The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

great-gatsby-fitzgerald

amazon.com

“It’s hard to say what anyone should or shouldn’t read, let alone everyone, butThe Great Gatsby is a book I find myself continually going back to, and I always seem to find something new. If you’ve read it once, it rewards a second look. If you haven’t read it yet, well, I’m jealous of anyone who gets to read it for the first time.”

Kevin Powers, whose debut novel,The Yellow Birds, was just published in paperback ($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


A House for Mr. Biswas,by V. S. Naipaul

naipaul-house-biswas

amazon.com

“The title character, based on Naipaul’s own father, born inauspiciously with a sixth finger in colonial Trinidad, struggles against ignorance, superstition, and bullying in-laws to scratch a tenuous living as a yellow journalist, in this heartbreaking and excruciatingly funny story that speaks of the universal longing for self-expression and freedom.”

Pauline Chen’s second novel, The Red Chamber, was recently released in paperback ($16, amazon.com).

To buy: $17, amazon.com.


A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki

ozeki-tale-time-being

amazon.com

“Everyone—and I mean everyone—should read Ruth Ozeki’s new book, A Tale for the Time Being, which is smart, insightful, revelatory, and uncompromising while remaining gripping, accessible, and often very, very funny.”

Laurie Frankel is the author ofGoodbye for Now, recently released in paperback ($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $29, amazon.com.


Bleak House, by Charles Dickens

bleak-house-charles-dickens

amazon.com

Bleak House is, to my mind, one of the most finely crafted works of literature ever written. The story lines and characters still feel fresh and alive today, 160 years after Dickens created them.”

J. Courtney Sullivan, author ofMaine, just published The Engagements ($27, amazon.com).

To buy: $8, amazon.com.


Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

charlottes-web-eb-white

amazon.com

“If everyone on earth read Charlotte’s Web, preferably once a year, the world would be a better place—more generous, more patient, and more receptive to the unlikely.”

Annie Barrows is the author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ($15, amazon.com) and the Ivy and Bean series of children’s books.

To buy: $9, amazon.com.


The Wisdom of No Escape, by Pema Chödrön

wisdom-escape-pema-chodron

amazon.com

“I think almost everyone could benefit from having a copy of Pema Chödrön’sThe Wisdom of No Escape lying around somewhere to pick up if needed. She’s a Buddhist nun writing about various teachings, but she’s also a true writer, and the book is suffused with the work she has done on herself. You can feel it in the prose. This is a book that can feel ordinary on an ordinary day, but at the right moment (usually a difficult moment), it has the potential to turn into liquid and pour into a person.”

Aimee Bender is the author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and the new story collection The Color Master ($26, amazon).

To buy: $14, amazon.com.


Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain

billy-lynns-long-halftime-walk-fountain

amazon.com

“A group of regular-guy heroes on leave from the war in Afghanistan gets dropped into the luxe circus of a Dallas Cowboys halftime show. Bracingly absurd, the story raises important issues about who is fighting for American values and just what those values are.”

Becky Aikman’s memoir, Saturday Night Widows ($26, amazon.com), was published in January.

“Forget that this is an important book, one that captures our country in a moment in time like none I’ve ever read. Fountain’s real accomplishment is his dizzying prose, fabulous dialogue, and wonderful characters.”

Maria Semple is the author ofWhere’d You Go, Bernadette, now out in paperback ($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


True Grit, by Charles Portis

true-grit-charles-portis

amazon.com

“Many older folks recall the ’60s movie with John Wayne, and a few years ago, Jeff Bridges played the role of the gruff, true-hearted, one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn. But the book, in which Mattie Ross, a very old woman, tells Jesse James’s brother the story of how she set out at 14 to avenge her father’s murder, is pure genius.”

Jacquelyn Mitchard, the author ofThe Deep End of the Ocean, recently published the YA novel What We Saw at Night ($18, amazon.com).

To buy: $8, amazon.com.


The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman

the-light-between-oceans-book

amazon.com 

“On tiny, isolated Janus Rock, off the perilous Western Australian coastline, a childless lighthouse keeper and his grief-stricken wife are swept into a series of life-changing decisions when an infant washes onto their shores in a rowboat. Every character is insightfully drawn, morally complex, and so very human, I was absolutely riveted.”

Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife was recently released in paperback ($15,amazon.com).

To buy: $16, amazon.com.


Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

anna-karenina-tolstoy

amazon.com

“Everyone should read Anna Karenina. When I reread it in 2010, I learned two things: When I was 19, I clearly hadn’t any idea what parts of the text were important—and so I presumed everything was. I think I underlined half the sentences in the novel. (And when a novel is 800 pages long, that’s a lot of sentences.) Second, Tolstoy was a spectacularly astute chronicler of the demons and dreams that really drive human nature. Despite the carriages and oysters and all that fur, the story felt achingly contemporary and I just loved it.”

Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel isThe Light in the Ruins ($26,amazon.com).

To buy: $7, amazon.com.


The Information, by James Gleick

information-gleick

amazon.com

“Here we have a biography of the idea of information, which might have been boring, except for two crucial things: (1) Gleick is a great writer, and (2) the idea of information has had a huge crazy life! I mean, who knew? The life of a poet, a rock star, a conquering king! Put down that celebrity bio. Pick up The Information.”

Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore ($25,amazon.com).

To buy: $17, amazon.com.


St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,by Karen Russell

st-lucys-home

amazon.com

Vampires in the Lemon Grove was a huge hit this year and deserved every accolade. Which makes me think that we should all go back and read her first collection, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. I love the exuberance in these stories. Reading them you feel as if the writer is having as good as time as you and the characters, running around hunting for turtles or mapping the stars. When the sadness hits, as sadness so often does in all very good fiction, it’s startling but earned, a slow bolt of lightning to the heart. A book that sticks with you for life.”

Leigh Newman’s memoir, Still Points North, came out earlier this year ($26, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


Beloved, by Toni Morrison

beloved-toni-morrison

amazon.com

“It helps us understand the pernicious effects of slavery and how we are still grappling with America’s Original Sin.”

Thrity Umrigar, author of six books, including The Space Between Us and her latest, The World We Found($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


Kindly Bent to Ease Us,by Longchenpa (translated by Herbert V. Guenther)

kindly-bent-ease-us-longchenpa

amazon.com

“A three-volume Buddhist classic filled with poetic, profound—and profoundly simple—wisdom.”

J.I. Baker is the author of the debut novel The Empty Glass ($16,amazon.com), now available in paperback.

To buy: from $16 per volume,amazon.com.


The Eight, by Katherine Neville

eight-neville

amazon.com

“It may be 600-plus pages long, but this historical thriller has a cult following for a reason: The story hurtles along, following two women protagonists in different times—an 18th-century ex-nun hiding the pieces to a dangerous chess set during European revolution and a 20th-century American banker whose life depends on unraveling the secrets to the very same chess set.”

Nancy Bilyeau is the author of two novels, including her latest, The Chalice ($27, amazon.com).

To buy: $16, amazon.com.


Wave, by Sonali Deraniyagala

wave-deraniyagala

amazon.com

“This is a book about unimaginable loss, but it’s also about not waiting to recognize the kinds of everyday happiness most of us are lucky enough to experience. It’s a stunning memoir that will change you.”

Will Schwalbe is the author of The End of Your Life Book Club, now out in paperback ($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $24, amazon.com.


Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence, by Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson

demonic-males-wrangham-peterson

amazon.com

“Fascinating, accessible, and endlessly revelatory, this pop-science book literally changed my life, helping me come to terms with the human compulsion to fight by understanding its evolutionary roots.”

Jane Bordon’s memoir is I Totally Meant to Do That ($14, amazon.com).

To buy: $16, amazon.com.


The Middlesteins, by Jami Attenberg

middlesteins-attenberg

amazon.com

The Middlesteins is about a Jewish midwestern family whose matriarch is eating herself to death, but it has the universal appeal of a classic American novel.”

Kate Christensen is the author of six novels and the new memoir Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites ($27, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

flow-csikszentmihalyi

amazon.com

“This book, based on psychologist Csikszentmihalyi’s pioneering work, describes the state of mind we should all seek to attain as often as possible: the state of flow, when you’re so absorbed by an activity that you forget both yourself and time.”

Susan Cain’s first book is the nonfiction best-seller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking ($16, amazon.com).

To buy: $16, amazon.com.


The Fault in Our Stars,by John Green

fault-stars-green

amazon.com

“This story of two teens with terminal cancer is heartbreakingly honest and charmingly funny.”

Jamie Ford, the author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter of Sweet, will publish Songs of Willow Frost ($26,amazon.com) in September.

To buy: $18, amazon.com.


Howards End, by E.M. Forster

howards-end-forster

amazon.com

“Time and again, I recommendHowards End, by E.M. Forster. It’s all about our need to connect with our fellow humans, no matter how different they might appear on the surface.”

Melanie Benjamin is the author ofThe Aviator’s Wife ($26, amazon.com), her third novel.

To buy: $3.50, amazon.com.


One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey

cuckoos-nest-kesey

amazon.com

“Oregon State Hospital, where the adaptation of this brilliant novel was filmed, was recently converted to the Museum of Mental Health. What better way to commemorate this moment than by rereading Kesey’s classic? Moving, jarring, gut-wrenching, yes. But Kesey’s novel is also expertly crafted and superbly written.”

Garth Stein’s three novels includeThe Art of Racing in the Rain ($15,amazon.com).

To buy: $10, amazon.com.


A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra

constellation-vital-phenomena-marra

amazon.com

“This haunting, unforgettable novel about an orphaned 8-year-old girl, the neighbor who rescues her, and the bitter female doctor who hides her is set in Chechnya over a few days in 2004, but manages to reveal that country’s history as well as the characters’ pasts and futures.”

Ann Hood’s recently published fifth book is The Obituary Writer ($27,amazon.com).

To buy: $26, amazon.com.


My Stroke of Insight,by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

my-stroke-insight-bolte-taylor

amazon.com

“A woman’s devastating stroke forces her to think from the right side of her brain, and she not only recovers but becomes happier and more fulfilled.”

Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses, has just published her first novel, The Silver Star ($26, amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon

telegraph-avenue-chabon

amazon.com

“Everyone should read Telegraph Avenue, not just for the stylistic fireworks (such as a breathtaking 12-page sentence) but for the heart and soul Michael Chabon infuses into every character in this multiracial, multi-everything tale of people getting by in 1990s California.”

Emma Donoghue (Room) is the author of the short-story collectionAstray ($26, amazon.com).

To buy: $28, amazon.com.


In Our Time, by Ernest Hemingway

in-our-time-hemingway

amazon.com

“This collection of Hemingway’s short stories and interstitial episodes represents some of the finest, most spare writing of the twentieth century, including my all-time favorite short story, ‘Hills Like White Elephants,’ which distills to perfection the writerly art of not saying. He never tells you what’s going on, but you know, exactly.”

Erik Larson’s latest book is In the Garden of Beasts, now in paperback ($16, amazon.com).

To buy: $14, amazon.com.


Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

mrs-dalloway-virginia-woolf

amazon.com

“I think everyone should read Virginia Woolf for her sparkling writing and for her profound insight into the experience of everyday life.”

Karen Thompson Walker is the author of the debut novel The Age of Miracles ($15, amazon.com).

To buy: $18, amazon.com.


Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, by Rachel Lloyd

girls-like-us-lloyd

amazon.com

“Not only is this a riveting, inspirational memoir about a profoundly troubled youth, but it also exposes the epidemic of human trafficking that’s thriving in our own country. It’s a life-changing book.”

Joanna Hershon’s latest novel, A Dual Inheritance, was published earlier this year ($26, amazon.com).

To buy: $16, amazon.com.


The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

count-monte-cristo-dumas

amazon.com

“An oldie but always satisfying is The Count of Monte Cristo. This one has it all—suspense, romance, adventure—and it played a major role in inspiring me, as a child, to attempt to write fiction.”

Jonathan Kellerman is the author of more than 30 novels, the most recent of which is Guilt ($28,amazon.com).

To buy: $15, amazon.com.


The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

wind-willows-grahame

amazon.com

“Whilst this is ostensibly a children’s book, for me it’s an ode to friendship. Funny, poignant, and beautifully illustrated, it radiates kindness and understanding of the imperfect human heart.”

M.L. Stedman is the author of the best-selling debut novel The Light Between Oceans ($16, amazon.com).

To buy: $20, amazon.com.

Source