WASHINGTON — 鈥淲hat are you reading?鈥� It鈥檚 a question asked by friends meeting over lunch, by strangers on an airplane and among co-workers gathered around the office water cooler.
Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review, says the question is such a great conversation starter because 鈥渨e can talk about something that鈥檚 about ourselves, but it鈥檚 not directly about ourselves.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 about our passions and our interests, it鈥檚 about sharing our likes and our dislikes,鈥� she says.
And while book reviews are important for providing insight on what one can expect from a book, a personal recommendation is more likely to prompt someone to read a book.
鈥淚 think that a lot of what gets people to read something is word of mouth 鈥� that鈥檚 often what gets a person to go out and get the book from their library or the book store.鈥�
A few years ago, Paul went to see author David Sedaris at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and while on stage, Sedaris did something he often does when he speaks: he recommended a book to the audience.
鈥淚 thought that was so generous, and I also thought, 鈥榊ou know, I would be likely to pick up a book that David Sedaris reads.鈥欌��
This inspired Paul to find out what other writers — some of the world鈥檚 most prominent literary figures — read, recommend and have on their nightstands. In 2012, she started 鈥�,鈥� a question and answer feature in the Times鈥� Sunday Book Review that gets at various writers鈥� favorite books, least favorite books, most influential books and even their recommendations for the president.
Of course, the feature also exposes confessions of guilty pleasures, as well as gripes about the books the authors did not find particularly good.
鈥淲e think we know authors when we read their work, but we don鈥檛 actually know them, and I think these kind of interviews where you鈥檙e asking them questions beyond, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 your latest book about?鈥� that get into their mindsets, their tastes, their interests — they say a lot about them,鈥� Paul says.
Her latest collection, 鈥溾�� complies 65 of Paul鈥檚 most intriguing, surprising and enlightening interviews with writers and artists spanning the genres. The book offers a glimpse into the preferences of everyone from Sting to Ira Glass, to Joyce Carol Oates, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, Katherine Boo and Anne Lamott.
鈥淛ust last week we had Bruce Springsteen,鈥� Paul said at the time of the interview. 鈥淎nd who would have known that he had just finished reading 鈥楳oby Dick?鈥欌��
While Paul says picking her favorite interview is difficult (鈥淭hat鈥檚 like picking children,鈥� she says), she says the ones she likes the most are the ones that surprised her — such as her interview with Hilary Mantel.
鈥淲hile she is this very 鈥� literary, historical, well, she鈥檚 worked in a number of genres, she loves self-help books. She calls herself a 鈥榮elf-help queen.鈥� It was so surprising,鈥� Paul says.
鈥淚n each interview there鈥檚 always one or two answers that I read and I鈥檓 like 鈥楻eally? Who would have thought that? It鈥檚 so odd.鈥� I just think that it reveals a lot about people when you ask them [questions] like, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 the book that you read when you were little that just stuck with you?鈥� Or, 鈥榃hat book made you want to be a writer?鈥� Or, 鈥業f you could get the president to read one book, which would it be?鈥欌��
Colin Powell was another interview that Paul remembers most for its surprise effect. When she asked him who is the author he would most like to meet, dead or alive, his answer was J.K. Rowling.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 say Shakespeare, which is something that a lot of people would say,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e said, 鈥楯.K. Rowling.鈥� And the reason, he said, is because he just wanted to find out from her what it was like to go from being on public assistance, writing your novels on the napkins in cafes, to being the most read and recognized living writer today. What was that transition like? I thought that was so interesting.鈥�
鈥淏y the Book鈥� also features sidebars, scattered throughout the book, to show common influences, themes and opinions from the wide-range of authors interviewed.
鈥淭o see them collected together reveals a lot about literature, the literary scene right now, and also about the authors. You can kind of compare and contrast,鈥� Paul says.
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