Thanhha Lai
I read because I dream of having a super power. More
Cathy Marie Buchanan
I write because I’m compelled to create and writing is the act that best satisfies the itch. More
The God of Small Things
Winner of the 1997 Man Booker Prize, making Roy the first Indian woman to receive the award. More
People of the Book
Winner of the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year 2008. More
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece, and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. 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
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
Empire of the Sun
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. More
Jacqueline Winspear
I read because I love language, the way the joining of words and the rhythm of a story can make me laugh, cry, or take me out of my world or immerse me in the lives of others. 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
Barbara Taylor Bradford
When I say I have the need to write, I do mean need. More
Bring Up the Bodies
Winner of the Man Booker Prize and the first to win as a sequel. More
The Wapshot Chronicle
Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
Their Eyes Were Watching God
One of the most widely read and acclaimed novels in the canon of African-American literature. More
A Woman of Substance
With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More
Wild Swans
Popular bestseller that has sold more than 13 million copies. More
Rosemary Sullivan
I write out of compulsion. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,” as Alan Sillitoe remarked—the exhilaration and discipline of the run; the finish line unknown until you get there. More
Native Son
Wright’s unsparing reflection on what it means to be black in America. More
Red Scarf Girl
Searing memoir set during the height of the Cultural Revolution in China. More
Wolf Hall
Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. More
The White Tiger
Winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize. More
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Multimillion-copy global bestseller that won critical acclaim for its beautifully wrought depiction of innocence corrupted. More
Pallavi Aiyyar
I read to travel within and to range wide beyond my limited firsthand experiences. More
Emma Freedman
Why I read: To escape the everyday in worlds that wildly creative people invite us into, and to expand the mind. More
Room
Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. More
The Poisonwood Bible
Pulitzer Prize finalist and runaway bestseller. More