List of Famous Writers and their books

Some people get a kick out of snooping in medicine cabinets, but we prefer to go straight to the bookshelf. We think that’s where you get to know the details of a person—what inspires, entertains, or motives them. To be honest, we’ve always wanted to know what our favorite authors are reading. Take a peek at the Book Lists put together by Pulitzer Prize-winners, cult authors, and Team Oyster favorites.

Critical darling by the age of 24 and winner of the Pulitzer-Prize, Michael Chabon is one of our literary heroes. That’s why we’re so excited that he shares his selections of some classics (both new and old) with us.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is probably known best as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Team of Rivals and expert Presidential historian, but did you know she’s a pundit of baseball, mysteries, and engrossing biographies? It’s not fair that some people get to be so smart about everything.

She’s a master of the memoir—if you haven’t read The Glass Castle, we cannot urge you enough to get on it right now. And once you’re done, browse through Jeannette Walls’s wonderful list of stories, both real and fictional, about what makes us human.

A National Book Award finalist (and currently very buzzed-about author), Anthony Doerr recommends some classics that we can all stand to read (or re-read). From Ernest Hemingway, to Annie Dillard, to Italo Calvino, Doerr is a man after our own heart.

Lauren Weisberger has survived being assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, penned multiple bestsellers, and found time to tell us about the women who inspired her through books (spoiler alert: Sex and the Single Girl had something to do with it). See Lauren Weisberger’s Book List

With over 40 books under the belt, Mary Higgins Clark is still going strong. The queen of suspense shares her favorite mysteries on Oyster.

Usually when you find out someone or something is not real, you’re a little crushed. No Santa? Uncle Sam wasn’t a President? Don’t tell us Daft Punk are like, middle-aged white men instead of robots. The good news here is that Christina Lauren is not in fact one, but two incredibly talented authors (Christina and Lauren) who have written the very popular Beautiful Bastard series. As experts on all things fun and sexy, they’ve told us which books they put their stamp of approval on.

We already liked Ariel Schrag because of her incredible debut novel, Adam. But then she went and told us about her “Books That Had a Profound Effect [On Me]” and we can’t help but like her even more.

Anita Diamant is the internationally-bestselling author of novels, memoirs, and cultural histories. We’ve always been a fan, but we like her even more after she sent us her list of her favorite books on Oyster. The #1 pick? The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher, which includes the very classic (and in-house favorite) piece, Consider the Oyster.

Jennifer Probst is the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage to a Billionaire series and expert on thrilling, sexy books. She also knows a thing or two about good writers—from Stephen King’s classic manifesto, On Writing, to the darling and wise The Art of Racing in the Rain.

The best thriller authors are those who have real-life experience with their subject matter, right? Take John le Carré, for example—give him a few years in the British Secret Intelligence Service and bam: A Most Wanted Man (and over 20 other books). Same goes for Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, and now Jason Matthews, whose debut, Red Sparrow is so riveting you’ll need to remind yourself to breathe between chapters. Matthews was kind enough to share some of his go-to books that help him unwind.

Professor and New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz shares her picks of everything from books on the philosophy of BS to a study of why we eat some animals and knit cute little sweaters for others. While we’re on the topic of Horowitz, we really must recommend her two incredible books: Inside of a Dog and the incredibly thoughtful On Looking.

Alethea Kontis is the brains behind Enchanted (and the subsequent Woodcutter series) as well as a handful of other impressive YA books and memoirs. She shares some of the books that inspired her to be the writer (and person) she is today.

We don’t just like Alice Hoffman because she’s a native New Yorker, or because she wrote her first novel when she was just 21. We admire Hoffman most for her boundless creativity which has manifested itself in over 30 complete books in her career so far. She shares the books that have inspired her writing for decades. See Alice Hoffman’s Book List

We all used to be kids, full of wonder and curiosity. Susan Beth Pfeffer, the longtime New York Times bestselling author, creates stories full of creativity and mystery for kids and young adults—but with a spirit that appeals to us all. She shares some of her favorite classics and new books with this List.