter “the shortest thriller ever written.” The tale of good and evil features an innocent bunny, a bad bunny and a hunter.

“In just 142 words it has suspense, crime, gunplay, and retributive justice,” Follett wrote.