Rosie Perez's six favorite books

Rosie Perez is an Oscar-nominated actress, whose credits include Do the Right Thing, White Men Can't Jump, Fearless, and The Counselor. She is the Artistic Chair of Urban Arts Partnership and sits on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Her new memoir is Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair).

One of Perez's six favorite books, as shared at The Week magazine:

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

An amazing novel about a horrific truth: In pre–Civil War America, there were free black Americans who actually owned black slaves. Jones develops his characters without judgment, though, and so adeptly that I felt for all of them. The slaves' suffering made me want to put this book down many times, but I couldn't. It's too good.

Read about the other books on the list.

The Known World is one of Philipp Meyer's five favorite books about America.

--Marshal Zeringue