We asked a few notable Kentuckians to tell us about their favorite books. Here they are.
And you might remember last month we asked our readers to tell us about their favorite books. If you haven’t sent yours in yet, unfortunately you missed the deadline. But you can watch for a selection of those readers’ favorite books in the May issue of Kentucky Living.
We also asked visitors to our Web page for their favorite books. To see you can fire up your computer and travel the Internet to www.kentuckyliving.com. Then, click on the “Question of the Month.”

Tori Murden McClure, Louisville
First woman and first American to row across the Atlantic Ocean
Favorite Book: Gift from the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh
In Gift from the Sea Ann Morrow Lindbergh wrote, “The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient.” Fortunately for her, she did not have to spend 163 days on the open ocean in rowing boats to figure that out. Ann Morrow was a graduate of Smith College. I met her when I attended Smith in the early 1980s. Her intelligence and vitality were striking. Both of these qualities come through in her book. While the book is an easy read, it has many layers of meaning. Like the sea itself, one can enjoy just the surface or one can venture into its depths.

Congresswoman Anne M. Northup, Louisville
Favorite book: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Coming from a family of 11 children, you quickly learn the value of sharing. One of our favorite shared moments was when my mother would read to us. She loved books, and she imparted that love for reading to all of her children. One vacation, she read one chapter every night from The Secret Garden. Instantly, I was captured by this magical book about friendship.

Thomas D. Clark, Lexington
Professor emeritus, University of Kentucky–
Indiana University, teacher and author
Favorite Book: Time of Man by Elizabeth Madox Roberts
Elizabeth Madox Roberts was a native of Springfield. She was a pioneer in the writing of fiction pertaining to the human destiny. This book intimately relates the course of the lives of the people who live on and are of the rudimentary conditions of human hope, of social bondage and the class bondage, which was almost impossible to loosen. The literary quality is superb.

Al Smith, Lexington
Veteran journalist and host of KET’s Comment on Kentucky, now in its 28th year
Favorite Book: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
My copy of Tom Sawyer, which I still own, was given to me for Christmas in 1934 when I was 7. A deluxe edition, with black-and-white drawings, including Tom doing a handstand and pretending not to notice that young Becky Thatcher is watching, it is inscribed “To my dear Albert, with best wishes” from an uncle who later passed along his copies of The New Yorker, Broadway theater programs, and old classical records. This uncle, who grew up on a farm, educated himself largely by reading, and became a stockbroker. In Mark Twain’s vivid account of Tom Sawyer’s boyhood I first discovered humor and irony in telling a story. It is the book that made me want to be a writer.

Lalie Dick, North Middletown
Mother, wife, author
Favorite Book(s): The Kentuckians, Hannah Fowler, and The Believers by Janice Holt Giles
As a descendant of 18th-century Kentuckians, the reading of these three inspiring books—this trilogy, if you will—by Janice Holt Giles has given me a deep appreciation for all our ancestors’ strength and courage. Ms. Giles’ powerful yet easy-flowing, narrative style brings to life many historical figures, fictional and nonfictional, who carved out this land of wonder called Kentucky. These books began my quest for knowledge of my Kentucky beginnings and were the catalyst for much of what I enjoy discovering and reading today. Read them and her other fine books. You’ll never think of Kentucky or Kentuckians in the same manner again.

David Dick, North Middletown
Author
Favorite Book: The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
Although I’ve many favorite books, Jaimie McPheeters must go to the top of my list. A Kentucky youth growing up in Louisville, he is destined for maturity as he accompanies his father on the way to California during the desperate scramble for gold. Jaimie’s richest discoveries are about the Indians along the way, ’49ers struggling to stay alive, his father’s alcoholism, and more importantly Jaimie’s understanding of self. Robert Lewis Taylor breaks a huge barrier of Native American stereotypes, and the book overflows with honest humor, fallible humanity, and surprising events. A joy to read!