~Joe Moran, "What lies beneath: an introvert's guide to fiction - and life"
You don't have to be an introvert to love reading or to choose writing as a profession. But, as Claire Fallon from Huffington Post asserts,
For the solitary dreamers who tend to live inside their own heads, books have always been cherished companions. In reading, introverts can indulge their need for a respite from socializing; even better, they can live vicariously through the characters on the pages, sharpening their powers of observation in a forum where they won’t be called upon to get involved.
This might serve to draw introverts to the written word, as readers or writers or both. Whether or not you are an introvert - if you fall somewhere in between on the extrovert-introvert spectrum (we've recently been reading a lot about ambiverts) or just know an introvert - reading fiction with introverted characters might hone your own sense of empathy.
An article by Hilary White suggests that introverted bibliophiles might enjoy books that feature solo journeys, social awkwardness, hopeless romanticism, and characters who use creative ways to cope with their introversion, among other aspects of the introverted lifestyle, so we've compiled a list of books by authors known to be introverted and featuring introverted characters which we hope reflects the many different lifestyles brought together under this umbrella.
By introverted writers
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor
Towards Another Summer by Janet Frame
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
For introverted readers
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx [eAudio]
Us by David Nicholls
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Maurice by E. M. Forster
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky [YA]
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell [YA]
Where'd You go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
