Which of Truman Capote's books is YOUR personal favorite?

Truman Capote

Yesterday was Truman Capote’s birthday. Born on Sept. 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Capote lived with relatives in Monroeville between 1927 and 1933 and for several years spent his summer vacations in Monroeville. Capote, who died in Los Angeles in 1984, wrote a number of books during his famous career and what follows is a complete list of his books, some of which were published after his death.

- Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948)

- A Tree of Night and Other Stories (1949)

- Summer Crossing (1949)

- Local Color (1950)

- The Grass Harp (1951)

- The Muses Are Heard (1956)

- Breakfast at Tiffany’s: A Short Novel and Three Stories (1958)

- In Cold Blood (1966)

- Music of Chameleons (1980)

- Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel (1986)

- Portraits and Observations: The Essays of Truman Capote (2007)

As you might imagine, these books have been included on a number of “best of” lists over the years. Here are a few that I know of.

“In Cold Blood” was named to Shortlist.com’s list of “The 50 Coolest Books Ever” and the Library of Congress’ list of “88 Books That Shaped America.” In 1995, the Mystery Writers of American ranked “In Cold Blood” at No. 54 on its list of the “Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time.” In 1999, the Modern Library ranked “In Cold Blood” at No. 96 on its list of “100 Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century.”

In 1966, “In Cold Blood” received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in the category of “Best Fact Crime.” A few years ago, the editors of the British publication, “The Guardian” included “In Cold Blood” on their list of the “100 Greatest Non-fiction Books.”

“Other Voices, Other Rooms” was named to a Book-of-the-Month Club’s list called “The Well-Stocked Bookcase.” A few years ago, the James Agee Film Project also included “Other Voices, Other Rooms” on its list of “125 Great Southern Books.”

“The Muses Are Heard” was named to Flavorwire.com’s list of the “35 Greatest Travel Books That Will Take You Around the World Without a Plane Ticket.”

“Portraits and Observations” was named to Longitude Books’ list of the “86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.”

For a couple of years, I’ve had “Read all of Truman Capote’s books” on my “bucket list,” but I haven’t made much progress. Today, the only book of his that I’ve read is “In Cold Blood,” which was pretty awesome. During the coming year, I hope to scratch a few more of his books off my list.

If you’re interested in learning more about Capote, you might also want to check out the 2005 movie, “Capote,” which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote. The movie focuses on Capote’s writing of “In Cold Blood.” I especially liked this movie because of the way it portrayed how Capote and Harper Lee worked together on the book. Catherine Ann Keener portrayed Harper Lee in that movie.

In the end, how many of Capote’s books have you read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Which is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.