Patti Smith's Lifelong Reading List
In her acceptance speech for the National Book Award for 2010’s Just Kids, punk poet Patti Smith had a special message for publishers:…
Joan Didion's Literary Influences
In her captivating ’60s essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion muses on what it is that draws us to certain stories.…
The Books That Inspired Nelson Mandela
A book he started writing in secret during his time imprisoned at Robben Island, Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom details just…
Trevor Noah's Favorite Reads
Equal parts comedy and tragedy, Trevor Noah‘s autobiographical Born a Crime presents the satirists’s extraordinary early life in post-apartheid South Africa. As…
Kim Gordon's Favorite Books
In her 2015 memoir Girl in a Band, musician, songwriter and visual artist Kim Gordon details her life from ’60s and ’70s Los Angeles…
Jimi Hendrix's Love Of Sci-Fi
Jimi Hendrix always lived in a bit of a fantasy world – as a kid, he carried around a broomstick…
John Lennon's Library
As a young lad in Liverpool, musician and peace activist John Lennon often struggled to connect with his peers and would…
44 Books Bob Dylan Digs
When awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, Bob Dylan responded in his traditional, nontraditional way: he gave no…
Gloria Steinem’s ‘Life-Giving’ Reading List
Gloria Steinem, a leading voice of the American feminist movement from the 1960s well into today, has spent her life…
Philip Seymour Hoffman's Favorite Books
In 2004, on the eve of his Oscar-winning turn in Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman gave a thoughtful interview with the Believer, detailing his…