3.87 avg rating — 946,808 ratings

"This book is unusual in many ways, and gets lots of credit for changing the face of modern fiction — but not enough credit for how fully realized a character Lolita is, despite the fact that we are seeing her through the lens of her stalker. The use of language is just impossibly great."

4.07 avg rating — 2,873 ratings

"This memoir of the beat generation is unusual in that it is from the female perspective, letting us know that the Beats were as bad at being boyfriends as they were good at making art."

4.19 avg rating — 2,903 ratings

"Nikki Giovanni’s poetry is deceptively simple and addictively romantic."

3.88 avg rating — 131,555 ratings

"This contains the most perfect parody of a family newsletter and was my first taste of humor writing and what an incisive tool it can be."

3.84 avg rating — 5,258 ratings

"This novel — about a white woman living in Africa — explores race, class and sexuality with humor and precision and would make such a good movie."

3.88 avg rating — 96 ratings

"This masterful eccentric serves up lessons on how to be an iconoclast — I have my father’s signed copy with me always."

3.56 avg rating — 2,036 ratings

"These are perfect specimens of creative nonfiction — Nora pioneered a kind of modern, personal journalism that is now taken for granted."

3.89 avg rating — 129,535 ratings

"A perfect jewel of a novel, delicious and comforting and pure."

4.34 avg rating — 43,599 ratings

"Equal parts radical self-help and fascinating insight into the moment when Eastern religion reached Western minds. It’s pretty psychedelic."

3.88 avg rating — 8,697 ratings

"Sexy, sexy novel/memoir hybrid that could turn anyone into a lesbian, at least for a summer."