Hailed as the “spooky prophet of end times America,” indie folk singer Phoebe Bridgers has captured hearts for her deeply visceral, darkly confessional approach to songwriting. With her spooky debut album Stranger in the Alps catching the early attention of Conor Oberst and John Mayer, her sophomore offering Punisher was released in June of this year to instant critical and commercial adulation.
When asked for her 10 desert island reads by NY-based bookstore One Grand, Bridgers opted for an eclectic mix of fantasy, comedy, true crime and tarot card tomes. Find her favorites below, and check out the bookshelves of other famous musicians right here.
In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
“Reading this with my parents is one of my earliest memories. I remember being fascinated by the naked body of a boy covered in dough. Probably the first penis I ever saw. I remember he makes a plane out of dough to get milk, and the best line by far is when he falls in, ‘I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me.'” -PB
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
“The first book I ever really wanted to read on my own. I spent hours as a kid staring at different stuff in my room, trying to make something levitate. To this day, when most people would reference the Bible to make a point about morality or whatever, instead of Judas or Jesus, I’m more likely to bring up Snape or Sirius. When I miss home on tour and can’t get to sleep, I listen to the audiobooks. My inner monologue is narrated by Jim Dale.” -PB
When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris
“I’ve read everything he’s ever published, but this one is still my favorite. Weirdly, it’s about his experience quitting smoking. I’m not a smoker but I think about the way he talks about addiction every day. And it’s mostly set in Japan, my favorite place on earth.” -PB
Tenth of December by George Saunders
“The kind of book you finish and walk around in a weird fog for a couple days. The coolest thing to me about George Saunders is his ability to create wildly different characters, and make you empathize with each one. As someone who writes pretty much exclusively from my own perspective, this is a mysterious gift.” -PB
Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea
“I’ve loved tarot since I was a kid, but learning to read it has always seemed like a chore. And tarot books for the most part are just super boring. Still, I love this book. Michelle Tea is a queer witch poet and author who does an incredible job of humanizing every card. I brought it to the studio to kill time with my band between takes, and most of them bought copies.” -PB
The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk
“People have been trying to get me to read this book my entire life. My mom, various friends and partners, but I hate when people think I will like something. Especially when that thing is about trauma and mental illness. But I finally read it at the beginning of this year, and I can’t believe I made it this far without it. It is sort of traumatizing in itself, but it inspired me to finally set up a session with a good therapist.” -PB
Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney (also rec’d by Lena Dunham)
“Not a deep cut, I know, but this book deeply affected me last year. It made me feel like my life experience is completely unoriginal, and reaffirmed that I wish I was Irish.” -PB
I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara
“The Golden State Killer was active in California in the 70s and 80s, before I was born. Michelle McCnamera made it her life’s purpose to find out as much as she could about him and his victims, and she made incredible breaks in the case just sitting at home on her computer. She died unexpectedly in 2016, two years before The Golden State Killer was caught, and although the authorities didn’t officially give her credit for having a hand in catching him, the spotlight she shone on the case made an enormous difference at the very least.” -PB
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
“Don’t judge a book by its plot. The story of a girl who has a crush at school. But the writing is better than Salinger.” -PB
Her Body And Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado