Book Recomendations
Ancient
I like books and stories, always have; I also like some specific poetry. On the ancient side of things, my favorites authors include: Herodotus; Vergil; Pindar; Sappho; Sophocles; Euripides, and Theocritus. Check out Pindar's Olympians 2 (for Theron of Akragas) and 7 (for Diagoras of Rhodes). You can find these online at the Perseus Project website.
Fairy Tales
I am big into the lives of fairy tales, from their ancient inception through their modern retellings. My favorites: Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Peau d'ane. There are some very good collections out there now, like those of Maria Tatar: The Annotated Brothers Grimm and the Annotated Classics Fairy Tales.
Modern Writers
More modern writers I especially admire: Ian McEwan; Michael Ondaatje; Iris Murdoch; Dorothy Parker; Barbara Kingsolver; A.S. Byatt. However, besides fairy tales, I read mostly popular history, not novels. I am a big fan of David McCullough and Joseph Ellis, among others. There is an illustrated edition of 1776 which is particularly fine.