Each week, The New York Times offers readers a look into what notable writers are reading. Everyone from Anna Kendrick (this week) to Wendell Berry (last spring) have given Times readers a look at what they read, why they read and what books have left the biggest mark on them. As we enter the holiday season, where down time is more abundant and we have time to read as much as we’d like to, I have created my own “By the Book” review using the same questions so many of my favorite authors, celebrities, and public figures have answered.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Too many. Not counting the ones on my windowsill (on the other side of my bed), are The Bible, The Sellout by Paul Beatty, Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran, The Road to Character by David Brooks, Between You & Me by Mary Norris, and three copies of The New Yorker.
What’s the one book right now you’d like to recommend to everyone?
Bad Feminist and The Kite Runner are two of my favorite books that I hold responsible for expanding my world view. Both are challenging reads; I constantly fought with Roxane Gay and I wanted to close my eyes and stop reading because some of the difficult and graphic moments in The Kite Runner. But both are real, both made me think, and I think both are incredibly important.
Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?
David Sedaris has a gift for making me laugh and establishing a distinct and hilarious tone. Khaled Hosseini makes me think and makes me want to do more to make the world better. J.K Rowling made me appreciate fantasy. Aaron Sorkin is legendary.
What’s your favorite thing to read? And what do you avoid reading?
I love memoirs. I love looking at they way people reflect on their own lives and the meaning they create for themselves. I avoid historical fiction a little bit— I’d rather read the real events.
What’s your ideal reading scenario? Paper, electronic, late at night, morning, in the tub?
Paper, all day, on my parents boat in the Puget Sound while it rains.
What book read for school had the greatest impact on you?
To Kill A Mockingbird comes to mind first, but I read it long before it was assigned to me. I hold Atticus Finch personally responsible for my aspirations to become a lawyer. A Separate Peace is another. When I read it for school, I hardly appreciated it. I read it again when I was a freshman in college and have read it three times since.
If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
I would encourage the President-elect to read anything by Bell Hooks, Gloria Steinem or Roxane Gay. I doubt there is any book the sitting President hasn’t read that I have, but I think he would really enjoy Life’s to Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious.
Disappointing, overrated, just not good: What book did you feel you were supposed to like, and didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
Reading The Princess Bride didn’t do much for me. I love the film, but the book just wasn’t resonating. Maybe it’s time to to pick it up again.
What do you plan to read next?
There’s a lot coming up. The Girls by Emma Cline, But What If We’re Wrong by Chuck Klosterman and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr are near the top of the list, though.
