Ann Patchett Recommends 4 Book Picks That Will Change You Forever (Exclusive)

Think of your favorite books on your shelf—the ones that helped shape your view of the world. We often turn to stories to learn, to gain empathy and to feel inspired. But does the saying, “You are what you eat” apply beyond food—to the books we devour over a cozy weekend? Following Ann Patchett’s recent appearance on the You Are What You Read podcast, Woman’s World reached out to ask her whether she believes that what a person reads reflects who they are. Check out her answers in this exclusive interview, plus learn four great book recommendations Patchett wants you to read today. These stories are sure to impact you at your core!

Ann Patchett on the philosophy: ‘You are what you read’

In many ways, readers are shaped by the books, shows and music they consume. But when we asked Patchett what she thought about the saying, “You are what you read” directly on the phone, her answer was complicated—and insightful, as always. “Here’s the thing: I do believe it—for me,” reveals Patchett. “However, I don’t necessarily believe it for other people.”

And her reasoning comes from witnessing people’s book-buying habits over the years at her shop Parnassus Books in Nashville. Patchett shares, “I think there are a lot of people who are insecure readers. ‘Oh my God! Does that mean they’re insecure people?’ I don’t know, but they think they’re confined to a certain genre.” She offers an example: “A lot of people feel confined, like ‘I’ve found romantasy. I want a girl and a dragon.’” Patchett continues: “I’m like, that’s so great. You’re reading! You’re loving this! And I also want to nudge you a tiny bit.” Basically, Patchett doesn’t want any readers to feel so caged into one section of the bookstore or library that they miss all the good stuff in other pockets of the vast book world. So yes, we are what we read, but we can also be so much more!

Patchett challenges readers to stretch and grow

To Patchett, the goal is to get them reading first and foremost. But if they are open to more exploration, she wants them to sample books that they wouldn’t normally gravitate toward. She explains, “For me, it’s so important that people are reading. Like, if you read nothing, you’ll never read something better.”

But she doesn’t stop there. She adds, “If you read something not great, and you have a good bookstore and you have good friends, then maybe you’ll read something a little better [next time].” And that’s when doors really open.

She spoke candidly when she admitted, “It’s so hard to talk about this because you don’t want to disrespect anybody’s choices.” She even called this issue “a little sticky.” She gave another example: “But it’s like the person who always reads the James Patterson novels. You know, if you just bumped up a little bit, you could try John le Carré, and if you try John le Carré, you’re going to look back and think, ‘Oh my God, this was available to me!?’”

In short: Patchett wants us to be adventurous and get acquainted with different authors because we might find ones we like better than the ones we know now. She’s endlessly wowed by books and wants to share that feeling of awe with everyone else. Here are four books she wants to put on your radar for the month.

4 books Patchett recommends today

So what books does Patchett want to put in our hands next? She suggested four backlist book recommendations that come with rave reviews. And remember her catchphrase: “If you haven’t read this, it’s new to you!”

To reflect on history: ‘An Unfinished Love Story’ by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Patchett announced at a National Writers Series event, while on book tour for her new novel Whistler, that she’d just purchased a copy of An Unfinished Love Story for a friend as a gift. Patchett said, “I am a Doris Kearns Goodwin completist. I love that book. It’s beautiful and she is a friend of mine.”

What is it about? The story is part memoir, part history, following Doris, who worked as a White House Fellow, and her husband Dick, who worked with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. This book is a time capsule of sorts, stemming from 300 boxes of letters and documents saved over their 50 years in Washington. And it communicates an “unfinished love story” with this country from the 1960s.

One online reviewer shared, “An Unfinished Love Story is an absolute masterpiece that blends history, personal reflection and a deeply moving love story into a single compelling narrative.”

To explore the beauty of an ordinary life: ‘The Stone Diaries’ by Carol Shields

This book won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Patchett says of The Stone Diaries, “It’s a really spectacular book, one of my all-time favorites. It’s a birth-to-death novel, which those are very, very hard to come by.”

What is the book about? It is a fictionalized autobiography of main character Daisy Goodwill, finding beauty as she reflects on her ordinary life, from early moments being adopted all the way to the end of her life. When asked about her favorite Canadian author, Patchett shared, “Don’t ever overlook Carol Shields. I go back and reread [her].”

One online reviewer shared, “I read it with my book group, and we all really enjoyed it—a rare occurrence.” She added, “It sparked each of us to reflect on the seasons of our own lives and offered inspiration to reinvent and start new chapters when life gets stale.”

To wrestle with uncertainty: ‘Unless’ by Carol Shields

Patchett can’t get enough of this author so she recommended another title by Shields online. Unless is what Shields wrote after she received a devastating terminal diagnosis of breast cancer. Patchett shared, “There, for my money, isn’t anything quite like this book, because it is written by someone who doesn’t care what the reader thinks. She’s just going to write her truth straight from the heart.”

What is the novel about? “This is a story about a woman who is a writer. She has a gardening column in the newspaper, and her daughter, who is a beautiful, successful college student, drops out of school and decides to live on the streets with the homeless,” explains Patchett. “And it’s about her mother trying to come to terms with her daughter’s decision.” Patchett says, “It is such a moving, really, really unexpected book at every turn, and it has a whole aura about it that when you’re reading it, you’ll think I’ve just never read anything like this.”

One online reviewer shared, the main character “escorts the reader through a mother’s daily routines under the dark cloud of a disconnected daughter.”

To reshape your heart: ‘Where Reasons Ends’ by Yiyun Li

Patchett also can’t say enough good things about this author Yiyun Li. In a social media reel, Patchett gushed, “Let’s just take a brief moment to recap Li’s last three books. The Book of Goose won the Pen Faulkner. Wednesday’s Child was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Things in Nature Merely Grow is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize.”

And then there is this masterpiece. What is Where Reasons End about? In this 2019 novel, the author “imagines a conversation between a mother and child in a timeless world.” It reads like diary entries to a child who has passed away. And it is a poetic exploration of grief. If you tried to underline all your favorite, most beautiful lines in this book, Patchett says, “you would underline the whole book!”

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One online reviewer shared, “Yiyun Li’s writing moved me in a way few books ever have. The conversations between the narrator and her lost son, Nikola, are so honest, loving and profound that I found myself wanting to remember every sentence.”

But Patchett, who just won the 2026 Library of Congress Award for Fiction, doesn’t stop there with her praise of Li. She looks to the future to give a plug for Li’s upcoming book Music Against the Night, which is coming out in October. She says, “I think it is the best contemporary novel I’ve ever read. It’s astonishing. Yiyun is astonishing.”

Bottom line: Yes, the books we read and enjoy can shape us in meaningful ways. But readers shouldn’t limit themselves to only one familiar genre. Be daring to read different books from different genres. And good news: with Ann Patchett’s amazing book recommendations, you’ll always have fresh titles to expand your reading menu.