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I like Mark Twain very much. I think my favorite is Pudd'nhead Wilson.

I also love Nathaniel Hawthorn. The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorites of all time.

I also like Herman Melville. I love Moby Dick and Billy Budd.

Also William Faulkner, especially Absalom! Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury. I read The Sound and the Fury five times and didn't understand anything. I read Faulkner's explanation of it, and I was more confused than ever. Then one evening at a party given by my sister, I met one of her friends who taught Faulkner in college. I said to her, "You're not leaving here tonight until you tell me what that thing's about." She said, "Okay." So we sat on a sofa for several hours while she explained everything to me. Then I re-read it and it was crystal clear--but I was so depressed I wished I hadn't understood the damn thing!