1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. This is a masterpiece. It explores the subtleties, beauty, and insanity of the human condition through the lens of sex and all that entails. After all, as attributed to Oscar Wilde, “Everything in human life is really about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.” 2. The Bear by Andrew Krivak. I ended up devouring it over 3–4 evenings. The prose is gorgeous—the author has been a National Book Award in Fiction finalist—and it’ll take around 20 pages for your brain to get accustomed to its unusual weaving. ​​ 3. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Want to get out of the news cycle? To stretch your mind with both profound beauty and discomfort? Try Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, selected by The Atlantic as one of the great American novels of the past 100 years. It is easily one of the most gorgeous and brutal books I’ve ever read. The prose is poetry, the characters are incredible, and none of it is for the faint of heart. 4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. A good friend and bestselling author told me that he considered this the greatest American novel of the last 20 years. I haven’t read enough classics to know if that’s accurate, but it’s one hell of a read, the prose is gorgeous, and you’ll laugh out loud many times. 5. The Well of Being: A Children’s Book for Adults by Jean-Pierre Weill. This was introduced to me by one of the most thoughtful, present, and playful couples I know. They have also infused the raising of their daughters with a similar ethos.