My 2025 Reads


Amitav Ghosh

Amitav Ghosh is an acclaimed Indian author known for blending historical research with compelling storytelling, particularly exploring themes of colonialism, migration, and identity across South Asia. From his works, I hope to learn how to transform complex themes into global, page-turning stories.

  • The Circle of Reason (1986) – migration, identity

  • The Shadow Lines (1988) – borders, memory

  • In an Antique Land (1992) – history, culture

  • The Calcutta Chromosome (1995) – science, colonialism

  • Dancing in Cambodia and at Large in Burma (1998) – travel, observation

  • Countdown (1999) – politics, nuclear issues

  • The Glass Palace (2000) – empire, displacement

  • The Imam and the Indian (2002) [essays] – culture, colonialism

  • The Hungry Tide (2004) – environment, human resilience

  • Incendiary Circumstances (2005) [essays] – turmoil, conflict

  • Sea of Poppies (2008) – trade, survival

  • River of Smoke (2011) – commerce, culture

  • Flood of Fire (2015) – war, power

  • The Great Derangement (2016) – climate, history

  • Gun Island (2019) – climate, mythology

  • The Nutmeg's Curse (2021) – colonialism, environmental change

  • Smoke and Ashes (2023) – opium trade, empire


Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison was a groundbreaking American novelist and Nobel Prize winner whose powerful writing illuminates the Black American experience through lyrical prose, complex characters, and deep psychological insight. Reading her canon will teach me to craft emotionally resonant stories that tackle difficult themes with both unflinching honesty and poetic grace.

  • The Bluest Eye (1970) – racism, identity

  • Sula (1973) – friendship, independence

  • Song of Solomon (1977) – heritage, masculinity

  • Tar Baby (1981) – class, relationships

  • Beloved (1987) – trauma, memory

  • Jazz (1992) – love, music

  • Playing in the Dark (1992) – race, literature

  • Paradise (1997) – community, power

  • The Dancing Mind (1996) [speech] – reading, creativity

  • Love (2003) – obsession, betrayal

  • A Mercy (2008) – slavery, motherhood

  • What Moves at the Margin (2008) [essays] – politics, culture

  • Home (2012) – healing, belonging

  • God Help the Child (2015) – abuse, redemption

  • The Source of Self-Regard (2019) [essays, speeches] – power, art


James Baldwin

James Baldwin was a transformative American writer whose essays and fiction fearlessly confront race, sexuality, and social justice through precise, passionate prose that combines personal experience with sharp cultural analysis. From his works, I hope to learn how to write with raw honesty while maintaining intellectual clarity and emotional power.

  • Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) – religion, identity

  • Notes of a Native Son (1955) [essay collection] – race, experience

  • Giovanni's Room (1956) – sexuality, isolation

  • The Fire Next Time (1963) [essay] – racism, justice

  • Another Country (1962) – race, desire

  • Nobody Knows My Name (1961) [essays] – race, identity

  • Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone (1968) – art, activism

  • If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) – love, injustice

  • The Devil Finds Work (1976) – film, prejudice

  • Just Above My Head (1979) – family, survival

  • The Evidence of Things Not Seen (1985) – violence, society

  • The Cross of Redemption (2010) [essays] – politics, literature


Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O'Farrell is a contemporary Irish-British novelist acclaimed for her intimate exploration of family relationships, memory, and near-death experiences through intricate, time-shifting narratives. My goal in studying her work is to master the art of weaving multiple timelines and perspectives into emotionally compelling stories.

  • After You'd Gone (2000) – grief, memory

  • My Lover's Lover (2002) – obsession, relationships

  • The Distance Between Us (2004) – connection, separation

  • The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (2006) – secrets, confinement

  • The Hand That First Held Mine (2010) – motherhood, art

  • Instructions for a Heatwave (2013) – family, disappearance

  • This Must Be the Place (2016) – marriage, identity

  • I Am, I Am, I Am (2017) – survival, resilience

  • Hamnet (2020) – loss, creativity

  • The Marriage Portrait (2022) – power, destiny


Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith is a brilliant British novelist and essayist known for her sharp wit and incisive exploration of race, class, and cultural identity through richly layered characters and vibrant dialogue. Studying her masterful blend of humor and social commentary will sharpen my ability to create stories that are both entertaining and intellectually engaging.

  • White Teeth (2000) – family, multiculturalism

  • The Autograph Man (2002) – identity, celebrity

  • On Beauty (2005) – art, academia

  • Changing My Mind (2009) – essays, perspective

  • NW (2012) – city life, friendship

  • Swing Time (2016) – dance, ambition

  • Feel Free (2018) – essays, freedom

  • Grand Union (2019) – short stories, society

  • Intimations (2020) – pandemic, reflection

  • The Wife of Willesden (2021) – adaptation, storytelling

  • The Fraud (2023) – history, deception


Anne Berest

Anne Berest is a contemporary French writer whose personal and historical narratives delicately explore Jewish identity, family secrets, and intergenerational trauma through elegant, emotionally resonant prose. Through her work, particularly The Postcard, I aim to understand how to transform family history into universal stories that bridge past and present.

  • Sagan 1954 (2014) – literature, nostalgia

  • How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are (2014) – culture, lifestyle

  • Gabriële (2017) – art, biography

  • La Carte Postale (2021) – family, Holocaust


Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Nobel Prize-winning British novelist celebrated for his subtle exploration of memory, loss, and self-deception through deceptively simple prose and unreliable narrators. His masterful restraint in storytelling will teach me how to build complex emotional worlds through what remains unsaid.

  • A Pale View of Hills (1982) – memory, loss

  • An Artist of the Floating World (1986) – guilt, nationalism

  • The Remains of the Day (1989) – duty, regret

  • The Unconsoled (1995) – confusion, identity

  • When We Were Orphans (2000) – memory, isolation

  • Never Let Me Go (2005) – cloning, humanity

  • Nocturnes (2009) – music, longing

  • The Buried Giant (2015) – memory, mythology

  • Klara and the Sun (2021) – AI, loneliness


Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an incisive American writer who transforms personal experience, historical analysis, and cultural criticism into powerful narratives about race, justice, and identity in both his non-fiction and fiction works. His ability to weave scholarship and storytelling into accessible, urgent prose will guide my approach to research-driven narrative.

  • The Beautiful Struggle (2008) - coming-of-age, resilience

  • Between the World and Me (2015) - identity, racism

  • We Were Eight Years in Power (2017) - history, politics

  • The Water Dancer (2019) - slavery, memory

  • The Message (2024) - faith, transformation


Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah is a bestselling American novelist known for crafting emotionally gripping historical fiction that centers on family relationships, female resilience, and survival through meticulously researched settings. Her talent for blending intimate character development with sweeping historical events will show me how to create commercially successful stories that maintain literary depth.

  • A Handful of Heaven (1991) - love, loss

  • The Enchantment (1992) - romance, magic

  • Once in Every Life (1992) - fate, healing

  • If You Believe (1993) - faith, hope

  • When Lightning Strikes (1994) - destiny, passion

  • Waiting for the Moon (1995) - longing, dreams

  • Home Again (1996) - family, reconciliation

  • On Mystic Lake (1999) - grief, recovery

  • Angel Falls (2000) - love, tragedy

  • Summer Island (2001) - family, forgiveness

  • Distant Shores (2002) - relationships, change

  • Between Sisters (2003) - sisterhood, healing

  • The Things We Do for Love (2004) - sacrifice, family

  • Comfort & Joy (2005) - Christmas, renewal

  • Magic Hour (2006) - healing, innocence

  • Firefly Lane (2008) - friendship, loyalty

  • True Colors (2009) - sibling rivalry, love

  • Winter Garden (2010) - family, secrets

  • Night Road (2011) - tragedy, forgiveness

  • Home Front (2012) - war, resilience

  • Fly Away (2013) - loss, recovery

  • The Nightingale (2015) - survival, resistance

  • The Great Alone (2018) - survival, love

  • The Four Winds (2021) - resilience, hope

  • The Women (2024) - strength, sacrifice


Harriet E. Wilson

Harriet E. Wilson was a pioneering African-American author whose 1859 novel Our Nig broke ground as the first known publication by a Black American woman, documenting the brutal realities of Northern racism through semi-autobiographical fiction. Reading her groundbreaking work will teach me how to transform personal hardship into fearless, truthful storytelling that opens new paths for others.

  • Our Nig (1859) - race, identity


Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston was a luminous American anthropologist and novelist whose masterful use of Black vernacular and folklore brought the richness of African-American cultural life in the rural South to the literary forefront. Her fearless storytelling and ethnographic approach will guide me in authentically capturing distinct voices and cultural experiences.

  • Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934) - family, folklore

  • Mules and Men (1935) - culture, folklore

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) - self-discovery, love

  • Tell My Horse (1938) - Haiti, spirituality

  • Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939) - faith, leadership

  • Dust Tracks on a Road (1942) - autobiography, resilience

  • Seraph on the Suwanee (1948) - love, conflict

  • Barracoon (2018) - slavery, history


Joan Didion

Joan Didion was a masterful American writer whose precise, unsentimental prose style revolutionized both personal essays and cultural criticism through keen observation and unflinching self-examination. Her surgical precision with language and clear-eyed approach to both personal and cultural analysis will teach me how to write with ruthless clarity and emotional restraint.

  • Run River (1963) - family, tragedy

  • Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968) - culture, disillusionment

  • Play It as It Lays (1970) - mental health, society

  • The White Album (1979) - culture, identity

  • A Book of Common Prayer (1977) - politics, loss

  • Salvador (1983) - conflict, journalism

  • Democracy (1984) - politics, power

  • Miami (1987) - city, culture

  • The Last Thing He Wanted (1996) - intrigue, politics

  • After Henry (1992) - loss, reflection

  • Political Fictions (2001) - politics, media

  • Where I Was From (2003) - identity, history

  • The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) - grief, memory

  • Blue Nights (2011) - grief, motherhood

  • South and West (2017) - history, self-discovery

  • Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021) - essays, reflections


Jane Austen

Jane Austen was a revolutionary British novelist whose sharp social satire and masterful character development illuminated the complexities of class, marriage, and women's lives in Regency England through wit and precise observation. Her brilliant dialogue and subtle irony will show me how to craft social commentary that entertains while it critiques.

  • Sense and Sensibility (1811) - family, love

  • Pride and Prejudice (1813) - society, romance

  • Mansfield Park (1814) - morality, class

  • Emma (1815) - matchmaking, self-discovery

  • Northanger Abbey (1817) - gothic, satire

  • Persuasion (1817) - love, regret

  • Lady Susan (1871) - marriage, manipulation


James McBride

James McBride is a versatile American author whose work blends humor, history, and jazz-like storytelling rhythms to explore race, identity, and family through both intimate personal narratives and sweeping historical fiction. His gift for finding joy and humanity in serious subjects will teach me to balance light and dark elements in complex stories.

  • The Color of Water (1995) - identity, race

  • Miracle at St. Anna (2002) - war, brotherhood

  • Song Yet Sung (2008) - freedom, resilience

  • The Good Lord Bird (2013) - slavery, abolition

  • Kill 'Em and Leave (2016) - music, legacy

  • Deacon King Kong (2020) - community, redemption

  • The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023) - history, secrets


Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is a perceptive American novelist whose intimate storytelling explores the surprising ways strangers become family through elegantly structured narratives and compassionate character studies. Her ability to find extraordinary stories in ordinary human connections will guide my approach to crafting compelling interpersonal dynamics.

  • The Patron Saint of Liars (1992) - identity, secrets

  • Taft (1994) - redemption, family

  • The Magician's Assistant (1997) - loss, illusion

  • Bel Canto (2001) - music, hostage

  • Run (2007) - family, sacrifice

  • State of Wonder (2011) - science, morality

  • Commonwealth (2016) - family, guilt

  • The Dutch House (2019) - family, inheritance

  • These Precious Days (2021) - friendship, reflection

  • Tom Lake (2023) - love, memory


Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell was a pioneering Victorian novelist whose social reform narratives illuminated class struggles and industrial change in 19th-century England through compassionate character studies and detailed social observation. Her skillful balance of social commentary with compelling personal stories will guide my approach to writing about systemic issues through intimate human perspectives.

  • Mary Barton (1848) - class, labor

  • Cranford (1851) - community, women

  • Ruth (1853) - morality, redemption

  • North and South (1854) - industrialization, love

  • Sylvia's Lovers (1863) - love, war

  • Cousin Phillis (1864) - rural life, relationships

  • Wives and Daughters (1865) - marriage, society


bell hooks

bell hooks was a transformative cultural critic and author whose accessible yet profound writing challenged readers to examine love, race, gender, and capitalism through radical, intersectional perspectives. Her genius for making complex theoretical ideas personal and actionable will show me how to write about big ideas with clarity and revolutionary warmth.

  • Ain’t I a Woman (1981) - race, gender

  • Feminist Theory (1984) - feminism, critique

  • Talking Back (1989) - voice, power

  • Yearning (1990) - desire, identity

  • Black Looks (1992) - race, representation

  • Sisters of the Yam (1993) - healing, spirituality

  • Teaching to Transgress (1994) - education, liberation

  • Killing Rage (1995) - anger, justice

  • Art on My Mind (1995) - art, culture

  • Bone Black (1996) - memoir, identity

  • Wounds of Passion (1997) - love, desire

  • Remembered Rapture (1999) - love, spirituality

  • All About Love (2000) - love, healing

  • Where We Stand (2000) - race, society

  • Salvation (2001) - faith, transformation

  • Communion (2002) - spirituality, connection

  • Teaching Community (2003) - education, community

  • The Will to Change (2004) - masculinity, change

  • Belonging (2008) - community, identity

  • Teaching Critical Thinking (2009) - thought, education

  • Writing Beyond Race (2012) - race, writing

  • Appalachian Elegy (2012) - heritage, grief