Kevin Powers's Reading List

"Philipp Meyer’s “The Son,” without question. I was able to read an advance copy. It has as much to say about what it means to be American as any book I’ve ever read."

"“To the Lighthouse” and “Infinite Jest” belong to the same strange category, which is partly why it’s so exciting as a form."

"“To the Lighthouse” and “Infinite Jest” belong to the same strange category, which is partly why it’s so exciting as a form."

"In American fiction, I think we have to begin with Tim O’Brien. I have the utmost admiration for “The Things They Carried,” but “Going After Cacciato” is also stunningly good."

"I have the utmost admiration for “The Things They Carried,” but “Going After Cacciato” is also stunningly good."

"I mentioned Stephen Wright before, and his “Meditations in Green” is an extraordinary novel."

"In nonfiction, Philip Caputo’s “A Rumor of War,” Dexter Filkins’s “The Forever War” and Michael Herr’s “Dispatches” probably belong in their own category."

"Dexter Filkins’s “The Forever War”"

"Michael Herr’s “Dispatches” probably belong in their own category."

"Two books that have fascinated me relatively recently are Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not a Gadget” and John McPhee’s absolutely brilliant “Annals of the Former World,” which I’m rereading now."

"John McPhee’s absolutely brilliant “Annals of the Former World,” which I’m rereading now."

"I read a book called “Against Happiness” a few years ago that interrogated our culture’s desire to treat or medicate any negative emotional state out of existence, while at the same time acknowledging the incredible contributions melancholic people have made throughout history."

"Probably the “Collected Poems” of Dylan Thomas. I first read it when I was 12 or 13 and couldn’t believe what language was capable of. I responded to it totally and fundamentally. By the time I got to “Fern Hill” I felt like I was having a quasi--spiritual experience."

"Amartya Sen’s “The Idea of Justice” could be of value to anyone in a position of great power and responsibility."

"I don’t recall having any heroes, but I remember strongly identifying with Eugene Gant in “Look Homeward, Angel.” I mark that reading experience as the point at which I became conscious of the fact that I could have a real, profound relationship to a work of fiction."

"I was recently given António Lobo Antunes’s “The Land at the End of the World” as a gift. I have a few books going now, but I hope to start that sooner rather than later."