Ian McEwan
British novelist, author of Atonement, Saturday, On Chesil Beach and Solar.
Collected Poems by Philip Larkin
I have a careless theory that the poetry of Larkin has had a profound effect on the prose writing of my generation. There are many writers of my age who are steeped in Larkin and, like me, incorporate the cadences of his lines, often without being aware of it. His poems are part of my mental furniture.
on fivebooks.com · 3 Sep 2017
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
It had a direct influence on Solar, yes, but this is a biography that happens to be a treatise on creativity. I was about to say scientific creativity, but I think I mean creativity itself. It shows us the creative exuberance of a man with an extraordinary visual imagination, able to recast certain problems in surprising ways.
on fivebooks.com · 3 Sep 2017
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
Updike has been a very important writer for me, the one I've admired most, read most, and returned to most often.
on fivebooks.com · 3 Sep 2017
The Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn
This celebrated book has been in print for over half a century. It's a historical account of the fanatical millenarian sects that swept across Europe from the 11th to 15th centuries: sects that were driven by certainty of the world coming to an end. Clearly, it has relevance for our times.
on fivebooks.com · 3 Sep 2017
What Science Offers the Humanities by Edward Slingerland
It's a rather extraordinary and unusual book. It addresses some fundamental matters of interest to those of us whose education has been in the humanities. It's a book that has received very little attention as far as I know, and deserves a lot more.
on fivebooks.com · 3 Sep 2017
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