From Hemingway to Atwood list…….You ever notice how we’re always obsessed with what writers write, but not nearly nosy enough about what they actually read? Like, if Hemingway could spend a night dog-earing pages, or if Margaret Atwood secretly reads trashy thrillers on airplanes (honestly, I hope she does)—I want to know. That’s where the fun is.
So today we’re diving into what the greats loved to read. Yep, from Hemingway to Atwood, the books that made them tick, cry, laugh, or scribble the next masterpiece on a cocktail napkin.
And just so I’m clear, this isn’t me pretending to be some literature professor with tweed jackets and chalk dust. Nope. This is me, a girl from the US who once accidentally wore two completely different shoes to school in eighth grade (it was Monday, don’t judge), telling you about what I found and why it low-key makes me giddy.
(Focus keyphrase ✅ worked into the first 100 words: “From Hemingway to Atwood: What the Greats Loved to Read”)
Hemingway’s Rough-and-Tumble Reads
Okay, so Ernest Hemingway. The man drank more daiquiris than anyone should and somehow still managed to crank out prose so sharp it cuts you if you read too fast. But what did he read?
He was apparently obsessed with Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and—get this—Mark Twain. Which actually makes sense if you think about it. Twain was witty and sarcastic but never wasted words. Hemingway was kinda the same, just with more fishing.
I tried reading War and Peace once because Hemingway swore by it. Big mistake. I made it maybe 50 pages in before falling asleep on the couch with Doritos crumbs everywhere. Still, I get it—those Russians loved a big messy emotional canvas, and Hemingway liked that punch.
Image idea: A vintage photo of Hemingway fishing with a paperback half-tucked in his shirt pocket. Slightly faded, sepia tone. Filename: hemingway-reading-fishing.jpg
Virginia Woolf & Her Fierce Feminist Shelf
Virginia Woolf was, how do I put this, like your artsy friend who refuses to join the group chat but always drops the best recommendations when she finally shows up. She devoured Greek classics, Russian novelists (seriously, were all these guys just trading Dostoevsky under the table?), and modern contemporaries like Marcel Proust.
But Woolf also believed in carving space for women’s voices, which is why she hyped up Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters like they were headliners at Coachella.
I once read Mrs. Dalloway while stuck in jury duty. And listen, nothing makes you feel the absurdity of human existence like reading about Clarissa planning a party while staring at a broken vending machine that only sells Diet Sprite.
James Baldwin: Reading as Fire
Baldwin is one of those writers who could read the back of a cereal box and somehow make it feel profound. But he was deeply influenced by Dickens, Dostoevsky (yep, him again), and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He also read Henry James—because apparently one James wasn’t enough.
Baldwin once said that books gave him the language to understand himself. And honestly? That line hits harder than my grandma’s Sunday biscuits (and those biscuits could knock out a grown man).
There’s something in Baldwin’s reading list that feels alive—like he didn’t just read to escape, he read to fight, to question, to survive.
Image suggestion: Black-and-white close-up of Baldwin mid-laugh, blurred bookshelves behind him. Filename: baldwin-books-inspiration.jpg
Margaret Atwood’s Playful, Weird Brain
And then there’s Atwood. Margaret freaking Atwood. The woman who gave us The Handmaid’s Tale but also has this wickedly dry sense of humor that makes interviews with her more fun than Netflix binges.
Her influences? George Orwell (1984, naturally), Aldous Huxley (Brave New World), and classic myths that she twisted into something new. Atwood’s the kind of reader who’d underline lines in pencil and probably doodle a dragon in the margins.
I kinda love the idea of Atwood reading dystopia before bed and thinking, “Yeah, I can make this creepier.” And then doing exactly that.
I actually read Handmaid’s Tale in college while eating ramen in a dorm lounge. Big mistake. You cannot read Gilead while eating the world’s saddest noodles. It ruins both.
What Do These Reading Habits Even Mean?
Here’s my hot take: what writers read matters more than what they write. Because that’s the fuel. That’s the messy compost pile of ideas that eventually turns into flowers (or in Hemingway’s case, sad men fishing).
When I think about it, it’s kinda comforting. The greats weren’t just born with wisdom dripping out of their ears. They were just like us—flipping pages, falling asleep mid-chapter, maybe hating a book everyone else worships.
Quick List of “The Greats” and Their Reads about From Hemingway to Atwood list
- Ernest Hemingway → Tolstoy, Twain, Dostoevsky
- Virginia Woolf → Austen, Brontës, Proust
- James Baldwin → Dickens, Stowe, Henry James
- Margaret Atwood → Orwell, Huxley, mythology
Personal Tangent: My Grandma’s Shelf
Side note (because when do I stay on track?): my grandma had this tiny shelf of Reader’s Digest condensed books, the ugliest little volumes you ever saw. But she swore by them. And when I asked her why, she said, “I don’t have time for 700 pages of Russians, but I’ll take the highlights.”
Honestly? Iconic. Woolf would probably faint, but Baldwin might’ve laughed.
So Why Should You Care?
Well, if you’ve ever hit a reading slump (me: every other week), peeking into what the greats read can give you a weird kind of roadmap. It’s like stalking their Goodreads accounts before Goodreads even existed.
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find something that lights a little fire in you the way Uncle Tom’s Cabin lit one in Baldwin or Orwell spooked Atwood into creating dystopias scarier than half the news cycle.
Suggested Images in the Flow: From Hemingway to Atwood list
- Hemingway with a book by the sea — filename: hemingway-reading-seaside.jpg
- Baldwin’s handwritten notes over a well-worn copy of Dickens — filename: baldwin-dickens-notes.jpg
- Atwood’s quirky doodles in the margin of a paperback (mockup illustration vibe) — filename: atwood-reading-doodles.jpg
Outbound Links : From Hemingway to Atwood list
- Paulo Coelho interview — The Guardian
- Sylvia Plath bio & works — Poetry Foundation
- Original “Crying in H Mart” essay — The New Yorker
- James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter — James Clear
- Matt Haig’s blog — Matt Haig
