Our Shared Shelf discussion

I just had an idea a couple of days ago. Remember last year, when Emma posted a link to an article where Gloria Steinem recommended her 10 favourite books to take if she were marooned on a desert island?

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/t-...

I do, because I have read 6 of them in the last year and each of them (except one, The Woman Warrior, I could never get into that book) has expanded my mind so exponentially that I'll never be the same person again. I finished The Mermaid and the Minotaur a month ago and my mind is still reeling!!!

What if each of the authors we read/have read could be asked to give their 10 best books for broadening the mind? I, for one, would love the input, enabling me to explore writers and subjects I never would have heard of otherwise.

What a fabulous idea! The lists would be enlightening, that's for sure.

This could actually be a nice idea with some great potential. I will make sure to share with the rest of the admin team. :)

Thank you so much, Ana! Keeping my fingers crossed :)

That is a great idea and I would love to see more lists. Thank you for sharing it. I must have somehow missed Gloria Steinem's recommendations. Lately I have discovered that kind of lists and am currently reading through Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 10 favorite books.

Janice wrote: "That is a great idea and I would love to see more lists. Thank you for sharing it. I must have somehow missed Gloria Steinem's recommendations. Lately I have discovered that kind of lists and am cu..."

Oh! She is one of my favorite authors ever! Where can I find this list of hers? Please share.

Soulmuser wrote: "Janice wrote: "That is a great idea and I would love to see more lists. Thank you for sharing it. I must have somehow missed Gloria Steinem's recommendations. Lately I have discovered that kind of ..."

Same here! I discovered her books last year and I am now obsessed with her works. It was in the back of one of her books. I will look it up again and then let you know.
Happy to find other people who liker her as much as I do.

So, here it is. This list is taken from the book "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the edition 2013 edition by 4th Estate. At the end of the book there is an interview with her and added to that is also a list of her ten favorite books.
1. "Arrow of God" by Chinua Achebe
2. "Woman at Point Zero" by Nawal El Saadawi
3. "The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born" by Ayi Kwei Armah
4. "Efuru" by Flora Nwapa
5. "Reef" by Romesh Gunesekera
6. "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert
7. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
8. "Reading in the Dark" by Seamus Deane
9. "A Strange and Sublime Address" by Amit Chaudhuri
10. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez

I love that there are so many other list lovers out there! I googled around a bit and found some favorites lists from the authors we have already read. I couldn't manage to find anything on Marjane Satrapi or Sheryl WuDunn. Can anyone else? Many of the lists are "just" favorite books, not books for broadening the mind/changing the world. Not to say that they can't be the same thing/inspiring :)

Maya Angelou: http://theweek.com/articles/465999/ma...

Carrie Brownstein: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/24...

Maggie Nelson: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/07...

Caitlin Moran: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/21...

Alice Walker: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/alice-...

Nicholas Kristof: http://fivebooks.com/interview/nichol...

Dagny wrote: "I love that there are so many other list lovers out there! I googled around a bit and found some favorites lists from the authors we have already read. I couldn't manage to find anything on Marjane..."

Haha, I have so many lists I want to read through!
Thank you for sharing. They will be added to my book of lists.
Happy reading!

Thanks Dagny and Janice for the links, it's truly great to get these lists of our OSS authors :-)

You can check my novel Life Of Love https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...