Our Town

Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” More

The Corrections

Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More

Blonde

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Multimillion-copy global bestseller that won critical acclaim for its beautifully wrought depiction of innocence corrupted. 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

Emma Donoghue

Like many teenagers, I spent more of my summer holidays than I probably should have immersed in the world of The Lord of the Rings. More

Wolf Hall

Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. More

The Hours

Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More

The Shipping News

Highly acclaimed international bestseller; winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. More

Room

Winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize regional prize; made into a major motion picture. 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

Barometer Rising

The first novel by MacLennan, one of Canada’s most significant novelists of the mid-twentieth century. More

The Bell Jar

A haunting classic that chronicles the breakdown of a brilliant, talented, successful young woman. More

A Woman of Substance

With her unforgettable heroine Emma Harte, Bradford popularized the rags-to-riches family saga. More

Pilgrim

A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More

The Stone Diaries

Winner of the 1993 Governor General’s Award (Canada) and the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. More

Mary Karr

I read to save my life, to take communion, to enter a community of fellow sufferers and rejoicers. More