Lionel Shriver
Why I write: To find out what I think. More
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
The Thorn Birds
McCullough’s sweeping family saga of forbidden love in the Australian outback; became a bestselling phenomenon. More
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
The Corrections
Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
Jane Eyre
Brontë’s masterpiece of Gothic romance; a milestone title in the history of British feminist literature. More
Cecelia Ahern
I write because I feel compelled to. More
Matt Haig
It sounds ridiculous, but reading saved my life. More
Tales of the City
First book in Maupin’s acclaimed and groundbreaking series documenting San Francisco’s underground and gay culture. More
Bel Canto
Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel that won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
People of the Book
Winner of the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year 2008. More
Wolf Hall
Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. More
Blonde
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More
The Poisonwood Bible
Pulitzer Prize finalist and runaway bestseller. More
The Known World
The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel that examines the troubling complexities of slavery. More
The Golden Notebook
A feminist landmark and the best-known work by Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing. 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
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Multimillion-copy global bestseller that won critical acclaim for its beautifully wrought depiction of innocence corrupted. More
The White Tiger
Winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize. More
Namita Gokhale
I read to share the world, to treasure words, to learn and intuit and recognise experiences to which I have no direct access. More
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). More
Heather O’Neill
A book that influenced me and why: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais More
The Wapshot Chronicle
Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
Go Set a Watchman
This newly discovered novel from beloved author Harper Lee became the bestselling book of 2015. More
Tracy Chevalier
I read because I want to know what it’s like to look at the world through someone else’s eyes, and reading is a remarkably efficient and vigorous way of doing that. More
Middlemarch
Ranked number one in a 2015 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British novels. More
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving’s beloved coming-of-age tale that ranks among the most cherished of American classics. More