Author Caroline Overington. Author Caroline Overington (right)

The Bible
It's only an opinion, and it's only mine, but I do think it's the greatest story ever told. And I know some people think it's silly and that sensible people shouldn't, but I do - I believe.

 Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr Seuss
One day at school, a small group of us were taken on an excursion across town to a private school to ''see how the other half lived''. One of the teachers jokingly said: ''It's so you understand: They are the haves and we are the have-nots.'' I thought that was strange because I was already a devotee of this book and I knew that it doesn't matter where you start or end up, it's being kind to people on the way that counts.
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
This novel raises a lot of questions, but the most important for me was: If you knew, with absolute certainty, the day on which you'd die, would it change the way you live?

 Chronicles, Volume 1 - Bob Dylan
I keep it by the bed. It's full of lines like: ''If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest where nobody will find it.'' Whoever wanted to hide a tree?

 The Still Point of the Turning World - Emily Rapp
Emily's toddler, Ronan, was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease, which took his life. She wrote: ''I know, in whatever final lucid moment I have before I die, I will see Ronan's face.'' It hit me like a hammer. Our first child, Katie, was stillborn. Reading this book, I knew that in my last lucid moment, I will see Katie's face, and maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be allowed to take her in my arms.

 Caroline Overington is the best-selling author of four novels, and two-time winner of the Walkley Award for excellence in journalism. Her fifth novel, No Place Like Home, is published this month by Random House Australia.