Heather O’Neill A book that influenced me and why: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais More Heather O’Neill
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
Bel Canto Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel that won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
The Shipping News Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More
The God of Small Things Winner of the 1997 Man Booker Prize, making Roy the first Indian woman to receive the award. More
The Known World The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel that examines the troubling complexities of slavery. More
A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving’s beloved coming-of-age tale that ranks among the most cherished of American classics. More
Tales of the City First book in Maupin’s acclaimed and groundbreaking series documenting San Francisco’s underground and gay culture. More
Pilgrim A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
One Hundred Years of Solitude This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). More
Go Set a Watchman This newly discovered novel from beloved author Harper Lee became the bestselling book of 2015. More
The Corrections Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
The Wapshot Chronicle Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
The Hours Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
Caroline Overington I read to observe the world as it is seen by others; to walk the planet as strangers do; to breathe a story that is not my own. More Caroline Overington
Hilary Mantel I read out of hope and avid curiosity, and in an attempt to live in other times, and inhabit bodies that are not my own. More Hilary Mantel
Jane Eyre Brontë’s masterpiece of Gothic romance; a milestone title in the history of British feminist literature. More