JK Rowling names her 10 favourite books – number one is controversial | Books | Entertainment

The world-famous author of a children’s book series has named her 10 favourite books. JK Rowling is the British novelist who wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume series about a young wizard. 

Published from 1997 to 2007, the fantasy novels are the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold. They have been translated into 84 languages and have spawned a global media franchise, including films and video games. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith. Rowling has won many accolades for her work. She was named to the Order of the British Empire and was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy. Here are 10 books that Rowling has named among her favourites, according to Amazon and The Oprah Magazine.

10. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This 1955 novel follows a French literature professor who details his obsession and sexual abuse of his 12-year-old stepdaughter. Rowling said: “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.”

9. Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford

This 1960 autobiography by the political activist describes her aristocratic childhood and her conflicts with her sisters, who were ardent supporters of Nazism. Rowling said: “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. I think I’ve read everything she wrote.”

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This 1968 novel follows the lives of the four March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy – and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. Rowling said: “My favourite literary heroine is Jo March. 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.”

7. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This 2005 book focuses on Lincoln’s mostly successful attempts to reconcile conflicting personalities and political factions on the path to abolition and victory in the American Civil War. Rowling said: “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.”

6. The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit

Another childhood favourite is this 1899 novel that tells the story of five siblings trying to help their widowed father and restore their family’s fortune. Rowling said: “She’s the children’s writer with whom I most identify. It was a breakthrough children’s book. Oswald is such a very real narrator, at a time when most people were writing morality plays for children.”

5. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle

Doyle is Rowling’s “favourite living writer”, and this 1996 novel follows the struggle and survival of Paula Spencer, who is being abused by her husband. Rowling said: “I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a believable, fully rounded female character from any other heterosexual male writer in any age.”

4. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

This 1946 novel was Rowling’s favourite as a child. It follows an orphaned teenage girl sent to her cousin’s home, which is shrouded in mystery and magic. She said: “Goudge was the only one whose influence I was conscious of. She always described exactly what the children were eating, and I really liked knowing what they had in their sandwiches.”

This 1920 novel follows the intense, six-year affair between Léa de Lonval, a wealthy 49-year-old courtesan, and Fred “Chéri” Peloux, a spoilt 25-year-old man. Rowling said: “I’ve never found anything to match her descriptive passages, ever. She was a very sensual writer and way beyond her time. The final scene is incredibly moving; it makes me cry.”

This 1816 novel focuses on a spoilt and headstrong girl (Emma), who believes herself to be a good matchmaker. Rowling said of it: “You’re drawn into the story, and you come out the other end, and you know you’ve seen something great in action. But you can’t see the pyrotechnics; there’s nothing flashy.”

1. The Diaries of Auberon Waugh by Auberon Waugh

This novel, spanning from 1975 to 1985, is a collection of satirical, largely fictionalised columns from Private Eye, characterised by venomous wit, outrageous rudeness, and social satire targeting politicians, journalists, and the establishment. Rowling says this book is “always good for a giggle.”