Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.
Molly Gray—the socially awkward murder suspect, crime solver, and protagonist of Nita Prose’s The Maid—is back: The fourth of Prose’s internationally bestselling, award-winning series, The Maid’s Secret, is out this month. After ascending from a publishing intern to the role of vice president and editorial director of Simon & Schuster Canada, Prose got the idea for her blockbuster series on a business trip to the London Book Fair, when she caught the housekeeping staff in her hotel room by surprise. She wrote her debut novel’s prologue on a cocktail napkin on her return flight, and the book—which she wrote in secret—later became the subject of a heated multiple-publisher auction.
The Toronto-based Prose, born Nita Pronovost (Prose is a work nickname), studied English and drama at the University of Toronto and took the publishing program at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University); has a pug named Theo; writes at 5 a.m.; dedicated The Maid to her late mother, Jackie; has written a couple of short stories for Amazon (“Murder at the Royal Ruby” and “The Nosy Neighbor”); and once lived in Mexico.
Fan of: Hotels; tea; Agatha Christie; bakeries.
On her travel bucket list: France; Sweden; and Japan.
Superpower she’d like to have: Invisibility.
Good at: Wearing sweatpants.
Bad at: Taking selfies; math.
Peruse through her book recommendations below.
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
The book that…:
…made me miss a train stop:
Ironically, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I was an editor at Penguin Random at the time, and I was reading the book in manuscript form when I totally blew by several stops. I got home late and didn’t even care—the sign of a winning manuscript!
…made me weep uncontrollably:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. (For the record, I was about 10 years old. Also, for the record, if I read it now, I’d probably still weep uncontrollably.)
…I recommend over and over again:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
…I swear I'll finish one day:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. (Um, is there an abridged version?)
...has the best opening line:
Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent: “All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral, although one of us was in the coffin.”
…features a character I love to hate:
Eleanor in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I later hated to find myself loving her.
…is a master class on dialogue:
The Hunter by Tana French—so much said with so little!
...fills me with hope:
Anything by Matt Haig, but especially The Humans.
…should be on every college syllabus:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
...I’ve re-read the most:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
...I consider literary comfort food:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
…I would have blurbed if asked:
Anything by Lisa Jewell, even a pamphlet.
...I’d want signed by the author:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, and I’d like the inscription to say, “Dear Nita, persevere!”
Bonus question: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be:
El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s built in a breathtaking, old theatre, and you can grab a coffee, buy a book, and have a seat on the stage to read it. Heavenly!
Read Nita Prose’s Recommendations
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Hunter by Tana French
The Humans by Matt Haig
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
