The Bell Jar A haunting classic that chronicles the breakdown of a brilliant, talented, successful young woman. More
Go Set a Watchman This newly discovered novel from beloved author Harper Lee became the bestselling book of 2015. More
Barbara Taylor Bradford When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More Barbara Taylor Bradford
Just Kids Legendary artist Patti Smith’s critically acclaimed memoir; winner of the National Book Award. More
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). 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 Lauren Weisberger
Our Town Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” 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 Hilary Mantel
One Hundred Years of Solitude This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
The Known World The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel that examines the troubling complexities of slavery. More
To Kill a Mockingbird Much-loved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, voted by librarians across America as the best novel of the twentieth century. More
The Hours Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
The Year of Magical Thinking Winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. 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 Corrections Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. 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 Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Jane Eyre Brontë’s masterpiece of Gothic romance; a milestone title in the history of British feminist literature. More
The Wapshot Chronicle Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
Pilgrim A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More