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Christopher generally reads non-fiction (Mar 28 2000), particularly classic literature and books about history (Aug 23 2000). His favourites are "Lamb, Bryson, Céline and Miller" (Jan 31 2005). He prefers the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald to those of Ernest Hemingway and the works of Salinger to those of Pynchon (Sept 18 2000). He also prefers Ulysses to Lolita (Sept 18 2000). When asked to choose between the works of Richard Wright and those of James Baldwin, Chris said that it's a "toss up" (Sept 28 2000). He says that he's "not a great fan" of Gore Vidal's series of novels about American history, but adds that he will continue to read Vidal's work, as Vidal is "obviously a smart guy" (Oct 1 2000). When asked to name his favourite poet, Christopher responded, "I'm not very smart or knowledgeable when it comes to poetry" (Feb 3 2002), but he has revealed that he prefers the poetry of Poe to that of Byron (Sept 28 2000). When it comes to plays, Chris prefers The Odyssey to The Illiad, but does not "know enough" to be able to choose between the works of Aeschylus and those of Euripides (Sept 18 2000). He says that he prefers "Hamlet now," but predicts that he will prefer King Lear "when I'm older" (Sept 18 2000). However, when a fan asked Chris to discuss whom he considers to be the "new and important" American playwrights, he replied, "I'm so out of that loop, I can't even give a fake answer" (Sept 24 2000). Sexus is his favourite book. Christopher says that he changed his life at the time of reading the book, and that "to live freely and spontaneously is one of the biggest things I got from it" (May 2 2000; Dec 6 2001; Feb 3 2002). Chris also says he had to look up about 20 of the words in the book (Mar 20 2005). Christopher has read Dostoyevsky, saying that this author "is teaching me a few things" (June 30 2000) and mentions that the work of Dostoyevsky's that stands out the most for him is Crime and Punishment (July 3 2000). He read the Coulson translation of that novel (July 7 2000) and appreciated the "depth of character" (July 3 2000) that he found in the book. Other books that Christopher has enjoyed and recommends are Guns, Germs and Steel (Aug 28 2001; Oct 23 2001), The Portable Jung and I Know This Much is True (Nov 16 2004). In contrast, Christopher says that The Bridges of Madison County was “the absolutely worst book” he has ever read (Apr 15 2001). Chris's favourite storybook to read to his children is Olivia the Pig (Sept 8 2004). When he reads to them, he does different voices for the characters: "I can't help myself" (Nov 4 2004). However, he does not seem to have any specific books that he would want Sophia to enjoy: "It's her life. She'll tell me which ones she'll like and maybe enlighten me" (Oct 8 2001). Chris thought that Less Than Zero was a “good book” (Apr 9 2001). On his first bike trip across the country, Chris read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Feb 27 2004). Chris has also read The Little Prince and says he is "loving symbolism so much" (Mar 20 2005). As of September 7, 2004, Chris was reading "about Jews, God and history," but by November 4, 2004, he said the book was "not good enough to remember its name." Chris then switched to reading Chuck Palahniuk's Choke and a book about the murder of Emmett Till that includes "accumulated stories (magazines and newspapers, essays) about the attack, trial and aftermath" (Jan 31 2005). Chris also was recently reading Flashman (Jan 12 2005). Christopher has never read To Kill a Mockingbird (Oct 9 2001), The Count of Monte Cristo or The Three Musketeers (Dec 19 2001). He started reading Boorstin's The Creators (Mar 28 2000), but says that he "got side-tracked" and didn't finish it (Oct 4 2000). Chris has also not read John Updike’s Couples, John Fowles's The Magus, or anything by either Dick Francis or Joyce Carol Oates (Apr 15 2001) nor Daniel Quinn's Ishmael (Feb 26 2004). One of the unread books in his personal library that Chris says he really would like to get to is Art: A World History (Apr 24 2000). Christopher really likes Tom Fontana's library, saying that it is "the most impressive private library I've ever seen. So big, there's even a catwalk to get to all the books" (Oct 29 2001). Last updated: March 04/06 | |