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 Author Recommendations From their all-time favorite books to what's currently on the bedside table, our Author Recommendations reveal what today's top writers are reading. Featuring personal commentary and insights about what makes their favorite books special to them, they're a great way to add to your reading list. Aryn Kyle Recommends
Aryn Kyle, author of the bestselling debut novel, The God of Animals, recommends Marilynne Robinson''s Housekeeping. "Her prose is perfection," Kyle reflects. "I was assigned this novel for a college class, and during that time I followed my roommate around our apartment, reading lines aloud to her while she was trying to do laundry or clean the kitchen. I think she wanted to strangle me."
 Khaled Hosseini Recommends
God of Small Things Arundhati Roy Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, recommends The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. He calls it "a hypnotic novel about damaged people and forbidden love," and reflects that "the writing is as lush as the landscape, the imagery rich (see the opening page), and the array of characters unforgettable."
Lisa See Recommends
Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, recommends Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed collection of vignettes, Interpreter of Maladies. "I usually don’t like short stories, but I loved these," she reflects. "In my own work I’ve been interested in dislocation and disruption, especially for Chinese immigrants. Reading Lahiri, I saw, once again, that everyone in this country shares in the immigrant experience."
Elizabeth Gilbert Recommends
The People's Act of Love James Meek Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, tells us that if she had a book club, she would "make everyone read The People's Act of Love by James Meek." She reflects, "I can't remember the last time I read something so expertly crafted... this novel is like a perfect piece of Shaker carpentry -- you can't tell where the nails are and where the dovetails went and how it all comes together. You can't imagine how somebody could have made that with his own two hands."
Julie Powell Recommends
The View from Castle Rock Alice Munro Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia, recommends "anything by Alice Munro." "Munro writes like the anti-me, with utter control, a complete lack of showiness," she explains. She is tough on her characters, but unfailingly compassionate, and her stories paint a world that is often sad and unsatisfactory, but ultimately redemptive in small, real ways." Munro's latest collection is The View from Castle Rock.
Charlaine Harris Recommends
Guilty Pleasures Laurell K. Hamilton Charlaine Harris, author of supernatural mysteries like Grave Surprise, recommends Guilty Pleasures by fellow diva of darkess Laurell K. Hamilton. "The first book in Hamilton's long-running Anita Blake series, Guilty Pleasures, sets the tone for the whole bestselling line," Harris explains. "Laurell's trademark recklessness, imagination, and storytelling grip you by the scruff of the neck and never let you go."
Chuck Klosterman Recommends
The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell Chuck Klosterman, author of the new collection of pop culture observations, Chuck Klosterman IV, recommends another look at societal trends, The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell "It is virtually impossible to read this book and not think about every element of culture differently," he explains.
Gary Shteyngart Recommends
Random Family Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx Adrian Nicole LeBlanc Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook and Absurdistan, calls Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family -- a riveting chronicle of her ten years spent in the South Bronx -- "the most authentic, harrowing and moving description of life in the American underclass" and "the most brilliant journalism of the new century."
Robert Sabuda Recommends
Dry A Memoir Augusten Burroughs Robert Sabuda, the creator of masterful pop-up books like his recent bestseller, Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters, recommends Dry, Augusten Burroughs's harrowing, humorous tale of rehab and redemptoin. "I'll never complain about having a 'tough day' again," Sabuda notes. "This memoir is so brutal, yet funny -- it should be required reading for anyone touched by the specter of substance abuse."
Gregory Maguire Recommends
To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf Son of a Witch scribe Gregory Maguire -- known for informing his novels with a sense of history infused with a good dose of drama -- counts searching classics like To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Howards End by E. M. Forster among his reading recommendations. Read on to see the other time-honored tomes that made Maguire's list.
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