We asked author Michelle Richmond, whose latest novel is The Year of Fog, about books that inspire her writing. She graciously sent us these picks: (Thanks, Michelle!)

The Death of a Beekeeper, by Lars Gustafsson
"This beautifully humane and intellectually playful novella about disease, death, and the noble desire to 'begin again' is in my annual rotation. I love Gustafsson's use of lists to reveal his protagonist's most intimate self."