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Has a book ever brought you closer to or come between you?
My sister Clara (Kiki) is a voracious reader. A few years ago he told me how “The Warmth of Other Suns” had affected him. He said it was the most important book he had ever read. I read it and thought it was a masterpiece. It sparked several rich and memorable conversations between us. Then, while my husband and I were planning to visit Auschwitz a few years ago, my mother-in-law, Paula, suggested that I read “If It’s a Man” by Primo Levi. The moment made the experience even more meaningful and made me appreciate Paula even more.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned from a book recently?
Sheera Frenkel’s and Cecilia Kang’s gorgeous statement on Facebook, “An Ugly Truth,” exposed the despicable actions of company executives months before Frances Haugen covered the entire business. These two should win a Pulitzer Prize.
Even before the pandemic, I was intrigued to discover the epidemic of loneliness. “Together” by Vivek Murthy highlighted how loneliness and social isolation harm our emotional and physical health. Equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.
Sanjay Gupta’s book “Keep Sharp” says that occasionally holding your fork with your less dominant hand helps with brain health. Who knew?
What topics would you like more writers to write about?
There have been a number of excellent books written on the environment recently, and I would welcome more. I recently featured Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, authors of “The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis” on my podcast. My friends Laurie David and Heather Reisman also “Imagine It!” They wrote a book called Both books explain our current environmental challenges in an accessible way, but more importantly, they help us understand what we can do collectively and individually.
Meanwhile, more and more writers are writing honestly about loss and grief, something I try to do in my memoirs. Paul Kalanithi’s “When Breath Becomes Air”, Elizabeth Alexander’s “The Light of the World” and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Notes on Grief” have helped me metabolize my own experiences.
What moves you the most in a literary work?
Beautiful, descriptive sentences that play with language in original, unexpected ways. I know I love a book when I read a passage, and it makes me stop in my way and read it again. I did this many times when I read Lisa Taddeo’s book “Three Women” and the novel “Animal”.
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