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Teju Cole's Reading List

The photographer and author of “Open City” and “Every Day Is for the Thief” says the novel is overrated. “The writers I find most interesting find ways to escape it.”

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By the Book: Teju Cole (2014)

NYT By the Book column (2014-03-06).

Source: www.nytimes.com

The Blue Flower
Penelope Fitzgerald · Buy on Amazon
""The Blue Flower" and "The Beginning of Spring" both had me abuzz for days the first time I read them. She was curiously perfect."
The Beginning of Spring
Penelope Fitzgerald · Buy on Amazon
""The Blue Flower" and "The Beginning of Spring" both had me abuzz for days the first time I read them. She was curiously perfect."
Far District
Ishion Hutchinson · Buy on Amazon
"I'm very pleased to have encountered in the past couple of years the work of two astounding young poets... Ishion Hutchinson ("Far District")... Both have impressive reserves of insight and the language to bring those insights to life."
The Ground
Rowan Ricardo Phillips · Buy on Amazon
"Rowan Ricardo Phillips ("The Ground"). Both have impressive reserves of insight and the language to bring those insights to life. They are the future of American poetry."
Stag's Leap
Sharon Olds · Buy on Amazon
"I'm glad I finally got round to reading "Stag's Leap," by Sharon Olds... The book is new to me, and I love it."
Cover of The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany
The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany
Michael Baxandall · Buy on Amazon
"The best art history books, I feel, are as good as the best novels. Among the most illuminating for me are the following: "The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany," by Michael Baxandall"
Cover of The Painting of Modern Life
The Painting of Modern Life
T. J. Clark · Buy on Amazon
"Among the most illuminating for me are the following... "The Painting of Modern Life," by T. J. Clark"
Inside Bruegel
Edward Snow · Buy on Amazon
"The last of these, a startling interpretation of Bruegel's "Children's Games," is great for nonspecialist readers."
Cover of Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe · Buy on Amazon
"by the time I was 10 I had read Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart""
Double Negative
Ivan Vladislavic · Buy on Amazon
"Ivan Vladislavic's novel "Double Negative" is another great book that wasn't marred by my introduction."
Dirty Wars
Jeremy Scahill · Buy on Amazon
""Dirty Wars," by Jeremy Scahill."

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