READING L.A.

Frank Hotchkiss, architect:

“W.B Yeats: The Poems,” edited by Daniel Albright (J.M. Dent & Sons).

“Albright has edited a wonderful collection of Yeats, almost half of which is a gloss on his influences--Celtic myths, Irish history, the love affairs. The poems are, of course, entrancing and come to life with these deft explorations.”

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Patricia Sullivan, marketing executive:

“On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac (Penguin).

“This book first touched my heart in the ‘70s when I read it on a hitch-hiking trip across America. I don’t have the luxury to indulge in that kind of adventure today, but rereading Kerouac’s story has allowed me, at least mentally, to become a ‘free spirit’ once more.”

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Barbara Williams, actress:

“Sleeping Where I Fall,” by Peter Coyote (Counterpoint).

“In this searingly honest book about his life in San Francisco, Coyote looks at both the high mindedness and the hedonism of the ‘60s. He knows how to live with the paradox that as an artist, you defy boundaries and as a human being, they are necessary for survival.”

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James Joseph, Realtor,

“The Dark Side of Camelot,” by Seymour M. Hersh (Little, Brown).

“In the rush to memorialize the darling president felled by the assassin’s bullet, much has been overlooked. I was stunned how Hersh with impeccable journalistic credentials came to such a critical view of the former president.”