Shonda Rhimes' Life In Books's Reading List

"It’s one of the first poems I memorized for recitation, and when said aloud it’s especially powerful. The dichotomy of the carefree joy and the seething rage rubbing against one another stanza by stanza always felt — and continues to feel — like the perfect maddening definition of the human experience."

"Columbine convinced me to tell a hard story. I wanted to end the sixth season of Grey’s Anatomy with a hospital shooting, but I was worried about the portrayal of violence and how to convey the deeper message to the audience. Then I came across this book by Dave Cullen. Reading it broke my heart open. It’s not about a shooting as much as it’s about what happens to people who survive this kind of tragedy. It’s written with a raw honesty that helped me glimpse the emotional toll this kind of ev..."

"Stephen King taught me how to suck people in. As a child, I spent about 85 percent of my time with my nose buried in a book. I remember spending most nights huddled under the covers with my flashlight, reading Stephen King novels and short stories. When I was 9, each night I would read as many pages of The Stand as I could until Stephen King had scared me too much. Then I’d lock it inside my closet so the characters couldn’t get me. Honestly, I feel like I learned some of the best storytellin..."

"To Kill a Mockingbird just gets better with age. I’ve read Harper Lee’s masterpiece over and over again. It’s a great read at age 11 and 23 and 35. Recently, at 42, I took it on vacation to read again. Age changes the book, like a painting that changes when you look at it from different angles. I used to spend all my time thinking of Scout. Now I spend most of my time focused on Atticus and Tom and Boo Radley. It’s timeless and perfect; I can’t wait to share a copy with my daughters. Especial..."

"The Kid saved my sanity while I waited for my kid. I’m 32, I’ve had a home visit, I’ve filled out the paperwork, and now I’m waiting and waiting to be picked by a birth mother to adopt her baby. Through it all, I keep on my person a tattered copy of this Dan Savage book. How the story of a white gay couple adopting a baby boy feels like exactly the same journey as a single black woman adopting a baby girl is its magic."