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
Room Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More
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
Tess of the d’Urbervilles Major nineteenth-century English novel that challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England. More
Love Story The romantic tale that defined a generation, sold millions, and inspired a popular film. More
Love and War in the Apennines The early life story of a man who would become one of Britain’s best-loved literary adventurers. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
The Other Side of Midnight This suspenseful, glamorous thriller was a genre-busting bestseller from Sheldon, an acclaimed master storyteller. 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
The Golden Notebook A feminist landmark and the best-known work by Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing. More
A Woman of Substance With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
The Stone Diaries Winner of the 1993 Governor General’s Award (Canada) and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More
Tales of the City First book in Maupin’s acclaimed and groundbreaking series documenting San Francisco’s underground and gay culture. More
Barometer Rising The first novel by MacLennan, one of Canada’s most significant novelists of the mid-twentieth century. More
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn An American classic called “one of the books of the century” by the New York Public Library. 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
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Pulitzer Prize winner; considered one of the classic works of creative nonfiction of the late twentieth century. More
The Thorn Birds McCullough’s sweeping family saga of forbidden love in the Australian outback; became a bestselling phenomenon. 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 Tracy Chevalier
The Shipping News Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More