Bookshelf: Jessica Pan, Co-Author, 'Graduates in Wonderland'

Jessica Pan
Co-Author, Graduates in Wonderland

The book on my shelf that has the most sentimental value is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. I don’t know why, but just thinking about that book makes me emotional; perhaps all the poignant books we read when we’re 13 make us feel vulnerable again because it’s such a transformative age. On my running path in London, someone graffitied a wall with the words “Stay Gold” – a line from the book that refers to holding onto your innocence. It’s the perfect thing to see on an evening run home.

The book I wish I had written is A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. I f**king love it. I re-read this every few years because it’s so funny, strange and takes you on the most amazing adventure with bizarre and lovable characters. I underline sentences in books that resonate with me – and this book is covered in pen marks. God, I hope to write something this good someday. It’s the first and only novel the author has ever written, but that makes sense to me – he put all of his best ideas, characters and plot twists into this 700-page tomb of brilliance.

The book I hide when other people are coming around is Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, but mostly because the movies don’t do the books justice. I love this book so much, though – it’s brilliant, pitch-perfect and so funny. People think of Bridget Jones as this idiotic character, but that’s too superficial – there’s always some truth or pain behind all the fumbling incidents. I saw Helen Fielding speak and she was eloquent, composed and quick-witted. Her books spawned so many knock-offs, but the imitations all painfully bad – it takes real talent to make it look so easy.

The book I've brought with me on my latest travels is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It was an incredibly absorbing read that had me hooked from the beginning.I was so grippedby this true story of tragedy on Mount Everest, that I buried my head in this book instead of looking at the stunning scenery while road-tripping across the South Island in New Zealand. When we went backpacking from hut to hut on the Routeburn Trail, I began to refer to each hut as Camp I, Camp II, Camp III etc, like they do on in Mt. Everest. The book is haunting, evocative and stays with you for a long time.

The book I'd like to see adapted as a film, play, or TV show is, um, can I say mine? Our hero, Gilmore Girls writer and producer, Amy Sherman-Palladino called us up and said she’d love to write the script and produce the film version of Graduates in Wonderland. How beautiful would a film shot in Beijing and Paris be? However, Hollywood being Hollywood, we haven’t heard from her since – call us back, Amy?

Graduates in Wonderland is available from Amazon.com and iTunes. Find out more at graduatesinwonderland.com.