For Joyce Carol Oats, it's Crime and Punishment. For Carl Hiassen, it's Catch-22. The blog Online Degrees has a list of the favorite books of fifty famous authors. Here's a selection:
http://www.onlinedegrees.net/blog/2010/50-famous-authors-and-their-all-time-favorite-books/ via Marginal Revolution | Photo: National Science Foundation
10. John Irving: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: The author of best-selling novels like The World According to Garp loved this Dickens classic
14. Norman Mailer: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: Himself an innovator of New Journalism, a style that blended non-fiction and essay, Mailer's favorite book was this renowned piece of realist, though highly romantic, fiction.
43. Stephen King: The Golden Argosy edited by Van H. Campbell and Charles Grayson: King chose this fiction anthology as his favorite, though he has stated that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a close second.
http://www.onlinedegrees.net/blog/2010/50-famous-authors-and-their-all-time-favorite-books/ via Marginal Revolution | Photo: National Science Foundation
From his On Writing book, I found out that Stephen King reads literally thousands of books a year, L0L. I guess being interviewed for this article was pretty difficult for him.
These picks are drawn from my book, "The Top Ten: Writers Pick their Favorite Books." You can see all the Top Ten Picks of Oates, Mailer, King and 122 other writers at www.toptenbooks.net
- J. Peder Zane