Leslie Odom Jr. has spent his career moving between stage, screen, and recording studio. Born in Queens and raised in Philadelphia, Odom grew up singing solos in his church choir, and at just 17, made his Broadway debut as Paul in the 1998 musical Rent. After studying theater at Carnegie Mellon, he took on a string of recurring TV roles before going on to play Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s smash hit Hamilton, a performance that garnered him both a Tony for Best Actor and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
Sharing his personal reading list with One Grand Books, Odom’s picks span a range of novels, poetry, memoir, acting advice, spiritual writing, history and political thought. From the “healing and informative” insights of Ta-Nehisi Coates to the lessons on friendship found in The Godfather, explore Odom’s top 10 favorite books below.
Leslie Odom Jr.’s Reading List
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates (also rec’d by Nipsey Hussle)
“I thought I was too raw after November 8th to read this one. I was a fool. Healing and informative. They’ve been teaching the Civil War all wrong. Thank you, Ta-Nehisi Coates.” -LOJ
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (also rec’d by Amanda Gorman, Emily Ratajkowski, Gabrielle Union, George Saunders, Ibram X. Kendi, Jane Elliott, Tarana Burke & Yara Shahidi)
“As a society, there are people whom we regularly ignore. Morrison brings you close to these people. Close enough to touch and be touched. Moving, riveting, maddening, glorious stuff.” -LOJ
The Godfather by Mario Puzo (also rec’d by Jackie Collins & LeBron James)
“Take the longer route the next time you get the hankering to watch the ‘72 Coppola classic; it is every bit as rewarding. The central and abiding lesson in the novel is about friendship. It’ll stick with you.” -LOJ
“An iconoclastic little book about acting. David Mamet helped me understand what my responsibility was, to the author and to our audiences, when Lin-Manuel offered me the role of a lifetime.” -LOJ
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (also rec’d by Gabor Maté, Oprah Winfrey & RuPaul)
“Picked it up a decade ago. It is the book I’ve reread more times than any other, responsible for lasting and substantive change in my life.” -LOJ
Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman
“Our favorite to read little our Lucille at bedtime. A meditation on mama and dada’s boundless forever love.” -LOJ
In My Father’s House: Poems by John Hodgen
“My favorite book of poetry. Hodgen makes the ordinary and the plain profound again and again. We all struggle to come up with the words to attach to our grief, our confusion, our losses. Hodgen is not immune to the plight. You can feel and appreciate the effort. He wrestles each of the ingenious little masterpieces from the struggle and the search.” -LOJ
Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deavere Smith
“I watch everything she does. I read everything she writes. My favorite artist walking the planet. Watch her Notes from the Field on HBO. Pick up her inspiring letters to a young artist immediately afterward. She never disappoints.” -LOJ
I Knew You’d Be Lovely by Alethea Black
“I heard a smart person say once that short stories were the ideal form to receive and integrate information. Whether it’s completely true or not, the idea has stayed with me, and if you were trying to argue the point, I Knew You’d Be Lovely, could be held up as Exhibit A. Emotionally, no work(s) of fiction ever moved me more thoroughly.” -LOJ
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (also rec’d by Angie Thomas, The Black Panthers, Colin Kaepernick, Emily Ratajkowski, Gabrielle Union, Howard Zinn, Ibram X. Kendi, Janelle Monáe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rose McGowan, Talib Kweli, Tupac Shakur, Uzo Aduba & Questlove)
“Found my Dad’s old copy in the basement when I was in seventh grade. I’ve read it many times since. It’s always a pleasure spending a few days learning from brother Malcolm. You can feel the depth of his care and his sincere hope for your survival in every page. If he wasn’t a friend and a hero before you started reading, you’ll have to make some room for him.” -LOJ
(via One Grand Books)
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