Chosen Books

Invited designers and commentators have chosen these as the books that inspire them and that have shaped their worldview or their ideas about design.
329 books
The Royal Game Zweig, Stefan Comments:
The Ladies’ Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) Zola, Émile
Germinal Zola, Émile
Nana Zola, Émile
The Belly of Paris Zola, Émile
The Case for the Burial of Ancestors, Book 3: The History of the Tabernacle Zelevansky, Paul
Memoirs of Hadrian Yourcenar, Marguerite
The Dream of the Red Chamber Xueqin, Cao
To the Lighthouse Woolf, Virginia
Orlando Woolf, Virginia
Mrs. Dalloway Woolf, Virginia
A Room of One’s Own Woolf, Virginia
Look Homeward, Angel Wolfe, Thomas
You Can’t Go Home Again Wolfe, Thomas
One Arm Williams, Tennessee
The Bridge of San Luis Rey Wilder, Thornton
The Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde, Oscar
John Dollar Wiggins, Marianne
A Beggar in Jerusalem Wiesel, Elie
The Mother’s Recompense Wharton, Edith
The Age of Innocence Wharton, Edith
Lord Byron’s Doctor West, Paul
All the King’s Men Warren, Robert Penn
The Front Runner Warren, Patricia Nell
Microscripts Walser, Robert
The Tanners Walser, Robert
Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut, Kurt
Little Novels of Sicily Verga, Giovanni
The Collected Works of Jules Verne: 36 Novels and Short Stories Verne, Jules
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter Vargas Llosa, Mario
The Underpainter Urquhart, Jane
Exodus Uris, Leon
Smoke Turgenev, Ivan
Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique (Friday) Tournier, Michel
Anna Karenina Tolstoy, Leo
War and Peace Tolstoy, Leo
Vanity Fair Thackeray, William Makepeace
Selected Short Stories Tagore, Rabindranath
Gulliver’s Travels Swift, Jonathan
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Suskind, Patrick
Valley of the Dolls Susann, Jacqueline
Tristram Shandy Sterne, Laurence
The Diamond Age Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash Stephenson, Neal
The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal,
The Red and the Black Stendhal,
East of Eden Steinbeck, John
The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John
Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein Stein, Gertrude
Angle of Repose Stegner, Wallace
At Last St. Aubyn, Edward
On Beauty Smith, Zadie
The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer Singer, Isaac Bashevis
A Maigret Trio Simenon, Georges
The Tale of Genji Murasaki, Shikibu
Ryoma ga Yuku (Ryoma Goes) Shiba, Ryotaro
Saka no ue no kumo (Clouds on the Slope) Shiba, Ryotaro
Vindication: A Novel Sherwood, Frances
Frankenstein Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
The Book of Dave Self, Will
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan See, Lisa
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules Sedaris, David
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim Sedaris, David
The Emigrants Sebald, W. G.
Austerlitz Sebald, W. G.
The Rings of Saturn Sebald, W. G.
Ivanhoe Scott, Sir Walter
The Wine-Dark Sea Sciascia, Leonardo
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass Schulz, Bruno
Kissing in Manhattan Schickler, David
Lord Peter Sayers, Dorothy
Blindness Saramago, José
Rashomon and Other Stories Akutagawa, Ryunosuke
Sarum Rutherfurd, Edward
Pedro Páramo Rulfo, Juan
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Rowling, J. K.
Impressions of Africa Roussel, Raymond
American Pastoral Roth, Philip
Goodbye, Columbus Roth, Philip
Portnoy’s Complaint Roth, Philip
The Human Stain Roth, Philip
The Vampire Lestat Rice, Anne
The Collected Short Stories of Jean Rhys Rhys, Jean
A Time to Love and a Time to Die Remarque, Erich Maria
City of Night Rechy, John
Story of O Réage, Pauline
Woman’s World: A Novel Rawle, Graham
The Impossible Dead Rankin, Ian
The Fountainhead Rand, Ayn
Rosa Rabb, Jonathan
Ishmael Quinn, Daniel
Gravity’s Rainbow Pynchon, Thomas
The Guermantes Way Proust, Marcel
In Search of Lost Time (A la recherche du temps perdu) Proust, Marcel
Remembrance of Things Past Proust, Marcel
A Time to Be Born Powell, Dawn
Tales of Mystery and Imagination Poe, Edgar Allan
The Bell Jar Plath, Sylvia
Life: A User’s Manual Perec, Georges
Les choses: Une histoire des années soixante (Things: A Story of the Sixties) Perec, Georges
Je me souviens Perec, Georges
The Moviegoer Percy, Walker
The Labyrinth of Solitude (El Laberinto de la Soledad) Paz, Octavio
The Portable Dorothy Parker Parker, Dorothy
The Museum of Innocence Pamuk, Orhan
The Black Book Pamuk, Orhan et al.
The Things They Carried O’Brien, Tim
Favorite Greek Myths Osborne, Mary Pope et al.
1984 Orwell, George
In the Skin of a Lion Ondaatje, Michael
Novelle Meravigliose delle Mille e Una Notte (Tales from the Thousand and One Nights) Oddone, Flora et al.
Pale Fire Nabokov, Vladimir
Lolita Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor Nabokov, Vladimir
Speak, Memory Nabokov, Vladimir
The Man Without Qualities (German edition, Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften) Musil, Robert
The Man Without Qualities Musil, Robert
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World Murakami, Haruki
Jazz Morrison, Toni
The Bluest Eye Morrison, Toni
Beloved Morrison, Toni
Contempt Moravia, Alberto et al.
The Empty Canvas Moravia, Alberto et al.
Villa Triste Modiano, Patrick
Dora Bruder (The Search Warrant) Modiano, Patrick
Cloud Atlas Mitchell, David
A Fine Balance Mistry, Rohinton
Moby Dick Melville, Herman
Bartleby, the Scrivener Melville, Herman
Billy Budd Melville, Herman
Annals of the Former World McPhee, John
Amsterdam McEwan, Ian
Atonement McEwan, Ian
The Member of the Wedding McCullers, Carson
The Road McCarthy, Cormac
Let the Great World Spin McCann, Colum
The Painted Veil Maugham, W. Somerset
Love in the Time of Cholera García Márquez, Gabriel
Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man Mann, Thomas
Tonio Kröger Mann, Thomas
Buddenbrooks Mann, Thomas et al.
Death in Venice Mann, Thomas et al.
The Magic Mountain Mann, Thomas
The Troubled Man Mankell, Henning
The Day Khrushchev Panicked Mair, George B.
The Naked and the Dead Mailer, Norman
Miramar Mahfouz, Naguib
Akhenaten Mahfouz, Naguib
Don Quixote Long, Gareth
The Kindly Ones Littell, Jonathan
Einstein’s Dreams Lightman, Alan
The Sixth Day and Other Tales Levi, Primo
A Hero of Our Time Lermontov, Mikhail
Road Dogs Leonard, Elmore
Stick Leonard, Elmore
Killshot Leonard, Elmore
Putkinotko Lehtonen, Joel
i mean you know Lehrer, Warren
versations Lehrer, Warren
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet Larsen, Reif
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Kundera, Milan
Slowness Kundera, Milan
Scruples Krantz, Judith
Being There Kosinski, Jerzy
Darkness at Noon Koestler, Arthur
The Jungle Book Kipling, Rudyard
The Man Who Would Be King Kipling, Rudyard
The Tain Kinsella, Thomas
The Shining King, Stephen
Carrie King, Stephen
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey, Ken
On the Road Kerouac, Jack
The Castle Kafka, Franz
Finnegans Wake Joyce, James
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (German edition, Ein Porträt des Künstlers als junger Mann) Joyce, James
Ulysses Joyce, James
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joyce, James
Tree of Smoke Johnson, Denis
Notes of a Son and Brother James, Henry
The Golden Bowl James, Henry
Washington Square James, Henry
A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving, John
Against Nature (A Rebours) Huysmans, Joris-Karl
Brave New World Huxley, Aldous
The Man Who Laughs Hugo, Victor
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Hugo, Victor
Barcelona Hughes, Robert
The Map and the Territory (La Carte et le Territoire) Houellebecq, Michel
The Elementary Particles Houellebecq, Michel
High Fidelity Hornby, Nick
Things You Should Know Homes, A. M.
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House Hodgins, Eric
Steppenwolf Hesse, Hermann
The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) Hesse, Hermann
Narcissus and Goldmund Hesse, Hermann
Demian Hesse, Hermann
Dune Herbert, Frank
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel Hempel, Amy
Death in the Afternoon Hemingway, Ernest
In Our Time Hemingway, Ernest
Winter’s Tale Helprin, Mark
The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Hunger Hamsun, Knut
The Maltese Falcon Hammett, Dashiell
Le rivage des Syrtes (The Opposing Shore) Gracq, Julien
The Pickup Gordimer, Nadine
Oblomov Goncharov, Ivan
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories Gogol, Nicolai
Elective Affinities Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
The Sorrows of Young Werther Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
China Court Godden, Rumer
Two Under the Indian Sun Godden, Jon et al.
Old Yeller Gipson, Fred
Strait is the Gate Gide, André
The Immoralist Gide, André
Neuromancer Gibson, William
Love Trouble Is My Business Geng, Veronica
One Hundred Years of Solitude García Márquez, Gabriel
The Recognitions Gaddis, William
The Corrections Franzen, Jonathan
Howards End Forster, E. M.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Foer, Jonathan Safran
Everything Is Illuminated Foer, Jonathan Safran
Madame Bovary Flaubert, Gustave
The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald, F. (Francis) Scott
Tender Is the Night Fitzgerald, F. (Francis) Scott
As I Lay Dying Faulkner, William
Light in August Faulkner, William
The Sound and the Fury Faulkner, William
Middlesex Eugenides, Jeffrey
A Visit from the Goon Squad Egan, Jennifer
The Name of the Rose Eco, Umberto
Foucault’s Pendulum Eco, Umberto
Dans ma chambre (In My Room) Dustan, Guillaume
Sicilian Carousel Durrell, Lawrence
The Sea Wall Duras, Marguerite
The Three Musketeers Dumas, Alexandre
The Count of Monte Cristo Dumas, Alexandre
Sister Carrie Dreiser, Theodore
Demons Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Crime and Punishment Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
The Brothers Karamazov Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
The Idiot Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Notes from Underground Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
The Ginger Man Donleavy, J. P.
Ragtime Doctorow, E. L.
The Book of Daniel Doctorow, E. L.
Berlin Alexanderplatz Döblin, Alfred
The Living Dillard, Annie
Dombey and Son Dickens, Charles
Bleak House Dickens, Charles
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Díaz, Junot
The Leopard (Il gattopardo) Tomasi Di Lampedusa, Giuseppe et al.
White Noise DeLillo, Don
The Aviator (L’Aviateur) Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
Night Flight Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine La Fontaine, Jean de
House of Leaves Danielewski, Mark
Tales of the Unexpected Dahl, Roald
The Red Badge of Courage Crane, Stephen
Rayuela (Hopscotch) Cortázar, Julio
The Prince of Tides Conroy, Pat
What a Carve Up! Coe, Jonathan
Evil Under the Sun Christie, Agatha
Killing Floor Child, Lee
The Canterbury Tales Chaucer, Geoffrey
Don Quixote Cervantes, Miguel de
My Antonia Cather, Willa
Song of the Lark Cather, Willa
Cathedral Carver, Raymond
Ender’s Game Card, Orson Scott
Answered Prayers Capote, Truman
The Fall Camus, Albert
The Plague Camus, Albert
Invisible Cities Calvino, Italo
The Nonexistent Knight and The Cloven Viscount Calvino, Italo
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler Calvino, Italo
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony Calasso, Roberto
The Matisse Stories Byatt, A. S.
China Lover Buruma, Ian
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories Burton, Tim
Tarzan of the Apes Burroughs, Edgar Rice
A Clockwork Orange Burgess, Anthony
The Master and Margarita Bulgakov, Mikhail
Hollywood Bukowski, Charles
Jane Eyre Brontë, Charlotte
Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles Bradbury, Ray
Obras Completas (Complete Works) Borges, Jorges Luis
Ficciones Borges, Jorge Luis
Labyrinths Borges, Jorge Luis
The Aleph Borges, Jorge Luis
Decameron Boccaccio, Giovanni
The Invention of Morel Bioy Casares, Adolfo
Petersburg Bely, Andrei
Herzog Bellow, Saul
Watt Beckett, Samuel
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Bassani, Giorgio
Flaubert’s Parrot Barnes, Julian
The Elegance of the Hedgehog Barbery, Muriel
La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy) Balzac, Honoré de
The Atrocity Exhibition Ballard, J. G.
Concrete Island Ballard, J. G.
Vermilion Sands Ballard, J. G.
Super-Cannes Ballard, J. G.
High-Rise Ballard, J. G.
The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard Ballard, J. G. et al.
Crash Ballard, J. G.
The Mezzanine Baker, Nicholson
Pride and Prejudice Austen, Jane
Emma Austen, Jane
The Year of the Flood Artwood, Margaret
Oryx and Crake Atwood, Margaret
Positron Atwood, Margaret
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Angelou, Maya
The Information Amis, Martin
The Rachel Papers Amis, Martin
London Fields Amis, Martin
The House of Spirits Allende, Isabel
Eva Luna Allende, Isabel
The White Tiger Adiga, Aravind
Things Fall Apart Achebe, Chinua
Inter Ice Age 4 Abe, Kōbō
The Woman in the Dunes Abe, Kōbō
Flatland Abbott, Edwin A.
Vas: An Opera in Flatland Tomasula, Steve et al.
A Romance of the Equator Aldiss, Brian Wilson
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