Mary Gordon's five most important books

Mary Gordon, author of the novels Spending, The Company of Women, The Rest of Life, Final Payments, and a new memoir Circling My Mother, recently told Newsweek about her five most important books.

She also addressed two other book-related issues:

A book that, upon rereading, was disappointing:

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. As a teenager, I thought it was the most profound text imaginable. As an adult, it seemed easy and slick.

A book you care most about sharing with your children:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So that they can understand a witty woman is the most desirable, and so that we could have conversations about the Bennets in the way we might about the people down the block.

Read about Gordon's most important books.

--Marshal Zeringue