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