"A great book should leave you with many experiences," Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Styron once said. Here, five noted authors share the life-changing wisdom they discovered inside their favorite timeless reads. By Kate Rockwood

Related: Revisit Your Favorite Children's Books

ShoutEmbrace Individuality

I read The World According to Garp, by John Irving, the year I graduated from college, and I identified with Garp in so many ways: He wanted to be a writer, and he was trying to be an adult, but he messed everything up. However, the most memorable message from the novel was illustrated by outcasts, like the transsexual ex-football player and the woman without a tongue, who finally found a community to call home. These characters showed me that people can be accepting of each other's eccentricities, which is a big lesson to take from a book that is, in many ways, a romp. You have to give people room to be who they are and to let their true colors show.

Sara Nelson is the

Pippa Middleton's new party planning book also showcases a few personal stories. (Photo: Viking Press)When the world tuned in to watch Kate Middleton marry Prince William, people were almost as fascinated by the bride's sister, Pippa Middleton, as they were by the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge. Now Pippa is coming out from under her sister's royal shadow—or perhaps using it to launch her own career as the Martha Stewart of England—with her first book, "Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends."

Related: Royal wedding mysteries, solved

"It's a bit startling to achieve global recognition (if that's the right word) before the age of 30, on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom," Pippa Middleton writes in the introduction. "One day I might be able to make sense of this. In the meantime, I think it's fair to say that it has its upside and its downside."

WATCH: Celebrate like royalty with party tips from Pippa Middleton

An excerpt from her book was published over the weekend in "You," a Sunday supplement from the British newspaper The Mail. (A

By Jenny Tiegs, GalTime.com

Tale of Two Mommies via Amazon
October is National Book Month, a great opportunity to explore titles that will bring your library to life with diversity, tolerance and some new storylines that address the topic of same-sex couples.

It is very likely that your child will have a classmate, friend, family member that has two moms or two dads. Or as a parent in a same sex relationship, it's powerful to not only have these books on your personal library's shelves, but in your child's classroom in as well.

Talk to your child's teacher about incorporating these titles to make all children feel represented, reflected and respected in the stories read in class.

Since "family" is a common curriculum theme taught to elementary-aged children, it's a chance to include these titles as part of what makes up all types of families.

Related: Talking To Your Kids About Sexual Orientation

Dr. Jeff Sapp, a professor at California University, adds, "Most early children's books with variant

As if the drop in temperatures didn't make us eager enough to close the grill, pack up the picnic basket, and get back in the kitchen, a new rash of fall cookbooks has us even more excited to tie our apron strings and turn on the oven.

The Smitten Kitchen CookbookThe Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Finally! Years in the making, the cookbook from one of our favorite food bloggers is here. Illustrated with the beautiful photographs we know and love (there's that familiar speckled counter) and Deb's easy-breezy writing, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is like having a friend sitting on your kitchen counter while you cook. Breakfast (whole-wheat raspberry ricotta scones) and sweets (salted brown butter crispy treats) especially shine--no surprise given Deb's baking prowess. amazon.com

Barefoot Contessa Foolproof
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust We already trust Ina Garten implicitly. Her elegant upgrades to simple recipes somehow coax even more flavor out of common (but quality) ingredients. So duh, we can't wait to get our hands on

If you're wild for The Hunger Games and obsessed with Twilight, pick up this batch of young adult novels that will have you turning pages as quickly as your children. Family book club, anyone? By Ava Feuer, REDBOOK.

If you like fairytales, try Between the Lines

What better to read with your daughter than a book co-written by a mother-daughter team? A collaboration between Jodi Picoult, the bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper, and Samantha Van Leer, her 16-year-old daughter, this modern-day fairytale follows bookish Delilah, a 13-year-old loner so obsessed with a children's fairytale she actually wants to live in it. The fairytale's hero, Oliver, on the other hand, wishes to escape its pages. The two develop a romance across two worlds, leaving the characters - and us - to wonder how we separate reality and fantasy.

Best for: Ages 12+

Delve further into the dystopian fiction trend with Gennifer Albin's Crewel (October 16), the

Kate White spills her career secrets.After 14 years of running one of the biggest women's magazines in the world, Cosmopolitan's editor-in-chief Kate White was ready for a change.

"I already had a contract to write another psychological thriller -- that's due next year. And I'm promoting this book," she told Yahoo! Shine (her latest book, "I Shouldn't Be Telling You This," came out on Tuesday). "I realized I was all in at my job at Cosmo, but I was not all in as a writer. And I could not take on another book if I wasn't going to be all in."

In January, she told David Carey, the president of Hearst Magazines, that she was thinking of leaving Cosmo, The New York Times reported. She officially stepped down on September 10, but will act as a consultant for Carey through the end of the year. 

"When you get to leave of your own accord, it has a halo effect for you," she says. Though she still has an office in the Hearst building -- it's on the "Popular Mechanics" floor -- she plans to concentrate on a few digital projects,

Top 5 Potty Training Books for ToddlersIt's happening. This potty-training business? We're so on. We made an attempt with it at the beginning of the summer and the toddler boy wasn't having any of it. When the mister gets home on Monday (he's away doing that musician thang), we're going to rubber sheet the place and get down to it.

We're of the potty-training-school-of-thought that force is never a good thing. Consistency yes, force no. Also, I have no shame in using treats for bribery … maybe a sticker board or some sort of other reward system. I'm sure Pinterest will be a great aid in getting ideas on this.

I think parental instinct goes a long way when it comes to potty-training, as does a deep respect for your child and understanding of this unique and challenging time in their lives.

Related: 6 reasons why I didn't want to potty train my daughter

However, I'll be soaking up every tidbit of advice I can find on the Internet (the sage bits), and then promptly conversing my partner with/in it all.

I've

courtesy Simon and SchusterWe think about divorce in terms of "failed" marriages, but author and filmmaker Dana Adam Shapiro's new book is a reminder that often our best shot at finding lasting love comes from the personal growth that occurs in the aftermath of a painful break-up. Over about four years, Shapiro, whose documentary Murderball was nominated for an Academy Award, traveled across the country interviewing hundreds of people who had survived a tough divorce and published many of their stories in the collection 'You Can Be Right (Or You Can Be Married).'

Related: Dana Adams Shapiro's Filmography on Yahoo! Movies

When Shapiro, now 38, hit his mid-30s, he witnessed many of his friends' marriages start to fall apart and wondered why. At the same time, he hadn't been able to sustain a relationship over the long haul. "I've been a serial monogamist for over 20 years," Shapiro tells Shine. "I've had five three-year relationships and one year-long relationship, but I've never been able to make the