Authors, Recent and Favorite

Every night, Jen and I usually retire to the bedroom about 8:30 or 9. Now, before you make inappropriate jokes about this little phrase, we go get in bed, prop our pillows up, and tuck into whatever book we are reading at the time. This has grown to be not only something we look forward to, but part of our nightly routine. It has reminded me of why I “fell in love” with reading in the first place - and it has also given me a new opportunity to think about what I like and who my favorite authors are. So, rather than giving some exhaustive list of what I like reading, I would like to focus on authors, something Jen and I discussed as we were walking into the Fayetteville Public Library on Saturday. So here they are, in no particular order:

Alberto Manguel, I think, has no superior when it comes to writing about libraries, books, and reading - three of my favorite “things.” I know I have shared my effusive praise for Manguel, and admittedly, a few too many quotes. I think, perhaps, my favorite book I have read thus far is his Library at Night. He can write, and well, and clearly has a passion for his subjects. Rather than my continuing to bloviate on Manguel, allow the man to speak for himself in a quote from the Library at Night, and this video:

We dream of a library of literature created by everyone and belonging to no one, a library that is immortal and will mysteriously lend order to the universe, and yet we know that every orderly choice, every catalogued realm of the imagination, sets up a tyrannical hierarchy of exclusion. Every library is exclusionary, since its selection, however vast, leaves outside its walls endless shelves of writing that, for reasons of taste, knowledge, space and time, have not been included. Every library conjures up its own dark ghost; every ordering sets up, in its wake, a shadow library of absences. (107)

Oliver Sacks is another of my favorite authors. I love the intersection in his work of good writing and fascinating stories from his career as a physician. I’ve noticed that in his more recent works as well, he is much more personal, blending his own difficulties and experiences with those of the patients in his practice. Jen and I share a love for his autobiography, Uncle Tungsten. Here are a couple of brief videos that share some of his warmth and intelligence:





I don’t think I could compile a list of my favorite writers and not include Robert Caro. I think, in this list, he is first among equals. His definitive and magisterial (and yet to be completed) biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson is the exemplar of the craft. His exhaustive, in-depth research is incredible, and the narrative style he gives to that research is imminently both readable and scholarly - a rare quality indeed. His biography of Robert Caro is also incredibly well-respected and has an honored place on my shelf. His books are less quote-able than others on this list but I can still heartily recommend them, though his books are not for the faint of heart. Here, in keeping with my format thus far, is a great interview with the author:



What brought this list about is my reading of Simon Schama’s new book, Scribble, Scribble, Scribble. I have not finished it as yet, but I think it is one of the best books I can remember reading in recent memory (+1 for the alliteration in this sentence). My initial contact with his work was through two BBC series: The History of Britain, and more recently The Power of Art which I remember watching with Jen, and reigniting my love for art - putting me on the career path I am on today. His writing, believe it or not, is much better than his already great motion picture productions. Much like Mr. Caro, he combines his scholarship seamlessly with narrative (of which he really is a master in historical writing) to make an imminently readable and erudite book or article. I think in a perfect world I would do my thesis under him - we’ll see about that. I am still working my way through Scribble, Scribble, Scribble, but I have several lovely quotations thus far, and some germinating ideas I would love to share with you here. In the meantime, here is a link to an interview he did about his most recent book with Charlie Rose.

When people come up to me and ask if there is a book I would recommend to them (which seems to be happening more and more frequently these days), the author that comes to mind first is Erik Larsen. While perhaps not as scholarly as the other authors on this list, he deals with historical events. Larsen’s style is imminently dramatic and compelling. I think his best work is either Devil in the White City or Isaac’s Storm. They are both great summertime reads. Here’s a great video of Larsen and BookTV.

If there was a book titled How to Write Like Abraham Lincoln I would purchase it, regardless of the price. I have been working through his collected writings this year, and from the beginning to the end of his writing life, I don’t think I have read a more efficient (something I aspire to) moving and effective writer. I think reading his works should be required for American writers, as he just about perfected writing as an American.

So, I would like to conclude by asking - what are some of your favorite authors? Why?