Last summer I was reading The New York Times Book Review and saw a mention of The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. I was pregnant and not feeling that great, but the novel sounded intriguing, so I tried it. I finished it quickly and was left with this great curiosity about Jane Austen—I hadn't read her in college—so I picked up Pride and Prejudice . I couldn't stop; by now I've read almost all her novels.

I love Austen's wit and style—she's incomparable. But I'm more often drawn to books about America. I've seen a lot of the United States, having stayed in so many different cities and towns for work. It's such a strange and fascinating country, and instead of learning about it through a textbook, I would rather discover its history and traditions and institutions through fiction and nonfiction writers. I'm so interested in understanding this place where we live.

Hope Davis won a New York Film Critics Circle Award for her role in 2003's American Splendor.

What's on Hope Davis's Bookshelf? Read more!