Bookmarks

Ebony Thomas is the author of “The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games.” For her the most important word in that title is "imagination." She believes that without imagination …

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is one of the most controversial books in the American literary canon, particularly because of its …

There’s a book that Ada Calhoun, author of “Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis“ thinks of as both one of her favorites to read out loud with her son, as well as one that has inspired her own writing. It’s “A …

A girl, a horse, and a magical sword save a kingdom in Robin McKinley's young adult classic, "The Blue Sword" — a book beloved by women of all ages. …

Every year, at holiday time, Macdonald reads this tale of a boy who finds out he's one of the "old ones," part of a series from author Susan Cooper. …

Lulu Miller, author of “Why Fish Don’t Exist,” first read the young adult book “The Search for Delicious” when she was in that transformative and …

"White Fang" by Jack London is a classic outdoor adventure story about a wild wolf-dog's struggle to survive in the Yukon Territory during the 1890's …

Neverland. Wonderland. Magic wands and unicorns. Your escape from COVID-19 is just a wish-upon-a-star away. Season 3 of Bookmarks — the kid’s book edition — is flying in on a fire-breathing dragon.

In this ragtag …

Over the years, author, journalist and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell has written about some notorious cases of police brutality, including the deaths of 

Nature writer and adventurer Robert Macfarlane has given away one book more than any other volume. It's "The Living Mountain," by Scottish writer and …

For decades, Stanley Crouch has cut a singular path through American culture. Once an aspiring jazz musician and later a noted cultural critic, he …

When he’s not drawing, Chris Ware likes to read and look at vintage comics. He highly recommends a book that defies even his powers of description — …

Cheryl Strayed’s "Wild" is one of the most famous wilderness memoirs of our time. She especially appreciates writers who combine honesty with emotional intensity — writers who reveal themselves unflinchingly on the …

The Turkish writer and Nobel laureate says his favorite novel — the 800-plus-page Russian novel bursting with characters living the life of imperial Russian society — is a complex miracle of a book.

—This author …

The author of "Another Brooklyn" recommends a James Baldwin novel she says belongs on everyone's bookshelf.

—This author recommends—
If Beale …

Famed novelist Kazuo Ishiguro recommends “Prayers for the Stolen,” by Jennifer Clement —a harrowing tale about young children who are abducted in the …

For her own book, author Ruth Ozeki drew from “Kamikaze Diaries,” a collection of writings left behind by the young soldiers who died on suicide …

Author Petina Gappah recommends a book she explains is “The most African of Jane Austen’s novels.” Her reason why is a look at women in African today …

Given the hyper-realism of author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s "My Struggle," you might be surprised to hear that the formative books of his childhood were …

Because he’s fascinated by the process of collecting and by the impulse to document everyday life,
poet Ross Gay recommends “Gene Smith’s Sink,” by …

For as long as she can remember, Susan Orlean has had a favorite book, "The Sound and the
Fury," by William Faulkner. A southern gothic novel set …

Philip Pullman — author of the fantasy classic "His Dark Materials" — is clearly attuned to the imaginative world of children. In fact, he was a …

Why does Philip Pullman love maps? How does Petina Gappah see Jane Austen as African? What science fiction stories did a young Karl Ove Knausgaard …

The next season of Bookmarks starts on March 13. In the meantime, we wanted to share a few stories we've heard from listeners about the books that have shaped them.

Have your own story to share? Email us at …

"On Immunity: An Inoculation" author Eula Biss recommends a memoir in which author Maggie Nelson asks questions that bend conventions about gender, …

Paul Beatty, the Booker Prize Winning Author of "The Sellout" recommends "The Nazi and the
Barber," a novel by Holocaust survivor Edgar Hilsenrath. 

Sometimes you stumble upon a book that sets you on a whole new path. For Israeli historian and philosopher Yuval Norah Harari — author of "Sapiens," …

The main character in Jeff
VanderMeer’s other-worldly tale is a polymorphous bear who moves in
magical and unexpected ways, and keeps secrets in …

The author of "Lincoln in the Bardo" recommends Victor Klemperer's two-volume diary that reads as
a slow-motion picture of what the Holocaust looked …

Writer Anne Lamott says that the children’s classic made her feel like there was room in the world for imaginative, adventurous girls who just might wear mismatched knee socks. 

—This author recommends—

Pippi …

Jean Rhys takes up a "mad" wife’s story in "Wide Sargasso Sea," an overlooked novel recommended by
"Handmaid’s Tale" author Margaret Atwood.

—This author recommends—
Wide Sargasso Sea

—More from this author

—…

Writer Lorrie Moore says Alice Munro’s book of short stories, "Carried Away," shows mastery of
the architecture of the short story that is both brilliant and can’t be
imitated.

—This author recommends—

Carried Away: …

Filmmaker Werner Herzog, whose films include "Grizzly Man" and "Cave of the Forgotten Dreams," recommends a nonfiction collection of J.A. Baker's …

Martin Amis has written his fair share of novels and essay collections. For a writer, you expect their favorite books to be a source of inspiration. …

As a black, gay poet, Jericho Brown considers it “hilarious” that he discovered sex through one of the whitest writers in American history — John Updike. 

—This author recommends—

The Witches of Eastwick

—More from …

Alice Walker recommends Richard Yates' novel following an advertising executive whose seemingly successful life quietly fractures under the pressure …

Tommy Orange says he wasn't much of a reader in his early years. But a chance encounter with an absurd, experimental novel by John Kennedy Toole …

Bookmarks are stories mined from our secret lives as readers. Stories of intimate relationships and life-changing encounters with books. Stories about the books we can’t forget. In this micropodcast, the producers …