JACK LEMMON two-time Oscar winner: best supporting actor, Mister Roberts (1955); best actor, Save the Tiger (1973) At Play in the Fields of the Lord, by Peter Matthiessen (Vintage). "I'm reading it again. It's my favorite American novel."

SALLY FIELD two-time Oscar winner: best actress, Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984) How to Read and Why, by Harold Bloom (Scribner). "Bloom is a brilliant writer. Reading this book is like taking a class in comparative literature."

BILLY WILDER six-time Oscar winner: best director, The Lost Weekend (1945) and The Apartment (I960); picture, The Apartment; original screenplay, Sunset Boulevard (1950) and The Apartment; adapted screenplay, The Lost Weekend Conversations with Wilder, by Cameron Crowe (Knopf). "This is one of the best books I've ever read."