Steve Martin's Reading List

"In order to be modern, you have to read this book."

"I was fascinated by "Ninth Street Women," by Mary Gabriel, so I read it anywhere, anytime."

"I "read" David Blight's Frederick Douglass biography last summer on lengthy bike rides on quiet roads in Santa Barbara under summer skies and overhanging trees. I'm always fascinated by the accomplishments of research, and the Douglass book was profound."

"I would recommend "Once Upon a Time in Papunya," by Vivien Johnson, to get the step by step of this compelling saga."

"Jerry Seinfeld's new book, "Is This Anything?" It's a catalog of decades of his routines."

"I must mention Geoff Dyer's "Out of Sheer Rage." One doesn't think a book about D. H. Lawrence could be "laugh-out-loud funny." But it was, and it affected my own writing style."

"I recently heard the audio version of "Milkman," by Anna Burns. I found myself moved by the rhythm and repetition of the phrases and sentences."

"I loved her book, "Men Explain Things to Me," so she could throw me looks whenever I became "that guy.""