The Bridge of San Luis Rey The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of fate, tragedy, and the meaning of the human condition. More
The Corrections Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving’s beloved coming-of-age tale that ranks among the most cherished of American classics. More
Pilgrim A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
One Hundred Years of Solitude This landmark of magical realism sparked a wave of interest in Central and South American literature. More
Our Town Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” More
Barometer Rising The first novel by MacLennan, one of Canada’s most significant novelists of the mid-twentieth century. More
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). More
Tales of the City First book in Maupin’s acclaimed and groundbreaking series documenting San Francisco’s underground and gay culture. More
The Hours Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
Bel Canto Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel that won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. More
Michael Chabon The first writer that I really fell in love with was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in particular his Sherlock Holmes stories, and the first story that I ever wrote was a Sherlock Holmes story. More Michael Chabon
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Pulitzer Prize winner; considered one of the classic works of creative nonfiction of the late twentieth century. More
Mary Karr I read to save my life, to take communion, to enter a community of fellow sufferers and rejoicers. More Mary Karr