From Proust to Alison Holst: The books Culture 101 listeners love to read again and again

When RNZ’s Culture 101 host Perlina Lau recently asked listeners to share the books they love to re-read or lend to friends, she was inundated with recommendations.

Lau said that one of her all-time favourites is The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - and several listeners agreed.

"I read an abridged version when I was very young," Lau said. "I loved the concept of it and so I got a second-hand version at an op shop somewhere and I've had it ever since. I've never lent it out because I'm worried that I won't get it back (yes, I'm one of those)."

Fiction

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dickens' 1843 novella about Ebenezer Scrooge, three ghosts, and a change of heart. Some of our listeners return to it every December without fail.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The story of a Russian count sentenced to indefinite house arrest in a grand Moscow hotel, spanning the decades of Soviet rule. Published in 2016 and noted for its warmth, wit and a Latvian pork stew the author posted the recipe for online.

Cache Lake Country by John J. Rowlands

First published in 1948, this is a fictionalised account of Rowlands' years living alone in the lake country of northern Ontario. Part wilderness guide, part memoir, each chapter covers one month of the year and is illustrated throughout with hand-drawn sketches.

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

A novel in Cornwell's Saxon Stories series, following the warrior Uhtred of Bebbanburg in ninth-century England. It opens with a line that has clearly stayed with readers: "Every day is ordinary," Father Willibald said, "until it isn't."

Flanagan's Run by Tom McNab

A 1982 novel set during the Great Depression, following 2,000 runners from Los Angeles to New York in a gruelling 3,000-mile footrace.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Published in 1939 and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this is widely considered Steinbeck's masterpiece. It follows the Joad family, Oklahoma farmers driven from their land during the Dust Bowl, as they journey west to California in search of work and dignity. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962, and this novel remains a cornerstone of American fiction.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

First published in German in 1881, this classic children's novel follows a young Swiss girl sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. It has been translated into more than 50 languages and remains one of the bestselling books ever written in German.

Home Fires by Kamila Shamsie

A contemporary retelling of Sophocles' Antigone, set between London and Syria. Published in 2017 and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, it follows two British Pakistani siblings whose loyalty to family and state is pulled in opposite directions.

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

An epic novel first published in 1998, following twin brothers in a small Connecticut town, one of whom has paranoid schizophrenia. Long, absorbing, and not easily forgotten.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

A short allegorical novella about a seagull who pursues perfection in flight rather than simply following the flock. First published in 1970, it was one of the bestselling books of that decade.

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

Winner of the Newbery Medal in 1949, this historical novel follows Sham, an Arabian stallion born in the stables of the Sultan of Morocco, and Agba, the devoted young groom who never leaves his side. Their journey takes them from North Africa to the royal courts of France and eventually to England, where Sham becomes the Godolphin Arabian, one of the founding sires of the modern thoroughbred.

Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley

Wesley's final novel, published in 1997 when she was 85. Set during the Second World War, it follows 17-year-old, Juno, who is taken in by a household in the English countryside after the London Blitz leaves her with nowhere to go.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

A short novel following a young Indian man's spiritual journey toward enlightenment, published in German in 1922. Widely read as an introduction to Eastern philosophy.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

A sweeping novel that begins at the end of World War II and follows a group of characters across decades, with the city of Florence as both backdrop and presence. Published in 2021 to wide acclaim.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A philosophical fable about a young Andalusian shepherd following his dream across continents. First published in Portuguese in 1988, it has since sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The seven-book fantasy series set in the world of Narnia, first published between 1950 and 1956. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and has never gone out of print.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

Published in 1902, this is widely regarded as the finest of the Sherlock Holmes novels. Set against the eerie backdrop of Dartmoor, it follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, following the legendary figure Kvothe narrating his own life story. The second book in the series, The Wise Man's Fear, was published in 2011.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

A novel about class, loyalty, and belonging, told through the eyes of a teenager on the wrong side of the tracks. Hinton wrote it when she was 15 and published it at 18.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

A children's adventure novel published in 1961, following a bored boy named Milo who drives through a mysterious tollbooth and finds himself in the Kingdom of Wisdom. Dense with wordplay and ideas, it tends to reveal new layers on each re-read.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

A 1998 novel told through the voices of the wife and four daughters of an evangelical Baptist missionary who moves his family to the Belgian Congo in 1959. Set against the Congo's fight for independence, it follows the family's unravelling across three decades.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

A 2008 novel by the Irish writer Sebastian Barry, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and winner of the Costa Book of the Year. Narrated by two voices, it tells the story of Roseanne McNulty, a woman nearing her hundredth year in a psychiatric hospital, and the psychiatrist piecing together her life. Set against the Irish Civil War and the long shadow of the Catholic Church, it was later adapted into a film starring Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave.

The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox

A New Zealand novel, first published in 1998, about a winemaker in nineteenth-century Burgundy whose life is shaped by repeated encounters with an angel. Winner of the Montana New Zealand Book Award.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

A memoir published in 1997, in which sportswriter Albom reconnects with his former college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is dying from ALS. The two meet every Tuesday, and their conversations become the book. It has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

A 1972 novel following a group of rabbits who flee their warren after one of them foresees its destruction. Originally told by Adams to his two daughters on a long car journey, it won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award for children's fiction.

Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch

Winner of the Carnegie Medal, this historical novel follows Philip d'Aubigny, a young man born in the Crusader states of the Holy Land who has never seen England. Set during the Third Crusade, it traces his journey through battle, captivity, and an eventual voyage to the country his family came from.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

A debut novel published in 2020 by Australian writer Pip Williams, inspired by her research in the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary. It follows Esme, the fictional daughter of a lexicographer working on the first OED, who begins collecting the words that are falling through the cracks, particularly those used by women. Set against the backdrop of the suffrage movement and World War I, it became a New York Times bestseller and won the Australian Book Industry Award.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

An 800-page standalone epic fantasy published in 2019, set across a world shaped by its relationship to dragons. Three civilisations, three protagonists, and a 1000-year-old threat stirring back to life. Shannon has described it as a feminist retelling of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. It has sold over a million copies in English alone.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Published in 2013, this sweeping historical novel follows Alma Whittaker, the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia botanist, as she pursues her own life in science across the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It ranges from Peru to Tahiti to Amsterdam and centres on questions of evolution, faith, and desire. Longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

A 2019 novel by Irish writer Niall Williams, set in the small County Clare village of Faha in 1958, just as electricity is about to arrive for the first time. Narrated by seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe, it is a slow, warm, richly observed portrait of a community on the edge of change. Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

Non-Fiction

An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale

The true account of New Zealand mariner Tom Neale's years living alone on Suwarrow Atoll in the Cook Islands. First published in 1966, it remains a classic of solitary adventure.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

A practical guide to cognitive behavioural therapy, written to be readable rather than clinical. One of the more frequently lent-out books on the list.

How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton

A slim, witty book that uses Marcel Proust's life and writing as a lens for thinking about everyday experience. Chapter titles include 'How to Suffer Successfully.' The kind of book people read in two sittings and then buy a copy of to give away.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

The private reflections of a second-century Roman emperor, written with no intention of being published. A guide to Stoic philosophy that readers keep returning to, and apparently keep on their person.

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr

Carr's 1985 book arguing that smokers can quit without willpower or withdrawal, by changing the way they think about cigarettes. One of the bestselling quit-smoking titles ever published.

The Holy Bible (CEV)

The Contemporary English Version, known for its plain and accessible language.

The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers

A personality profile for every day of the year, drawing on astrology and numerology. A hefty hardcover that has been passed around, photocopied from, and consulted at kitchen tables and backpackers' lodges alike since it was first published in 1994.

The Shell Game by Stephen Keisling

A first-person account of Keisling's attempt to make the US Olympic rowing team, published in 1982. A cult favourite among sports readers.

When I Say No, I Feel Guilty by Manuel J. Smith

A 1975 assertiveness training classic by psychologist Manuel J. Smith. Built around the idea that people have a right to be the ultimate judge of their own behaviour, it has been used as a standard text in schools and workplaces for decades.

Cookbooks & Home Reference

Alison Holst cookbooks

Holst published dozens of titles across her career, and her books have been kitchen staples in New Zealand homes for generations.

Good Housekeeping Cookery Encyclopedia

A kitchen reference that doubles as a time capsule, with recipes that have been consulted for decades. Some copies have been in continuous use since the 1960s.

The Edmonds Cookbook

New Zealand's most dog-eared book by any measure. Copies have been in families for decades, gaining baking stains and margin notes along the way. It came up more than any other title.

The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

First published in 1977, this vegetarian cookbook grew out of a communal restaurant in Ithaca, New York. Katzen hand-wrote and illustrated the original edition herself. It was inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2007 and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

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