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
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 Namita Gokhale
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
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
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). More
One Hundred Years of Solitude This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
Barometer Rising The first novel by MacLennan, one of Canada’s most significant novelists of the mid-twentieth century. More
Pilgrim A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
The Thorn Birds McCullough’s sweeping family saga of forbidden love in the Australian outback; became a bestselling phenomenon. More
The Shipping News Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. 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
Bel Canto Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel that won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. 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 Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
The Hours Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
A Woman of Substance With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
Brenda Jackson Of all the books I’ve read, it was a romance story that influenced me the most. More Brenda Jackson
Room Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More
All the Light We Cannot See The multimillion-copy bestseller and winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More
Girl with a Pearl Earring Multimillion-copy global bestseller that won critical acclaim for its beautifully wrought depiction of innocence corrupted. More
The Stone Diaries Winner of the 1993 Governor General’s Award (Canada) and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More
The God of Small Things Winner of the 1997 Man Booker Prize, making Roy the first Indian woman to receive the award. More