Books Recommended by Our Authors

Each time we host a Conversation with Authors session, we invite the participants to share a short list of books they’d recommend to others. Below is the ongoing composite list of these cherished recommendations.

Sort the list by “Book,” by “Author,” or by the session participant who recommended the title by clicking on the corresponding heading in green below.

Book Author Recommended by…
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do Amy Morin Lori Gottlieb
A Crooked Smile Terri Tate Anne Lamott
A General Theory of Love Thomas Lewis, et al. Joan Ryan
A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles Jeff Schwager
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers Jason Rezaian
A Judgement in Stone Ruth Rendell Susan Minot
A Long Petal of the Sea Isabel Allende Colum McCann
A Long Petal of the Sea Isabel Allende Adam Hochschild
A Long Petal of the Sea Isabel Allende Jill Biden
A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman Erik Larson
A Map of the World Jane Hamilton Anne Lamott
A Poet’s Journal George Seferis Mark Nepo
A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth Daniel Mason Jill McCorkle
A Simple Heart Gustave Flaubert Julia Alvarez
Al Franken: Giant of the Senate Al Franken Joan Ryan
All Adults Here Emma Straub Erik Larson
All My Puny Sorrows Miriam Toews Louise Erdrich
All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr Ursula Hegi
All the Names They Used for God Anjali Sachdeva Khaled Hosseini
Am I There Yet? Mari Andrew Paris Rosenthal
American Places William Zinsser Jordan Blashek
American War Omar El Akkad Dave Eggers
Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner Lisa See
Animal Farm: Centennial Edition George Orwell Jason Rezaian
Animal Spirit Francesca Marciano Susan Minot
Anything and everything Dave Eggers Colum McCann
Apeirogon Colum McCann Dave Eggers
Apeirogon: A Novel Colum McCann Isabel Allende
Appointment in Samarra John O’Hara Jeff Schwager

At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life
Fenton Johnson Jane Hirshfield
Barbarian Days William Finnegan Christopher Haugh
Beloved (Vintage International) Toni Morrison Jaquira Diaz
Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates Ursula Hegi
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Anne Lamott Cara Black
Black Is the Body Emily Bernard Ann Patchett
Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East Kim Ghattas Yeganeh (Yegi) Rezaian
Black Widow Leslie Gray Streeter Jennifer Steinhauer
Book of Longings Sue Monk Kidd Janine Urbaniak Reid
Born a Crime Trevor Noah Don Asmussen
Born to Be Good Dacher Keltner Jane Hirshfield
Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami Mary Ladd
Cancer Vixen Marisa Acocella Marchetto Mary Ladd
Candide Voltaire Jane Hirshfield
Cantoras: A Novel Carolina De Robertis Julia Alvarez
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent Isabel Wilkerson Bill Petrocelli
Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition Joseph Heller Jason Rezaian
The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats W. B. Yeats Jane Hirshfield
Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Annika Harris Jason Rosenthal
Cruel Beautiful World Caroline Leavitt Janine Urbaniak Reid
Dale Loves Sophie to Death Robb Forman Dew Bobbie Ann Mason
Deacon King Kong James McBride John Grisham
Deacon King Kong James McBride Ann Patchett
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson Lisa See
Dear Ann Bobbie Ann Mason Jill McCorkle
Dear Edward Ann Neapolitano Colum McCann
Death in Summer William Trevor Julia Alvarez
Deep Gossip Sidney Wade Bobbie Ann Mason
Democracy in Chains Nancy MacClean Ayad Akhtar
Devotions Mary Oliver Amy Tan
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead Olga Tokarczuk Rick Hanson
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Olga Tokarczuk Louise Erdrich
East of Eden Josh Steinbeck Rick Hanson
Educated Tara Westover Julie Lythcott-Haims
Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good Helene Tursten Cara Black
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life Amy Krouse Rosenthal Jason Rosenthal
Eva Luna Isabel Allende Ursula Hegi
Exhalation Ted Chiang Alison Gopnik
Exhalation Ted Chiang Louise Erdrich
Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire David Mura Louise Erdrich
Figuring Maria Popova Jane Hirshfield
Finding Chika Mitch Albom Jason Rosenthal
Flights Olga Tokarczuk Louise Erdrich
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Louise Erdrich
From Here to Eternity Caitlin Coughty Paris Rosenthal
Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Lov Dava Sobel Jane Hirshfield
Girl, Woman, Other Bernadine Evaristo Louise Erdrich
Heaven Emerson Whitney Dave Eggers
Heidi Johanna Spyri Lisa See
Help, Thanks, Wow Anne Lamott Janine Urbaniak Reid
Hieroglyphics Jill McCorkle Bobbie Ann Mason
His Truth is Marching On Jon Meacham Bill Petrocelli
Home Baked Alia Volz Mary Ladd
Homegoing Yaa Gyasi Julie Lythcott-Haims
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez Jaquira Diaz
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez Ursula Hegi
How to Be An AntiRacist Ibram X. Kendi Julie Lythcott-Haims
Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh Lori Gottlieb
Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh Don Asmussen
I Remember Nothing Nora Ephron Erik Larson
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Filled with Whiteness Austin Channing Brown Janine Urbaniak Reid
If I Had Two Wings Randall Kenan Jill McCorkle
Immigrant, Montana Amitava Kumar Ayad Akhtar
In the Lateness of the World Carolyn Forché Louise Erdrich
In the Lateness of the World: Poems Carolyn Forche Jane Hirshfield
In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez Jaquira Diaz
In the Valley Ron Rash Jill McCorkle
Inland Téa Obreht Colum McCann
Intangibles Joan Ryan Phil Cousineau
Intimations Zadie Smith Susan Minot
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison Joan Ryan
It Didn’t Start with You Mark Wolynn Sam Lamott
It’s Okay To Laugh (Cryng is Cool Too) Nora McInerny Lori Gottlieb
Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson Susan Minot
Leaves of Grass: (1855) (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Walt Whitman Julia Alvarez
Ledger Jane Hirshfield Jill McCorkle
Letters from Mrs. Grundy Oneita Jackson Dave Eggers
Like Life Lorrie Moore Joan Ryan
Little Big Bully Heid E. Erdrich Louise Erdrich
Little Women Louisa May Alcott Lisa See
Little Women (Vintage Classics) Jane Austen Julia Alvarez
Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry Nancy Pearl
Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez Isabel Allende
MacDoodle St Mark Alan Stamaty Don Asmussen
Man’s Search For Meaning Vicktor Frankl Paris Rosenthal
Map: Collected and Last Poems Wislawa Szymborska Alison Gopnik
Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel Elizabeth George Cara Black
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone Lori Gottlieb Paris Rosenthal
Members Only Sameer Pandya Jennifer Steinhauer
Memorial Drive Natasha Tretheway Jill McCorkle
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Carol S. Dweck John Muir Laws
Missionaries Phil Klay Ayad Akhtar
Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times Jonathan Sacks Jordan Blashek
Motherland Elissa Altman Janine Urbaniak Reid
Mrs. Bridge Evan Connell Anne Lamott
My Antonia Willa Cather Lisa See
New Poets of Native Nations Heid E. Erdrich Louise Erdrich
News of the World Paulette Jiles Erik Larson
Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars Joyce Carol Oates Amy Tan
No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison Behrouz Boochani Jason Rezaian
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me Bess Kalb Jason Rosenthal
Norwegian Wood Huruki Murakami Jason Rezaian
O Pioneers! Willa Cather Lisa See
Oblivion Hector Abad Wade Davis
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong Christopher Haugh
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King Cara Black
Orange World and Other Stories Karen Russell Susan Minot
Our Souls at Night (Vintage Contemporaries) Kent Haruf Julia Alvarez
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World Laura Spinney Jennifer Steinhauer
Paris Is Always a Good Idea Jenn McKinlay Rhys Bowen
Paula: A Memoir Isabel Allende Adam Hochschild
Postcolonial Love Poem Natalie Diaz Louise Erdrich
Pudd’nhead Wilson: and Those Extraordinary Twins Mark Twain Jason Rezaian
Race Against Time Jerry Mitchell John Grisham
Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes Adam Hochschild Isabel Allende
Remembrance of Things Past Marcel Proust Jane Hirshfield
Richard II William Shakespeare Khaled Hosseini
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari Kelly Corrigan
Saved by Beauty: Adventures of an American Romantic in Iran Roger Housden Yeganeh (Yegi) Rezaian
Selected Poems: Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda Julia Alvarez
Selected Stories Alice Munro Jane Hirshfield
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Carlo Rovelli Khaled Hosseini
Shrapnel Maps Phil Metres Colum McCann
Siddhartha Hermann Hesse Mark Nepo
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish Douglas Adams Don Asmussen
South and West Joan Didion Christopher Haugh
Speedboat Renata Adler Anne Lamott
Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Chiang Alison Gopnik
Sum David Eagleman Khaled Hosseini
Summer World Bernd Heinrich Amy Tan
Summerlings Lisa Howorth Bobbie Ann Mason
Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods Amy Tan
Surviving Autocracy Masha Gessen Louise Erdrich
Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas Jeffrey Ostler Louise Erdrich
Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald Bobbie Ann Mason
Testament of Youth Vera Brittain Wade Davis
The Act of Creation Arthur Koestler Jane Hirshfield
The Age of Phillis Honoree Jeffers Jill McCorkle
The Arabian Nights (Leather-bound Classics) Sir Richard Burton Julia Alvarez
The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni Judith Martin
The Black Echo (A Harry Bosch Novel #1) Michael Connelly Lisa See
The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison Ursula Hegi
The Book of Ruth Jane Hamilton Anne Lamott
The Boy in the Field Margot Livesey Ursula Hegi
The Boy in the Field Margot Livesey Jill McCorkle
The Boy in the Field Margot Livesey Bobbie Ann Mason
The Bridge on the Drina Ivo Andric Adam Hochschild
The Buddha in the Attic Julie Otsuka Julia Alvarez
The Burglar Thomas Perry Cara Black
The Butchers’ Blessing Ruth Gilligan Colum McCann
The Cactus League Emily Nemens Joan Ryan
The Collected Poems of Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht Jane Hirshfield
The Color of Air: A Novel Gail Tsukiyama Lisa See
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen Jane Austen Julia Alvarez
The Couple Next Door Shari Lapena Erik Larson
The Dragons, the Giant, the Women Wayetu Moore Ann Patchett
The Dutch House Ann Patchett Isabel Allende
The Dutch House Ann Patchett Jennifer Steinhauer
The Dutch House Ann Patchett Louise Erdrich
The Fire Next Time James Baldwin Jane Hirshfield
The Game of Thrones (boxed set) George RR Martin Sam Lamott
The Gift of Therapy Irvin Yalom Lori Gottlieb
The Godmother: A Crime Novel Hannelore Cayre Cara Black
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 1: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Alexandr Solzhenitsyn Jason Rezaian
The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood Anne Lamott
The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature J. Drew Lanham Amy Tan
The House at Sugar Beach Helene Cooper Jennifer Steinhauer
The House of Broken Angels Luis Alberto Urrea Isabel Allende
The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende Adam Hochschild
The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Mark Moffett Amy Tan
The Hunters James Salter Dave Eggers
The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan Ono no Komachi & Izumi Shikibu Jane Hirshfield
The Jungle Book (Puffin Classics) Rudyard Kipling Lisa See
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Louise Erdrich Ursula Hegi
The Lord of the Flies William Golding Erik Larson
The Lost Pianos of Siberia Sophy Roberts Adam Hochschild
The Lost Pianos of Siberia Sophy Roberts Susan Minot
The Magician’s Elephant Kate DiCamillo Ann Patchett
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Kate DiCamillo Ann Patchett
The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri Khaled Hosseini
The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich Colum McCann
The Nightmare Years William Shirer Wade Davis
The Nightwatchman Louise Erdrich Ann Patchett
The Opposite of Certainty: Fear, Faith and Life in Between Janine Reid Anne Lamott
The Overstory Richard Powers Joan Ryan
The Philosophical Baby Alison Gopnik Alison Gopnik
The Pillow Book Sei Shonagon Alison Gopnik
The Radetzky March Joseph Roth Adam Hochschild
The Resisters Gish Jen Ann Patchett
The Return Hisham Matar Susan Minot
The Righteous Mind Jonathan Haidt Jordan Blashek
The Scientist in the Crib Alison Gopnik Jane Hirshfield
The Selected Poems of Frank O’Hara Frank O’Hara Ann Patchett
The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters Sean B. Carroll Jane Hirshfield
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna: A Novel Juliet Grames Cara Black
The Shimmering Road Hester Young Janine Urbaniak Reid
The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake Steven Novella John Muir Laws
The Sketchnote Handbook: the Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking Mike Rhode John Muir Laws
The Song of the Dodo, Island Biogeography in An Age of Extinctions David Quammen Jane Hirshfield
The Song of the Lark Willa Cather Lisa See
The Source of Self Regard Toni Morrison Dominique Crenn
The Splendid and the Vile Erik Larson John Grisham
The Stranger Diaries Ellie Griffiths Rhys Bowen
The Testaments Margaret Atwood Anne Lamott
The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead Ursula Hegi
The Undocumented Americans Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Louise Erdrich
The Unnamable Samuel Beckett Jane Hirshfield
The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates Joan Ryan
The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates Jill Biden
The Water Dancer: A Novel Ta-Nehisi Coates Isabel Allende
The Woman in the Window A. J. Finn Erik Larson
The Woman Who Lost Her Soul Bob Shacochis Nancy Pearl
They Came Like Swallows William Maxwell Bobbie Ann Mason
Things in Jars Jess Kidd Erik Larson
Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman John Muir Laws
This is Happiness Niall Williams Louise Erdrich
This Is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire Nick Flynn Susan Minot
Three Hours In Paris Cara Black Rhys Bowen
Together Tea Marjan Kamali Yeganeh (Yegi) Rezaian
Transcendent Kingdom Yaa Gyasi Ann Patchett
Troop 6000: The Girl Scout Troop That Began in a Shelter and Inspired the World Nikita Stewart Jennifer Steinhauer
Underland Robert Macfarlane Louise Erdrich
Until the End of Time Brian Greene Jason Rosenthal
Valentine: A Novel Elizabeth Wetmore Jill Biden
Wagnerism Alex Ross Ayad Akhtar
We Learn Nothing Tim Kreider Lori Gottlieb
Weather Jenny Offill Susan Minot
What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance Carolyn Forche Adam Hochschild
When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalinithi Paris Rosenthal
When I Was Puerto Rican: A Memoir Esmeralda Santiago Jaquira Diaz
When Time Stopped Arianna Neuman Bill Petrocelli
White Feathers: The Nesting Lives of Swallows Bernd Heinrich Amy Tan
White Rage Carol Anderson Ann Patchett
White Rage Carol Anderson Louise Erdrich
Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy Geralyn Lucas Mary Ladd
Women Talking Miriam Toews Louise Erdrich
Writers & Lovers Lily King Ann Patchett
Writers and Lovers Lily King Jill McCorkle
Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë Bobbie Ann Mason
Your House Will Pay: A Novel Steph Cha Lisa See