Amy Tan’s List of Best Books for Aspiring Writers

Amy Tan is one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction writers of her time and one of the most deft chroniclers of the immigrant American experience. Her breakout first novel, 1989’s The Joy Luck Club, was not only on the New York Times bestseller list, but nominated for a National Book Award and, later, was adapted into a hit feature film. Since then, she’s published six bestselling novels, including The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement. She’s also published two children’s books, and a memoir; she’s written short stories and essays for The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic; she’s transformed one of her books, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, into an opera libretto; and she’s received a host of prestigious literary prizes.

Even if you're a first-time novelist, it’s always better to develop your own style rather than imitate your favorite authors. In closely examining the work of others, you can begin to learn the elements of style, story structure, and writing tips—and begin to employ those insights into your own writing process. If you are looking for some good books to help you become a better writer, check out this list of book recommendations for aspiring writers, straight from Amy Tan.

1. 1. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich: “For understanding the richness of strong characters linked by community."
2. 2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez: "For a powerful beginning that promises a lot of story and delivers."
3. 3. The Collected Stories by Lydia Davis: "To recognize how the observation of small moments can lead to whole stories."
4. 4. Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov: “To gorge on exquisite prose and literary style."
5. 5. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx: "To see how characters are tied to a sense of place."
6. 6. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie: "To understand how rich characters and intimate situations can also mirror the large themes of history. He is also a master in style."
7. 7. The Last Song of Dusk by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi: “To understand how a novel can capture our deepest emotions."
8. 8. Beloved by Toni Morrison: “To feel how stories can gradually build tension and unveil the horrors of social injustice."
9. 9. An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine: “To understand how a strong character’s day-to-day life can seamlessly encompass the complications of war."
10. 10. The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr: “To understand how autobiographical fiction and memoir are similar and different."
11. 11. Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan: “Read my book to recognize the advantages of particular points of view, including that of an omniscient ghost narrator."

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