Arabian nights:

Probally one the original "story within a story" book. Arabian nights is a selection of stories told by a young girl on her wedding night to a price who has sworn he will kill any girl who marries him. Her clever stories keep him from murdering her night after night. This is where classic fairy tales such as Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Theives come from as well as moral tales and metaphors.The use of djins, magic and Eastern splendour makes Arabian Nights dazzle. A must read and a perfect counter point to western fairy tales such as Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.