Who are your favorite actor-writers? Your favorite memoir by an actor?

My all-time favorite theatrical memoir is “Act One,” by Moss Hart. Though not an actor, Moss was a true man of the theater and one of my greatest mentors, having directed me in both “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot” on Broadway. While we were on the road with “Camelot,” Moss read us excerpts from that memoir-in-progress, which I have since reread often. It is a perfect time capsule of an era and art form, told with his exquisite humor, charm and candor.

What’s the best book that’s been made into a great movie?

I may be biased, but I think Dalton Trumbo did a terrific job adapting James Michener’s “Hawaii,” a film which I was fortunate enough to be part of. I think it’s impossible to pinpoint the best book that’s been made into a movie, as there have been so many, but some of my favorites are “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Man Who Would Be King,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Remains of the Day,” and “Schindler’s List,” among many others.

What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV show that hasn’t already been adapted?

“Henderson the Rain King,” by Saul Bellow. My husband, the film director Blake Edwards, tried hard to acquire the rights for many years, but alas, was never successful.

Which genres do you especially enjoy reading? And which do you avoid?

I’m an avid gardener, and have a vast collection of books about the plant hunters of the 18th century. I’m fascinated by stories of how the various plant specimens we take for granted today were originally discovered, survived oceanic travel in treacherous conditions and have subsequently been cultivated and crossbred around the world. I tend to read more nonfiction than fiction these days, especially memoirs, and books that teach me something about history, the psyche or humanity in general. When I do read fiction, I tend to shy away from horror or light romance.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?

I was an avid reader as a child, since I traveled so much for my work touring in vaudeville. Once, I was so absorbed in a book that I missed my cue and thus my entrance onstage. I loved anything by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling, A. A. Milne or Enid Blyton, any story about a horse, poetry by Robert Frost, John Masefield, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and A. E. Housman. I adored a nature study series of picture books by Père Castor, which are sadly now out of print. I collected them all, and still have them to this day. I also remember the thrill of hiding in my room as a teenager with a secretly acquired copy of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”!

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

Ugh! Only three? T. H. White, the great British author of the Arthurian legends, “The Once and Future King,” for sure. He was a close friend and extraordinary conversationalist. He really was Merlin, in a sense — he knew everything about everything. I think Philip Pullman and Tom Stoppard would be ideal table companions with him. I doubt I’d be able to contribute a thing, but what fun it would be to just sit back and listen!

What do you plan to read next?

All the books on my nightstand!