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In James' Portrait of a Lady, Isabel Archer is wise enough to understand that if you're not happy without a man, you certainly won't be happy with one. Writer Rhoda Janzen loves the book because it shows what a woman does once she acknowledges her own complicity in the life she has chosen.

Author Anthony Horowitz loves nothing more than when a young fan asks him to sign a battered copy of a book in his Alex Rider series — young adult fiction featuring a skateboard-riding teen spy. When it comes to his favorite thriller, he recommends Ian Fleming's "Crime de la Crime" in Goldfinger.

Friends Brian Sykora and Roger Horowitz create fruit ice pops inspired by the traditional Mexican frozen treat paletas. Though they're not making a living from it yet, the entrepreneurs are selling Pleasant Pops from a bicycle cart at a weekly farmers market. Their best seller? Cucumber chili.

As a librarian and a reader, Nancy Pearl scours the shelves in search of hidden treasures — titles you may have missed. Her findings include two chilling thrillers, one exquisite 1960s memoir, a lively biography of George Orwell, an example of historical fiction at its very best, and much more fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Few people have heard of Julio Lobo, but his history is intertwined with that of his home country. Lobo was Cuba's richest businessman until the revolution drove him into exile.

Critics have said for years that minorities were being unfairly penalized by tough penalties for crack possession.

Thriller writer Richard North Patterson knows about engrossing political dramas — he served as the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. As his favorite thriller, he recommends Allen Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning Advise and Consent, a political novel that still rings true after 50 years.

Author and law professor Stephen Carter started reading the novels of John le Carre in college and he hasn't stopped. After all these years, he says his favorite is still Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a Cold War spy story that demonstrates le Carre's marvelous craftsmanship.

In China, the vast following of a folk goddess of the sea illustrates the remarkable rebirth of local popular religion since the Cultural Revolution. Now, China's communist leaders are supporting worship of Mazu as "cultural heritage" and using it to advance their own political and economic goals.

When Laura Lorson needs a break from the daily grind, she curls up with books that transport her to simpler times. She recommends three titles that take her back to her days of childhood summer reading — absorbing words off sun-dappled pages under the shade of a tree.