The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works by William Shakespeare (Oxford, $40). Always at the top of my list. I’m partial to the Oxford, edited by Gary Taylor and Stanley Wells. This apparently bottomless well of invention, language, and humanity constantly inspires, refreshes, and challenges both my mind and heart. A lifetime companion. Not to mention, I’m an actor.
Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary: Selections From the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language, edited by Jack Lynch (Levenger Press, $40). The OED (that other constant companion) aside, this recent volume is like a favorite teacher—full of information delivered in great style. Entertaining and enlightening.
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The Complete Poems by Elizabeth Bishop (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15). Deep feeling contained by beautifully wrought form—Elizabeth Bishop’s poems are both moving and thought-provoking. I have always loved them.
Republic of Dreams: Greenwich Village—The American Bohemia, 1910–1960 by Ross Wetzsteon (Simon & Schuster, $20). Having recently moved back to New York City, my hometown, I took a bath in this entertaining 2002 history of the great Gotham bohemia. In 1914, Villagers were saying, “It’s not what it used to be!” When I started going down there as a teenager in the ’60s, it represented the terra incognita of freedom.
Thoughts Without a Thinker by Mark Epstein (Perseus, $15). Epstein explores the confluence of modern psychology and Buddhist philosophy in a clear and entertaining way. As a practitioner of both Buddhism and psychotherapy, he is in a unique position to speak from both perspectives. I found this book to be a real light on the path of my own inner journey.
Anything by John Ashbery—a favorite poet of mine. For an early sample, try Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (Penguin, $16) or Houseboat Days (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $13). For late work, there’s Where Shall I Wander (Ecco, $23), his most recent collection. Tubing down the mindstream of his exquisite sensibility, I encounter all the flotsam and jetsam of human experience. As a guide toward meaning, he points out the best views.
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