Ian Ritchie

Architect; Interior Designer; Urban Designer; Product/Industrial Designer / United Kingdom / Ian Ritchie Architects

Ian Ritchie’s Book List

I love words. They are at the root of our communication and culture. Books are central to our existence. To write without reason is difficult, to write without imagination is impossible, and memories are essential to knowing and grounding oneself at any given time. Good books have these characteristics.

The following list is a sampling from libraries at my office and home.

4 books
Jerzy Kosinski

This short story is a wonderfully satirical view of the unreality of America’s media culture. It captured the emergence and domination of TV upon individuals and mass culture. I just about managed to read it all out loud in one go despite crying with laughter throughout. It was published in 1970, when I was writing about “leisure” and that society (families) seemed to be retreating to the living room—the TV—rather than engaging in social spaces beyond.

George B. Mair

At the age of 15, I began to be fascinated with other cultures, and Russia was prominent in the news—space, Communism, the Cold War. This book was about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

J. P. Donleavy

A freedom to express what religion has wished to suppress—and although I am not an avid reader of novels, I found this one enthralling and particularly enjoyed the ditties at the end of each chapter.

James Joyce

I just wanted to discover an utterly different way of writing. Years later, Dublin became a very significant city in my life, and I still derive huge pleasure from its writers and from Dubliners’ wit.

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