We all love the Harry Potter books created by J. K Rowling and many adult readers have also been enthralled by the Cormoran Strike series by the author, written under pseudonym Robert Galbraith. In fact, Jo Rowling is responsible for writing many of our favourite books, but what are her favourites?
Over the years at various interviews, press releases and readings, Rowling has talked about her own love of literature and has recommended many books that she loves. Today we’re going to feature eight of those books and the reasons the author loves them so.
Emma – Jane Austen
Any dedicated Rowling fan will be aware that Jane Austen is her favourite author of all time. Rowling says Emma is her favourite of all of Austen’s books, telling Amazon in an interview “I’ve read it so many times I’ve lost count”.
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors – Roddy Doyle
Rowling cites Roddy Doyle as her “favourite living writer” and of his many novels, she says The Woman Who Walked into Doors is one of the most important books of her life, telling O, The Oprah Magazine “I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a believable, fully rounded female character from any other heterosexual male writer in any age,”
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors US
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors UK
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh – Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh, son of Evelyn kept a diary between 1972 and 1985 in which he mocked the trends of the day. You may not know this, but J. K Rowling says she keeps a copy in her bathroom and “It’s always good for a giggle.”
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh US
The Diaries of Auberon Waugh UK
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
When asked for her favourite childhood books, Rowling said she loved “anything with a horse on it.” Citing Black Beauty as her very favourite.
The Little White Horse – Elizabeth Goudge
J. K Rowling told The Scotsman that The Little White Horse had perhaps influenced her writing more than any other book, stating the book inspired the way she wrote the Hogwarts Feasts. “Goudge was the only one whose influence I was conscious of,” Rowling wrote. “She always described exactly what the children were eating, and I really liked knowing what they had in their sandwiches.”
Hons and Rebels – Jessica Mitford
Rowling is such a fan of Mitford she named her daughter after her. “I love the way she never outgrew some of her adolescent traits, remaining true to her politics — she was a self-taught socialist — throughout her life,” is what Rowling told The Scotsman, saying she had read everything Mitford had written.
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Rowling told the Times newspaper that her favourite literary heroine is Jo March, stating “It is hard to overstate what she meant to a small, plain girl called Jo, who had a hot temper and a burning ambition to be a writer.”
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
Those who have long since fallen in love with Nabokov’s writing will nod along to Rowling’s belief that “There just isn’t enough time to discuss how a plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in Nabakov’s hands, a great and tragic love story, and I could exhaust my reservoir of superlatives trying to describe the quality of the writing,” as she told BBC Radio 4.
I always feel I know someone a little better once I know what their favourite books are! Like Rowling I also grew up reading “anything with a horse on it!” We hope you enjoyed that list!
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