The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of fate, tragedy, and the meaning of the human condition. More
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
An American classic called “one of the books of the century” by the New York Public Library. More
The Wapshot Chronicle
Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
Mary Karr
I read to save my life, to take communion, to enter a community of fellow sufferers and rejoicers. More
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
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
At every stage of life, since being a kid with a flashlight under the covers, reading has always been my favorite activity. More
Michael Chabon
The first writer that I really fell in love with was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in particular his Sherlock Holmes stories, and the first story that I ever wrote was a Sherlock Holmes story. More
Heather O’Neill
A book that influenced me and why: A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais More
The Year of Magical Thinking
Winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. More
Cathy Glass
I have always been a writer. More
Lauren Weisberger
A book that influenced me and why . . . Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume was incredibly influential to me as a child. More
Middlemarch
Ranked number one in a 2015 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British novels. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
Barbara Taylor Bradford
When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More
Their Eyes Were Watching God
One of the most widely read and acclaimed novels in the canon of African-American literature. More
The Known World
The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel that examines the troubling complexities of slavery. More
The Thorn Birds
McCullough’s sweeping family saga of forbidden love in the Australian outback; became a bestselling phenomenon. More
A Woman of Substance
With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
The Bell Jar
A haunting classic that chronicles the breakdown of a brilliant, talented, successful young woman. More
The Shipping News
Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More
The Poisonwood Bible
Pulitzer Prize finalist and runaway bestseller. More
The Stone Diaries
Winner of the 1993 Governor General’s Award (Canada) and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More
Blonde
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More
Bring Up the Bodies
Winner of the Man Booker Prize and the first to win as a sequel. More
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly
Memoir offering a haunting, harrowing look inside the cruel prison of locked-in syndrome. More
The White Tiger
Winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize. More