Grammy-winning funk-rock artist Lenny Kravitz released his debut album Let Love Rule in 1989. In his new memoir of the same name, Kravitz recounts his early years – growing up biracial in 1960’s New York, clashing with his father, falling in love, and making it as a musician.

Asked about the writing process, he says: “I see my story as a suite of songs that have a magical connection. I never understood that connection until I sat down to write. It was then that the magic started to flow.”

In a reading list for Amazon Book Review, Kravitz shared a few of his favorite reads of 2020. Including a Thelonius Monk bio and classics by Salinger and Kafka, find his recommendations below. Complement with the bookshelves of his childhood heroes, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix.


Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin DG Kelley

“A great look at the legend that is Thelonious Monk.” -LK

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (also rec’d by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kurt CobainLiz Phair & Philip Roth)

“I reread this book before writing Let Love Rule. I first read it when I was younger, and the way that Salinger wrote Holden Caulfield’s voice has always stayed with me and was a big influence on how I wrote my book.” -LK

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (also rec’d by David Lynch & Gabriel García Márquez)

“Another book that I recently enjoyed again that I had read as a kid—I love the storytelling and the colorful imagery Kafka uses.” -LK

(via Amazon Book Review)

Categories: Actors Musicians