"My dad gave me the novel Letting Go by Philip Roth. Dad read very little fiction—only one book of fiction a year. He was a political scientist, and he read dozens and dozens of non-fiction, academic books every year. But he always became enthusiastic about his one, annual book of fiction, which he would then recommend to everyone. He loved Roth. I like the novel, because it is Roth’s second—and unfamous—book; the writing shows his earnestness. He was looking for his voice then. I love the early novels of writers, for that same reason."

"A novel that has as its main character an Old Lady who is liberated from the boredom of her secure life at an eccentric home for elderly ladies when given a hearing trumpet — and whose wish to go to the North pole before she dies comes true in the most unlikely fashion — has to be good. Even though she is better known as one of the best painters of Surrealism Leonora Carrington’s novels and short stories have had a strong influence on feminist and fantastic fiction. Constantly entertaining and unpredictable The Hearing Trumpet is infused with warmth and rebellion in equal measures."

"My favorite book ever. My father was a Dickens fanatic and brought me up to be one too. I’ve read all of his novels but I think this is the best. The story of an orphaned boy who wants so badly to be a gentleman that he forgets how to be a gentle man and becomes morally corrupt, until he is forced to accept the ugly reality of his true provenance. The early scenes where young Pip plays cards with the icy and cruel Estella, whom he worships and hates, are the ones that stay with me the most."

"One of my favorite YA novels. The dystopian society was so well planned out, removing the passions of our world such as poetry and music to lend the support to an existence without pure love. The main character, Lena Halloway, had such a great voice, perfect for a teen narrative, and her interactions with all the Cureds (those who have been saved from the disease, ""amor deliria nervosa"") just grew more and more fascinating with each page. "Love; the deadliest of all deadly things. It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.""

"Stephen King taught me how to suck people in. As a child, I spent about 85 percent of my time with my nose buried in a book. I remember spending most nights huddled under the covers with my flashlight, reading Stephen King novels and short stories. When I was 9, each night I would read as many pages of The Stand as I could until Stephen King had scared me too much. Then I’d lock it inside my closet so the characters couldn’t get me. Honestly, I feel like I learned some of the best storytelling rules from his books."