David Sedaris's Reading List

"Now I’ve started Shalom Auslander’s “Hope: A Tragedy.” His last book, “Foreskin’s Lament,” really made me laugh."

"His last book, “Foreskin’s Lament,” really made me laugh."

"“Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea,” by a woman named Barbara Demick, was a real eye-opener."

"I’d say Wells Tower’s “Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned.” What an exciting story collection it is, unlike anything I’ve ever come across."

"I guess my guilty pleasure would be listening to the British audio versions of the “Harry Potter” books. They’re read by the great Stephen Fry, and I play them over and over, like an 8-year-old."

"I guess my guilty pleasure would be listening to the British audio versions of the “Harry Potter” books. They’re read by the great Stephen Fry, and I play them over and over, like an 8-year-old."

"I remember being floored by the first Raymond Carver collection I read: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” His short, simple sentences and familiar-seeming characters made writing look, if not exactly easy, then at least possible."

"I would want him to read “Is There No Place on Earth for Me?,” Susan Sheehan’s great nonfiction book about a young schizophrenic woman. It really conveys the grinding wheel of mental illness."

"My sister Amy and I have similar tastes in nonfiction, and on her recommendation I recently read and enjoyed “Tiger, Tiger,” by Margaux Fragoso."

"I’m looking forward to the new Michael Chabon book. I loved “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.”"