Mists of Avalon
By Marion Zimmer Bradley

This is the Arthurian legend from the women's point of view. Traditionally, these women were depicted as evil or seductive. But in this version, you see them as three-dimensional characters who have issues and who happen to have powers that they use wisely or unwisely. The book is so long, but I've probably read it six times—once when I was in Master Class, my second Broadway play. I went back to it because I was working with such a powerful woman, Zoe Caldwell. She became a mentor to me, so I had to give her a copy, too. To this day, I feel as if Zoe teaches me everything she knows about theater and life, how to exist in it, and how to parent. I even named my daughter after her.