@joao.reis.85 asked me to list my #topnineauthors which is pretty much an impossible task. The top six were easy, the final three much, MUCH harder. So here, to the best of my ability, are my top nine: 1. Italo Calvino His writing has a wonderful fairy tale quality about it. Some of his scenes could have come straight out of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “On A Winter’s Night A Traveler” and “Cosmicomics” are two all-time favorites. 2. Franz Kakfa In some ways, the anti-Calvino, but no less whimsical, just different. Kafka writes about darkness better than anyone, and his stories are both terrifying and charming. “The Castle” is a favorite. 3. Stefan Zweig Zweig’s stories are bathed in nostalgia. I can’t help but feel a deep, lingering sadness when I read him. “Impatience of the Heart,” “The Post Office Girl,” and “Chess” are favorites. 4. Alexandre Dumas He wrote not one but TWO of the greatest novels of all time in “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Legend. 5. Homer Ask me on most days, and I’ll tell you “The Iliad” is my favorite book. Ask me on others, and I’ll tell you it’s “The Odyssey.” I’ve been in love with Homer since taking a college class on Greek Moral Theory called “Living the Good Life.” I wouldn’t want to live in a world without these epics. 6. Fyodor Dostoevsky I tried hard to limit myself to just ONE Russian novelist, and as much as I love Bulgakov, Dostoevsky is the best. Like Kafka, his writing is dark, his characters deeply conflicted. He’ll take you to hell but you’ll enjoy the trip. 7. J.R.R. Tolkien Because “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” shaped my teenage years more than anything else. Because, while you were reading them, you really were in Middle Earth. 8. Patricia Highsmith Tom Ripley is the villain we all want to be. Highsmith practically invented the genre of the bad guy we all cheer for. 9. Karl Ove Knausgård Because his “My Struggle” series is a literary enterprise unlike any other. Thanks João! If they’d like, I’d love to see the #topnineauthors of @allie.five @aliona_pogaj @__summerly__ @griff_orlando and @lmjakob — as well as anyone who likes to read! #bookstagram #literature https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ackzPj9jQ/?igshid=1qvzfg2g1ehtv
