Books: David Wroblewski

A debut novelist at 49, the University of Iowa M.F.A. program graduate stunned readers with " The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. " Ten years in the making, it earned him glowing reviews and a spot on Oprah ' s reading list. His picks:

My Five Most Important Books

1. "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. I love it because it is too long, and it goes on and on about whales.

2. "So Long, See You Tomorrow" by William Maxwell. There is something so spare, terrible and loving in this tale about the ripple of tragedy through young Maxwell's life.

3. "Watership Down" by Richard Adams. Can there be any other reason to love it? Hazel-rah! Naysayers can silflay hraka.

4. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I still marvel that this is just the story of how Scout's brother, Jem, got his arm broken.

5. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. The first book I ever read that I knew was literature.

A classic book that, upon revisiting, disappointed: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I suppose because I grew up poor and can't get past a surface story about the aimless rich wasting their lives.

A book you hope parents will read to their kids: "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. He is one of the intellectual heroes of our age.

© 2008