Books Recommended by J.K. Rowling
Team of Rivals
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Source: "I lived in it the way that you do with truly great books; putting it down with glazed eyes and feeling disconcerted to find yourself in the 21st century." - J.K. Rowling
The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller
Source: “I loved it.” - J.K. Rowling
The Woman Who Walked into Doors
Roddy Doyle
Source: "My favorite living writer is [this author]." - J.K. Rowling
The Collected Works of P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Source: One of J.K. Rowling's answers to "If you could bring only three books to a desert island, which would you pack?"
I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
Source: "This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met." - J.K. Rowling
The Collected Stories of Colette
Colette
Source: One of J.K. Rowling's answers to "If you could bring only three books to a desert island, which would you pack?"
The Oxford Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Source: One of J.K. Rowling's answers to "If you could bring only three books to a desert island, which would you pack?"
Grimble
Clement Freud
Source: "One of funniest books I've ever read." - J.K. Rowling
Secrets of the Flesh
Judith Thurman
Source: "One of my all-time favorites." - J.K. Rowling
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
Source: "My most vivid memory of being read to is my father reading [this book] when I was around 4 and suffering from the measles." - J.K. Rowling
Hons and Rebels
Jessica Mitford
Source: "My most influential writer, without a doubt, is [this author]." - J.K. Rowling
The Little White Horse
Elizabeth Goudge
Source: "Perhaps more than any other book, it has a direct influence on the Harry Potter books." - J.K. Rowling
Justice
Michael J. Sandel
Source: "I’d give our prime minister [this book]." - J.K. Rowling
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Source: "There are two books whose final lines make me cry without fail, irrespective of how many times I read them, and one is [this book]." - J.K. Rowling
The Story of the Treasure Seekers
E. Nesbit
Source: "[J.K. Rowling] ranks [this book] as her favorite of Nesbit's books." - Business Insider
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
Source: "My favorite literary heroine is Jo March." - J.K. Rowling
Chéri
Colette
Source: "The final scene is incredibly moving; it makes me cry." - J.K. Rowling
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh
Source: "It’s in my bathroom, and it’s always good for a giggle." - J.K. Rowling
Emma
Jane Austen
Source: "Jane Austen is J.K. Rowling's favorite author of all time, and 'Emma' is her favorite of her books." - Business Insider
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt
Source: "I literally just finished reading it!" - J.K. Rowling
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Source: A literary discovery that may have influenced [J.K. Rowling's] alleged intention to kill off Harry Potter at the end of book seven.
Manxmouse
Paul Gallico
Source: "[The author] manages the fine line between magic and reality so skilfully, to the point where the most fantastic events feel plausible." - J.K. Rowling
Ballet Shoes
Noel Streatfeild
Source: "I still reread [this book]." - J.K. Rowling
The Iliad
Homer
Source: "I was thinking of [this book] when Harry saved Cedric’s body." - J.K. Rowling
Macbeth
William Shakespeare
Source: "Possibly my favorite Shakespeare play" - J.K. Rowling
Black Beauty
Anna Sewell
Source: One of J.K. Rowling's favorite books as a child.
