Christopher Buckley
Novelist, editor, and humorist Christopher Buckley’s most recent novel is No Way to Treat a First Lady, published this October by Random House ($25).
One-Upmanship: How to Win Life’s Little Games Without Appearing to Try by Stephen Potter (out of print). I keep this slim paperback compendium with me at all times, to cheer me up when they announce either that my flight has been delayed or hijacked.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Bantam Books, $5). I know, I know: It’s way overwritten, and why should we care about some nutball amputee captain, and the whale parts are so much yadda blubber yadda, but it never fails to raise the hairs on my arm and even make me chuckle or say Wow.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote (Vintage Books, $13). Norman Mailer said somewhere that Capote was, “sentence for sentence, the best writer of my generation,” and for once I agree with him. This is perfect writing, and exhilarating storytelling.
Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac (Viking, $14). Bonfire of the Vanities set in early–19th century Paris. Country boy Lucien de Rubempre tries to make it socially in Paris and sells his soul in the process.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Little, Brown & Co., $14). Probably the only book I’ve read a half dozen times and hope to another half dozen before my time is up. A very great masterpiece of style, wit, satire, manners, and meaning, to say nothing of a godsend, since 1981, to the Yorkshire tourist economy. (It was filmed at Castle Howard.)
Living Well Is the Best Revenge by Calvin Tomkins (Random House, $17). The story of American expatriates Gerald and Sara Murphy, who live in Paris and the south of France in the 1920s and ’30s and who knew le tout, when le tout was worth knowing. So good you should read it aloud.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Unprepared for a pandemic
Opinion What happens if bird flu evolves to spread among humans?
By William Falk Published
-
6 impressive homes in Toronto
Feature Featuring floating stairs in Lytton Park and a two-tiered infinity pool in Banbury-Don Mills
By The Week Staff Published
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
Feature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the world
Feature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Alan Cumming's 6 favorite works with resilient characters
Feature The award-winning stage and screen actor recommends works by Douglas Stuart, Alasdair Gray, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Shahnaz Habib's 6 favorite books that explore different cultures
Feature The essayist and translator recommends works by Vivek Shanbhag, Adania Shibli, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Niall Williams' 6 favorite books with rich storytelling
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Charles Dickens, James McBride, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writers
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Bonnie Jo Campbell's 6 favorite books about unconventional relationships
Feature The former National Book Award finalist recommends works by Tove Jansson, Virginia Woolf, and more
By The Week US Published