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Guest Picks

From religion professors to stand-up comedians, and from influential political figures to celebrated authors, The Leonard Lopate Show talks to the people that shape our culture. We decided to ask some of our guests about the books, films, and music that move them...

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Book- The Life of Rumi
Film- Woodstock Now and Then—directed by Barbara Koppel

What are you listening to right now?

Kroke- Klezmer Band

What’s the last great book you read?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Abstract Art

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

With my kids.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Movie: The Hurt Locker—It makes you think about the various ways we live our lives—karma and choice?

What are you listening to right now?

My brother played me a “Jellyfish” CD yesterday, which I loved. Great vocal harmony. They are no longer together.

What’s the last great book you read?

Reading Michael Lang’s “The Road to Woodstock” book and loving it.
Conversations with the Dalai Lama by Victor Chang.
Best Book Ever: “Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yoganana.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Smoking God’s herb.
Universal Brotherhood.
Photographing fire hydrants.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Making love in Central Park.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Stewart O'Nan's short novel "Last Night at the Lobster" really took me by surprise. He's a fine writer, of course, but the emotional weight of that little book belies its size.

What are you listening to right now?

My daughters got me an I-pod for my 60th Birthday and taught me how to upload, download, and load sideways. "Welcome," as a friend of mind told me when I enthused, "to 1999."

What’s the last great book you read?

I read Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of the Poets in galley recently, and loved every word. Smart, funny, and very moving.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

On the first stop of my book tour, in Portland, Maine, I was outed as a Yankee fan. People in New England find this hard to believe. I can see them reevaluating me when they learn, hoping to find a way to like me anyway.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

If it's like today, I'd want it to be someplace air conditioned.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I loved 500 Days of Summer

What are you listening to right now?

The Kills and Wilco are two of my current favs

What’s the last great book you read?

“Drop City” by TC Boyle

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Juvenile Comedies like Bruno, Knocked Up, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

With my kids in Central Park.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Ian Frazier’s Journey Through Siberia in the New Yorker

What’s the last great book you read?

Annie Dillard’s The Maytrees

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Paul Smith socks

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Making a pilgrimage to the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Lee Child, George Dawes Green, Edith Wharton,James Baldwin, Alice Munro

What are you listening to right now?

Ella, Frank and Stan Getz, Jonathan Schwartz,All Jazz, American Songbook, Louis Armstrong

What’s the last great book you read?

The Whisperers by Orlando Figes

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Licorice

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Stoned, with Lee Child, and listening to great music, and takeout from Indian restaurant and Krug rose vintage.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I just saw “Julie and Julia” and liked it a lot – warm and full of goodwill

What are you listening to right now?

NPR in the green room …before that, some live Led Zeppelin at home

What’s the last great book you read?

An advance of 13 1/2  by Nevada Barr

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The New York Yankees

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Ideally, at Yankee Stadium watching the Red Sox lose.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“It Takes a Pillage” by Nomi Prins

What are you listening to right now?

My own depressing thoughts.

What’s the last great book you read?

Robinson Crusoe

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The NFL Draft.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

High on morphine.

What are you listening to right now?

Broadway show tunes

What’s the last great book you read?

Not last—but one of my favorites is “Miracle in the Andes” by Nando Parrado

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The New York Giants

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

I would love to see the John Lennon Exhibit

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Humpday, Herb and Dorothy

What are you listening to right now?

Brazilian music

What’s the last great book you read?

Divisadero – Michael (Ondaatje)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Taking long baths. I sleep w/ my dog.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Walk around with no plan—look—eat!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Road to Woodstock by Michael Lang

What are you listening to right now?

Mozart

What’s the last great book you read?

To Free A Dolphin

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Freaking out!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Nasty Bits – great writing for a diet

What are you listening to right now?

Dave Mathews – “Squirm” and “Funny the Way It Is”

What’s the last great book you read?

Books – Larry McMurtry

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Eating!!!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Master by Colm Toibin

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Dancing

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Walking through the city and eating as much as possible as I go.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

David MacKay: Sustainable Energy—without the hot air

What are you listening to right now?

Ali Farka Toure

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Las Vegas

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Walking

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Mugabe and the White African”, Feature Documentary released later this year.

What are you listening to right now?

“Once Upon a Time in the West,” by Ennion Morricone

What’s the last great book you read?

-

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Moto GP – The formula one of motorcycle racing.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

Walking… until the end.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Mike Sacks’ “And Here’s The Kicker”. It’s a book I wish I wrote.

What are you listening to right now?

I just listened to Georgia Anne Muldrow’s latest album, which is quite good and very original.

What’s the last great book you read?

I don’t know if it qualifies as “great” but George Jones’ autobiography “I Lived To Tell It All” is unrelentingly sordid, uneasily intimate and fascinating.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I like a lot of disposable R & B. Oh and “Kitchen Nightmares”.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

I do only have one day left in New York City. I would take the “Sex and the City tour”, followed by “Mama Mia” and dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Why fight being a tourist when you can lustily embrace it?

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Mike Sacks’ “And Here’s The Kicker”. It’s a book I wish I wrote.

What are you listening to right now?

I just listened to Georgia Anne Muldrow’s latest album, which is quite good and very original.

What’s the last great book you read?

I don’t know if it qualifies as “great” but George Jones’ autobiography “I Lived To Tell It All” is unrelentingly sordid, uneasily intimate and fascinating.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I like a lot of disposable R & B. Oh and “Kitchen Nightmares”.

If you had one day left, how would you spend it in New York City?

I do only have one day left in New York City. I would take the “Sex and the City tour”, followed by “Mama Mia” and dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Why fight being a tourist when you can lustily embrace it?

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I just read The Terror by Dan Simmons and loved it.

What are you listening to right now?

I’m listening to Brazilian sambas, nacao, Bossacucanova. Uptempo Brazilian jazz.

What’s the last great book you read?

The Terror

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I love horror, science fiction, folk music, Suzanne Vega

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Virgil: “Georgics”

What are you listening to right now?

Ernst Reijseger: Requiem for a dying planet

What’s the last great book you read?

Juan Rulfo: “Pedro Paramo”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I am a fan of Fred Astaire.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Stanley Kubrick’s “Boxes”. It is a documentary about the vast archive of Stanley Kubrick. Comfort and rationalization for packrats everywhere . . .

What are you listening to right now?

Mermaid Avenue. Album by Billy Bragg Forgotten lyrics (without melodies) by Woodie Guthrie—for which Billy Bragg composed new melodies

What’s the last great book you read?

The diaries of Lindsay Anderson. He was kind enough to write very generous entries about me during April 1985!

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Let’s make that three. The poetry of Louis Aragon. The films of Maxim Gorky. The hot dogs at Papaya King.

What are you listening to right now?

Most people don’t realize that a professional musician is always listening to something. There’s a turntable on 24 hours a day, operated by an invisible, capricious gremlin. When I have free time, therefore I prefer reading a book of watching tennis

What’s the last great book you read?

It’s “Letter to an Unborn Child” by Oriana Fallaci, about a mother who wasn’t sure, when she became pregnant, whether she wanted to keep the child or not. I love reading in Italian. Fallaci’s books allow me an enjoyable way to practice.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I’m a great tennis fan – follow all tournaments. I had a free Sunday in between performances, flew to Nice and went to the Monte Carlo final. People are also surprised to hear about our farm in Castleton, Virginia, where in addition to livestock we have a menagerie of exotic animals. Castleton is also where we have chamber operas and symphonic concerts with young musicians.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Ionesco’s Exit the King – what a fascinating meditation on our human existence and relationships with each other and ourselves

What are you listening to right now?

In the player right now is Carla Bruni, Mahler, Duncan Sheik and a Latin duo called Rodrigo and Gabriella

What’s the last great book you read?

Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I love Chinese medicine + I’m an organic food nut and find a hard time not getting a fresh veggie drink whenever I pass a juice stand

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Tsk Tsk by Polly Stenham
A play at the Royal Court Theatre in London

What are you listening to right now?

Bob Dylan

What’s the last great book you read?

The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Strictly Come Dancing

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Pan’s Labyrinth.”
The Julliard student production of “Falstaff.”
“Passing Strange.”

What are you listening to right now?

88.3
“No Business Like Show Business,” Rosie Clooney, this morning, which I found very encouraging.
“Lyrically Yours”

What’s the last great book you read?

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Cabaret—Barbara Cook, Bobby Short, Alberta Hunter, Blossom Dearie.
Opera—daughter of the Regiment
Karita Matila—Salome

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Slavery by Another Name, by Douglas A. Blackmon. It’s amazing what happened in the antebellum South post-reconstruction

What are you listening to right now?

Sounds of my 9-year-old daughter Sacha – fascinating!

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I grew up loving musical theater – Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar…

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Pixote (Brazilian movie)

What are you listening to right now?

Oldies from the late 60s

What’s the last great book you read?

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Erotica

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Peter Balakian’s translation of Girgovis Balakian’s memoir, “Armenian Gogotha” really rocked me. Aremenian genocide.

What are you listening to right now?

Heinrich Ignatz Biber
Wonderful music pre-dates Bach

What’s the last great book you read?

see above. “Great book” as in “Great Book”?
was Moby-Dick

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Opera. Just learning about it.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

October Sky, a movie I saw on cable – very moving.

What are you listening to right now?

Jazz Fest, a lot of New Orleans music

What’s the last great book you read?

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924
By Professor Orlando Figes

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The novels of Alan Furst

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Why Vietnam is Important” with author Rufus C. Phillips III

What are you listening to right now?

Final mixer of the new Kendel Carson album
Listening to: John Prine, Lucinda Williams

What’s the last great book you read?

Beat the Dealer, by Edward O. Thorpe

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Boxing – from the 40s through the 70s

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

A new novel, American Rust, by Philipp Meyer

What are you listening to right now?

Bob Dylan’s “Together in Life”

What’s the last great book you read?

Michael Chabon’s “The Adventures of Cavalier & Clay”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The A&E show “Intervention”

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Home” – my daughter’s performance moved me so much

What are you listening to right now?

Justin Thompson – guitar – great pickin!
Gaim “Yoga” – relaxing music – anything to unwind!
Always classical – Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi
Gillian Welch – Bluegrass

What’s the last great book you read?

Harry Potter 5 – J.K. Rowling. I am reading the whole series with my daughter Eulala (10). We also bake things a la Harry Potter Feast. We find them online.
Peoples Act of Love by James Meeks

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Pottery. I love to study/throw pots
Also, Hiking in National Parks

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Julie Andrews “Home” (a memoir of my early years)

What are you listening to right now?

Moby’s “Play”

What’s the last great book you read?

Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I enjoy watching golf. This even surprises me.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Coraline” – directed by Henry Selick. It moved me and surprised me every few minutes.

What are you listening to right now?

Girl Talk – “Feed the Animals”
Why listen to one song at a time when you can listen to 20 at once?

What’s the last great book you read?

“Picking Cotton: our memoir of injustice and redemption” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton
A beautiful, moving true story.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Musicals!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion moved and surprised me with its incredible detail and honesty.
Mercy by Lara Santoro- novel about Kenya and Aids based on her own experiences as a journalist there.

What are you listening to right now?

Moravee playing Chopin nocturnes
Rolling Stones and Smokey Robinson – as always Al Green

What’s the last great book you read?

The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

American Idol-Adam Lambert English premier football( soccer)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Collected Poems by Cavafy The films, Hunger and Gommorah

What are you listening to right now?

The Stanley Bros
PJ Harveys new record
Rachel Mason’s “Ambassadors 1 & 2”

What’s the last great book you read?

Collected Poems by Cavafy
Love by David Grossman

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Everything on TV after 11:00 p.m. especially those horrid reality show, such as “Housewives of New York” & my new favorite “Housewives of New Jersey” & the forthcoming “Housewives of Princeton” & “Housewives of Rural Kansas”

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

A Night to Remember (Titanic)

What are you listening to right now?

Neil Diamond

What’s the last great book you read?

The Stand” (Stephen King)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Old films from the 40s and 50s.

What are you listening to right now?

Rameau opera Hippolyte et Aricie for Aix-en-Provence

What’s the last great book you read?

Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope (Barack Obama)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

My adorable grandchildren who live in Hawaii.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Lynn Nyhart, Biology Takes Form; Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder

What are you listening to right now?

Bach-Bach-Bach

What’s the last great book you read?

Anna Karenina

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Negligible details

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst Theatre
Reading Love Child by Allegra Huston. Extraordinarily good.

What are you listening to right now?

8,000 tracks on my Ipod shuffle.

What’s the last great book you read?

A Strange Eventful History – Michael Holroyd.
(the lives of Henry Irving & Ellen Terry & their offspring)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

People who listen.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“A Prayer for My Enemy” a play by Craig Lucas at Playwrights Horizons.

What are you listening to right now?

“Somethin’ Like Love,” a cd of singer/actor Steven Pasquale. (He’s in Neil Labute’s play “Reasons to Be Pretty,” and his wife Laura Benanti is in my play “Why Torture is Wrong…” They’re both great singers.)

What’s the last great book you read?

The White Hotel, by D. M. Thomas
The Tricky Part, by Martin Moran

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I live in Pennsylvania. Single-handedly I won the state for Obama.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

John Lennon. A Life.

What are you listening to right now?

I’m downloading Michael J. Fox’s book about optimism. He calls his medical situation “the gift that keeps on taking.” I greatly admire him.

What’s the last great book you read?

“Vanity Fair” magazine is pretty thick—does that count? I’m halfway through the ads—hope to get to the table of contents by May.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The Monkees.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

A teacher just brought me a copy of the production of Guys and Dolls I did when I was 17 at Guilford High School. It was overwhelming to watch it—wonderful and embarrassing.

What are you listening to right now?

Patti Lupone’s solo albums

Annie Lenox

What’s the last great book you read?

I’m in the middle of “The Outliers”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Barry Manilow

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The play, “God of Carnage.”

What are you listening to right now?

Nothing, except “33 variations” on stage.

What’s the last great book you read?

“The Awakening,” Kate Chopin.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Hiking above 14,000 feet.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Peter Cook + Dudley Moore DVD, “Not Only But Also”

What are you listening to right now?

My inner thoughts and your radio interview of Dr. Massouda Jalal

What’s the last great book you read?

Empire and Odyssey by Rock Brynner

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Edna St. Vincent Millay.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Film, The Lives of Others

What are you listening to right now?

Brahms Clarinet Quintet

What’s the last great book you read?

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

South Park

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Film: The Class (Entre les Murs)
Book: Sag Harbor, by Colson Whitehead

What are you listening to right now?

Spoon, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
Animal Collective, “Merriweather Post Pavillion”
“Fresh,” Sly & The Family Stone

What’s the last great book you read?

2666, Robert Bolaño

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Singing karaoke.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Cripple of Inishmaan
Two plays by the Bridge Project at BAM
The Cherry Orchard and A Winter’s Tale
Great production of Trovatore last night at the Met

What are you listening to right now?

At this very minute, I am a captive listener to the Leonard Lopate Show!
The only radio shows I listen to are on NPR affiliates (Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, and Met Opera broadcasts are favorites)
My only TV is Jon Stewart and tennis tournaments, now that the Sopranos is over.

What’s the last great book you read?

Sea of Poppies by Amitov Ghosh

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Once upon a time, my wife and I were addicted to Dallas and E.R.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I’ve just re-read Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair. The ache of physical longing in that book is so deep it’s magical – Greene evolves it without ever rendering an erotic scene and without more than a few words of physical description.

What are you listening to right now?

Everything on my kids’ iPods.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

MTV’s Real World

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Film: Defiance. I have known so much more about the ghettos, camps, hiding in homes but not the holocaust survivors that hid for so many hears in the forests.

What are you listening to right now?

Old Bennie Smith, Ella, “new” Keith Urban, Wynton Marsalis, Alicia Keys. I love a wide variety of music (of my own music!).

What’s the last great book you read?

Walter Isaacson’s Einstein.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I love reading science journals and scientific websites. Looking at videos of fractals and the Mandelbrot set on YouTube.com

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Reader (film)

What are you listening to right now?

Mozart Mass

What’s the last great book you read?

“Team of Rivals,” Doris Kearns

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Baseball and the Mets

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Kite Runner
Also waiting for the second half of Julie Andrews’ bio.

What are you listening to right now?

I’m still trying to find the right way to download into an Ipod.
Tapes and CD’s that people have sent to me of their performances or pirated tapes of my various performances.

What’s the last great book you read?

Maeve Binchy.
Also autobiographies

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Nova, science and new ways of educating kids (Montessori schools).

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“In the Heights” – far better even than expected.

What are you listening to right now?

Fountains of Wayne “Traffic + Weather”
Paul Desmond “Edmonton Concert”

What’s the last great book you read?

Trollope’s “Phineas Redux”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The songs of Bacharach + David
The writing of Dave Barry, and all bossa nova (that’s three, sorry.)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

What are you listening to right now?

What’s the last great book you read?

I re-read The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton and it was even more brilliant and witty and contemporary than I had imagined. I read it in one gulp.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Mickey Rourke’s The Wrestler

What are you listening to right now?

Radiohead, Bebo y Cigala, J.S. Bach

What’s the last great book you read?

Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Weasels

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Slumdog Millionaire”

What are you listening to right now?

My iPod Shuffle is eclectic--jazz to spirituals to disco to blues.

What’s the last great book you read?

The last good book that I read is The Uncommon Reader. A light but nice read.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Food and football.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“The Reader,” [by Bernhard Schlink] to compare to film
“White Teeth,” by Zadie Smith
I view all film (I have to vote – Academy)
“August Osage County.” It’s great.

What are you listening to right now?

You!

What’s the last great book you read?

All Haruki Murakami.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"The Forever War," by Dexter Filkins and “Little Fugitive” – movie about a little boy on the lam in 1950s Coney Island

What are you listening to right now?

WNYC is the only radio I listen to, except for Vin Scelsas show on Fordham radio.

What’s the last great book you read?

Taking a year to read Murakami’s “Wind-Up Bird Chronicles”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Crime scene photography

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

--

What are you listening to right now?

--

What’s the last great book you read?

Netherland

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Very sorry—brain not working—fighting head cold and laden with Micinex, Advil and Zicam.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Boy in the Striped Pajamas— another stupid “good” Nazi film—but great ending.

What are you listening to right now?

Classical Music—musical comedy scores

What’s the last great book you read?

The Economist Book of Obituaries—really interesting!

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Opera and True Crime (When it’s a bad diva they become one)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“And the Ship Sails On” – moved me, a lot.

What are you listening to right now?

I am trying to look at all of Fellini’s films.

What’s the last great book you read?

Claire Messud “The Emperor’s Children”

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Great films

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

-Obama’s acceptance speech
-Obama’s victory speech
-“Wendy & Lucy”
-“Synechdoche NY”

What are you listening to right now?

-Beethoven’s piano Concertos
-Haydn’s “Creation”
-“South Pacific”
-“You & Me,” The Walkmen

What’s the last great book you read?

Netherland

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

(No answer provided)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Waltz with Bashir

What are you listening to right now?

Jenny Lewis’ “Acid Tongue”

What’s the last great book you read?

Serena

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Antique Road Show

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Just saw Michael Clayton – finally, it was exactly what movies should do – entertain, baffle, move us out of our seats, wonderful

What are you listening to right now?

Chet Baker, Van Morrision, John Mayer, Shirley Horn

What’s the last great book you read?

Miller’s The Tropic of Cancer – always heard about it but never really read it – surreal, bitter, uncompromising, crazy, sad, like a sexy fever dream

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

I’m addicted to Survivor – the best produced show on television?

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

South Pacific

What are you listening to right now?

Tortoise, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”

What’s the last great book you read?

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Bollywood

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Atonement": More the book than the movie. Double Feature: Susan Stroman and full length ballet

What are you listening to?

Natalie Cole, Frank Sinatra, Yo Yo Ma, Costes mixed CDs, Pink Martini

What’s the last great book you read?

“The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The Innocence Project, created by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Györg Kurtág: Kafka fragments

What are you listening to?

Sciarrino: "The Death of Borromini”

What’s the last great book you read?

"Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar," by Simon Sebag Montefiore

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Gypsy Music

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Slum Dog Millionaire," "Synecdoche, New York"

What are you listening to?

IPod shuffle, which has all types of musical genres.

What’s the last great book you read?

"Gilead," by Marilynne Robinson

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Punk and New Wave Music from the 1970’s and 1980’s

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“Billy Elliot” (the play)

What are you listening to?

Elton John because of “Billy Elliot” (he wrote the score) and Coldplay

What’s the last great book you read?

“Psychic Self Defense” by Dion Fortune (British author, written in 1930)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Slapstick comedy

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Pema Chodron.

What are you listening to?

-Maria Schneider’s Orchestra
Gjorgy Kurtag - Various pieces

What’s the last great book you read?

Interestingly (though, more, frustratingly), I have had trouble sticking with an entire book since going though cancer-related treatments during the last couple years, so I have read and so enjoyed a lot of SHORT stories…various writers: John Cheever, Anne Munro, Aimee Bender, many more

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Bjork

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Last night I watched a documentary on Saddam Hussein and his sons. It was the most shocking and horrifying things I have seen in a while. It truly gave me a stomach ache.

What are you listening to?

Nothing because my iPod isn’t charged! Kanye West “Love Lockdown” is my most recent favorite. And I love Pink-I love “Sober”!

What’s the last great book you read?

I’m reading a book called “The White Masaii”-it’s about a European woman who falls in love with an African Masaii warrior. It’s a beautiful and fascinating love story.

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Arranging flowers! I love beautiful floral arrangements and growing them in my yard. I love adding things to the vases-things you wouldn’t expect-rocks, fruit, anything I love to decorate my house with around Christmas.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I find everything interesting. My next book is on the ranch house because it’s the iconic American home. It’s the teardown for most people but it’s the most important mass developed house.

What are you listening to?

I’m a visual, not an auditory person. I like Cuban jazz, "The Buena Vista Social Club."

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

The ranch house.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

''War and Peace'' – opera – Prokofiev, Canadian Opera Company
''Some Trace of Her'' – play (in London)
A Short History of Genocide – Barbara Caloroso (non-fiction)

What are you listening to?

A tango CD I was given in Argentina

What’s the last great book you read?

A Dream of Red Mansions – Chinese classic
The Idiot – Doestoevsky
Through Black Spruce - Joseph Boyden
Too Good to Be True - Monica Endicott

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Country western music, because it has plots (older ones mostly, these days)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Kramer’s Ergot #7 (avant commix, giant sized-AWESOME!), "Synecdoche, New York" (a great mess.)

What are you listening to?

NPR, of course. And Obama reading "Dreams from my Father" on audio disc.

What’s the last great book you read?

"Molloy," by Sammy Beckett. (Though it’s an awful airplane book, which is how I did it...)

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

"Mad Men" (sigh ... I’m thoroughly predictable . . .)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Play, “The Quality of Life,” Boris Godunov (San Francisco Opera)

What are you listening to?

Old Records - Paul Horn in Taj Mahal and The Pyramid

What’s the last great book you read?

Mr. Pip

What’s one thing you are a fan of that people might not expect?

Gardening, yoga, hiking

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

No Country for Old Men

What are you listening to?

Old Nina Simone discs

What’s the last good book you read?

Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand, by Fred Vargas

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Challenge by Jonathan Mahler

What are you listening to?

An eclectic collection of old blues for a soundtrack to a movie I’ll direct in the summer of ’09 based on A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

What are you currently reading?

The Snowball – A biography of Warren Buffett

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Following the American general election was a pretty good start

What are you listening to?

Athlete, fantastic, miserable British rock n’ roll band
-Snow Patrol

What are you currently reading?

I’m dyslexic so I never finish a book, but the one I got the most though was Kitchen Confidential, which I loved

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I love art and graffiti, jazz music, and transvestites

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Giants vs Philly (last night)
There Will Be Blood

What are you listening to?

My wife on The Today Show
Cody, my son, made a CD of what he thought was my kind of music he called it, “Old f*** music. It was right on – Doris Day, Tony Bennett etc.

What are you currently reading?

Epicenter: Why the current Rumblings in the Middle East will Change your Future by Joel Rosenberg

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Broadway Theater

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The new life of Gerard Mauley Hopkins—very beautiful and unexpected Film—Rachel Getting Married—Anne Hathaway is transcendent

What are you currently reading?

White Heat—Emily Dickinson’s friendship with Higginson

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Tiny babies—young boys on bicycles—flocks of blackbirds at dusk, singing in the trees

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Blair Years by Adam Bowlton

What are you listening to?

Only the news!

What are you currently reading?

The boy with Striped Pajamas

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Baked beans on toast

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Memoirs of Hadrian, by Marguerite Yourcenar
“W,” directed by Oliver Stone
“Tell No One”

What are you listening to?

Leonard Lopate Show (radio)

What are you currently reading?

“Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Spiderman (comic strip)
Bette Midler (any thing)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

1) Giorgio Morandi Exhibit at the Met
2) Gomorrah, an Italian film at the New York Film Festival (based on Roberto Saviano’s book)
3) “Man on Wire” (Documentary film)

What are you listening to?

1)Andrew Hill –Blue Note Sessions 1963-1966
2)Al Green’s new CD “Lay it Down”

What are you currently reading?

1)Lenny Michael’s Collected Stories
2) Lucette Lagnado “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World”

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

David Brooks
Architecture

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"50 Words" by Michael Weller (now playing in NYC)

What are you listening to?

Very early recordings of tango music.

What are you currently reading?

"The Good Soldier," by Ford Madox Ford

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Crop Circles

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Rest Is Noise by Alex Ross (which is SO wonderful)
Which led me to reread Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann
Which is the most beautiful thing on earth

What are you listening to?

Ethan Iverson: The Bad Plus. All their CDs

What are you currently reading?

See above Q one

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Even after this terrible season I am still and always a Yankees fan.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Harold Holzer, “Lincoln as President Elect”

What are you listening to?

Classical Music

What are you currently reading?

David Kennedy, “Freedom from Fear” (About the New Deal and WWII)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Classical music

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Food Inc(About to be released)

What are you listening to?

Nina Simone

What are you currently reading?

“Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America ,” by Paul Tough

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I am going to be a judge this year at the Berlin Film Festival!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Visitor

What are you listening to?

Randy Newman, “Harps and Angels”

What are you currently reading?

Mark Harris, “Pictures at a Revolution”

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

JackAss(TV show) and or David Brooks

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Elegy" a film based on a Philip Roth novel. The book wasn’t one of my favorites—but the film adaptation was moving, believable, emotional (but not soggy)—and so well acted I’m still thinking about it.

What are you listening to?

WNYC. Wherever I am (I live in Key West) it’s always NPR. (Unless it’s the Buena vista Social Club.)

What are you currently reading?

“The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” (before it was an Oprah pick—good choice—original and “unputdownable”)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

"Desperate Housewives." But not as much as "Mad Men" (This is like a high school exam! I can feel my anxiety.)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh film)
The Go-Between (novel by L.P. Hartley)

What are you listening to?

The Leonard Lopate Show

What are you currently reading?

War and Peace

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Mets (alas)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Dave Eggers, “What is the What?”

What are you listening to?

Amy Winehouse

What are you currently reading?

Junichiro Tanizaki, “The Makioka Sisters”

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Yankees

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Beatles
Love in Las Vegas

What are you listening to?

Soul of Rock in Roll, Roy Orbison.

What are you currently reading?

"Buddha" by Deepak Chopra.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Flea markets
Developing perfume

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"South Pacific," in the theater
"Lost," on television
"Frozen River", on film

What are you listening to?

Bob Marley.

What are you currently reading?

"Song Yet Sung," by James McBride.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

YouTube.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Ron Suskind’s book "The Way of the World"

What are you listening to?

Pandora! Music on-line.

What are you currently reading?

See first question. Also Susan Gray’s "The Last Cigarette."

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Barack Obama’s autobiography

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Man on Wire," about the aerialist who strung a tightrope between the twin towers and walked for 45 minutes . . . fascinating story about the preparation and execution of this feat.

What are you listening to?

Al Green, "Lay it Down" Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, "Cold Roses" Cat Powers, "Jukebox""

What are you currently reading?

Sam Cooke bio by Peter Guralnick. Like his books about Elvis, it is as much about the tradition from which he emerged as about the man himself. Amazing!

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Silly stoner comedy movies . . . "Walk Hard" is a current favorite on the tour bus.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The thing that surprised me more than anything else was John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin as his running mate. This was really a bolt out of the blue. We’ll see where it goes.

What are you listening to?

I have a fairly eclectic taste in music. I like Cole Porter and Delpert McClinton. I know that covers a wide swat, but I really do like country music. Having said that, Cole Porter may have been the best composer ever.

What are you currently reading?

The best book I read this summer is “Splendid Exchange,” which was a history of trade. Someone gave it to me. I thought “who in the world would write a book about that?” I read a few pages and was hooked. It was fascinating. I’m now reading a booked cold “A History of the Cold War.” I spent a good part of the summer reading Ken Follett’s “World Without End,” a 1000 pages, which caused me to go back and reread his earlier 1000 pager “Pillars of the Earth.”

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I’ve written six songs that have actually been recorded- sung by people who can actually sing a lot better than I.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Phillip Glass' Opera Satyagraha

What are you listening to?

Bruce Springsteen.

What are you currently reading?

Jesus of Nazareth Benedict XVI

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Johnny Depp!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Bible. Very moving.

What are you listening to?

John Coltrane.

What are you currently reading?

The Holy Bible.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I am a huge fan of peace.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Long Road Out of Eden (The Eagles). I was very surprised that even though they have one of the greatest rock guitarists alive today in Joe Walsh, he is barely heard on the record.

What are you listening to?

Alicia Keys. She is one of the only artists today that can play, sing and write her own material. John Mayer. Best new guitarist in the last 20 years. Also sings, writes and plays.

What are you currently reading?

Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001). It’s the most intriguing life story I’ve ever lived.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Golf. I do a lot of charity events with my golf game. If I’m going to go out and lose balls someone might as well benefit from it.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr (Book)

What are you listening to?

Unfortunately, my own guide vocals.

What are you currently reading?

Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Agility training for dogs.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright.

What are you listening to?

Bach; Mets Baseball.

What are you currently reading?

The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Dry Martinis.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Iron Man."

What are you listening to?

Some Shostakovich (for the book I'm doing about Russia).

What are you currently reading?

Reading "The Body in Pain" by Elaine Scarry.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Books about rap and hip-hop -- e.g., "It's No Secret" by Carmen Bryan.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I read "Our Story Begins" by Tobias Wolff and "The Bible Salesman" by Clyde Edgerton.

What are you listening to?

The audio of The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. I don’t listen to music much.

What are you currently reading?

See above.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I love Jesus!!!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Junot Diaz, author of THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO.

What are you listening to?

Patti Smith.

What are you currently reading?

Roberto Bolano, THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The New York Yankees.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Nim's Island- The Book the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

What are you listening to?

Tony Evans- Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship
The President Race

What are you currently reading?

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I love Judge Judy- Love to write- Love to read

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Dexter- TV Show

What are you listening to?

They Might Be Giants
Here Come the ABC's 9 my 2 ∏ year old favorite)

What are you currently reading?

The Corrections

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bee Gees- early catalogue rules

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

David Sedaris Christmas book. It talked about aim being an elf at Macy's/ It made me feel better about passing out our movie postcards to people on the street.

What are you listening to?

I went on a South by Southwest website and it had a sample MP3 of hundreds of new bands. I can't think of the site but it was great way to discuss new music.

What are you currently reading?

Absurdistan

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Falconry

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Reading an autobiography about Darwin. Thinking of writing a play about him. Saw “Syriana” the movie. Goal: Politically good.

What are you listening to?

As always: Bach. Also trying to get to know young jazz musicians.

What are you currently reading?

A book about the history of London, by Peter Ackroyd.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Boxins, late night at Madison Square Garden!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The genuine interest & conern that people are having with our planet & the future well-being of the next generation.
Movie: Lord of the Rings. Brings back childhood memories of reading the books.

What are you listening to?

Depends on the mood: Jazz, Classical, Contemporary and even 70s punk. No Country music, though.

What are you currently reading?

Sixth Extinction: Gives and overall perspective of our global situation and what might be done to avoid some of the devastation.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I love working on vintage motorcycles. It gives me a rare zen moment in an otherwise life of everyday hustle.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Play: Adding Machine
Movie: No Country for Old Men
Book: The Hand of the Devil (in French)

What are you listening to?

I’m learning about the harpsichord.

What are you currently reading?

The Go Player (in French)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Classical Music
French
Italian painting

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

1. The acting in “August: Osage County” is marvelous.
2. Hearing Barbara Cook with the NY Philharmonic was so moving.
3. Patti Lupone’s “Roses Turn” in “Gypsy” was a knockout.
4. “On Chesil Beach,” MacEwan’s novel is so economical and real.

What are you listening to?

1. I’m listening to my Open University CDs. I have an exam in political philosophy on April 22 at Columbia University. Today it’s Hobbes. Locue next.
2. Also, Adam Guettel’s scores

What are you currently reading?

1. “The German Ideology”-- by Karl Marx. It’s part of my degree but he was a genius.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

1. Clothes-- I just bought some great jeans on West Broadway.
2. "The West Wing" and "Six Feet Under"—on DVD. The best television ever!
3. Opera: Can’t wait for “Juan Diego Flores” and Natalie Dessay in “La Fille Du Regiment, “ at the Met.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Fanstasia in "The Color Purple" - Amazing.
"In Treatment" - I love the young girl who plays Sophie. She's an incredible actress.
John Pizzarelli and his dad in concert at Birdland

What are you listening to?

Michael John La Chusa - "See What I Want to See"
Radiohead - "Kid A"
"Passion" - Stephen Sondheim

What are you currently reading?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer - Brilliant!

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bird watching in the rambles in Central Park
American idol - David Archeleta, wow!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven (a play) by Russell Davis

What are you listening to?

Keith Jarrett – "Radiance"

What are you currently reading?

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossein
Nine Ways to Cross a River by Akiko Busch

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The new J. M. Coetzee novel
Volume 3 of John Richardson's Picasso biography
Exit Ghost by Philip Roth
Yasujiro Ozu films in a box set from Criterion

What are you listening to?

The Decemberists
Stephen Grappelli

What are you currently reading?

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I saw Werner Herzog's film about Klaus Kinski My Best Friend, and I was so moved by both Herzog's attachment to someone so abusive and also Kinski's utter self-absorption and self-destruction. It was also very funny.

What are you listening to?

Our Endangered Values, read on CD by Jimmy Carter

What are you currently reading?

The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Jamie Galloway.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I have a serious addiction to broccoli.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Persepolis

What are you listening to?

Eclectic.

What are you currently reading?

Imperial Life in the Emerald City
Memoir – Glass Castle
The Abstinence Teacher

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Opera

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Chronicles of Narnia

What are you listening to?

Robert Plant and Allison Krause's "Rising Sand"
Bruce Springsteen's "Magic"

What are you currently reading?

Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Baseball

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Tritely, The Road, by Cornac McCarthy

What are you listening to?

Death in June- Noda, On The Media, 'The 27 Points'- The Fall, Roky Erikson, Gym It- Meg Christian

What are you currently reading?

A Confederacy of Dunces

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Capitalism

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Francis Ford Coppola's latest film

What are you listening to?

Podcasts about Francis Ford Coppola

What are you currently reading?

Francis Ford Coppola's autobiography

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Key lime pie

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

There Will Be Blood was simply magical. I'm also obsessed with The Wire (I wish I had something more obscure to recommend.)

What are you listening to?

Radio Lab. Seriously!

What are you currently reading?

Up In The Old Hotel

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Project Runway

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Wow! I'm old people! I liked "No Country For Old Men," "Juno." Watched "The Cat People" last night after Marty's doc on Val Lewton (good doc). "Cat People" scared me witless when I was a kid, still does.

My book Tyrone Power. Charles Boyer. Guy was beyond good. Surprised me. Guess my granddaughter's dance recital doesn't qualify! Huh?

What are you listening to?

Old Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Jo Stafford -- girl singer of the 1940s, 1950s and Mel Torme.

What are you currently reading?

Madame Bovary, now there's a great book. Plus like Matthew Kennedy's book on Joan Blondell. Mystery: the Janissary Tree. Davis Wishart.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Basketball. Boston Celtics. UConn Women's Team.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Recent biography of John Osborne by John Heilpern.

What are you listening to?

Arnold Schoenberg (as Always); A marvelous new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations by Simone Dinnerstein; and the Pogues (As always)

What are you currently reading?

"BuddenBrooks," for the fifth or sixth time.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Other playwright's plays.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

August: Osage County, Great American Theater Company in a terrific modern American play.

What are you listening to?

The Mike Malloy Show on Nova-M radio.
Alan Broadbent (Lush jazz piano) "Whenever I Think of You"

What are you currently reading?

The "Pistol" Pete Maravich story, The American Dream and How!

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Modern dance

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"There Will Be Blood," a film directed by P.T. Anderson that is based on a story by Upton Sinclair, an American writer who explores the hidden nature of good and evil, really moved me in a subtle and profound way. Not only was the film technically well done, and the acting stellar, the slow unfolding saga reminds us that just because a man is good in one area of his life doesn't mean he isn't evil in another.

What are you listening to?

Django Reinhardt.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The History Channel and old Norman Lear sitcoms from the 70s.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

David Harvey's "Spaces of Global Capitalism" and Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There"

What are you listening to?

Bobby Short and Schubert's Winterreise

What are you currently reading?

"The Information" by Martin Amis.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Standard Poodles

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I always appreciate Steve Martin's funny side, but I'm always surprised about his serious side, like his play about Picasso.

What are you listening to?

I was just listening to Judy Collins' Christmas CD while driving through Colorado and was reminded how much I enjoy her singing, and her friendship.

What are you currently reading?

Suite Francais

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Girls ice hockey

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Tanner 88," "Primary Colors," "No Country for Old Men."

What are you listening to?

Stravinsky

What are you currently reading?

Haruki Marukami's ' Wind up Bird Chronicle
John Galt's Life of Byron

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Old jazz records, French pastry.

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

"Savages" Wonderful performances
"No Country for Old Men" – great!
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" – Finney was wonderful.

What are you listening to?

Lots of Steve Terrell (saw him in cabaret, he’s a great performer)
Schuman/Mahler (in the dressing room)

What's the last great book you read?

Acting Up – David Hare’s account of his one man show
Dubliners James Joyce

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Track & Field – and in the 4th of January I will have been an actor for 50 years, never did anything else

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

I read Atonement but never got to the end. I recently saw the movie and was completely surprised by the end and wonderfully moved. One of those times I am grateful I didn’t finish the book.

What are you listening to?

Soundtrack for the film “Once”
Sufjean Stevens Christmas music
Neil Young live at Massey Hall

What's the last great book you read?

I am reading eh Quaran (Koran) at the moment. The last book I was swept away by, great or not, was The Time Travelers Wife I thought it was great.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I am a fan of sleep which I get too little of. But aren’t most of us?

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

LWIII: "No Country For Old Men"
LR: "No Country For Old Men," "Lucky" by Alice Sebold, "Hair" Production by 6th graders

What are you listening to?

LWIII: Bill Monroe and Doc Watson (bluegrass and country pioneers)
LR: Kate Rusby, The Weepies, Bruce Springsteen, Gene Pitney "Backstage", John Legend "I Can Change"

What's the last great book you read?

LWIII: The Secret Agent (Jospeh Conrad)
LR: Oracle Night by Paul Auster

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

LWIII: basketball, sailing
LR: Eminem - I'm a huge fan.

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

The film- Repentance

What are you listening to?

New music I'm working on

What's the last great book you read?

The Bacchae by Euripides

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Home made pizza

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

"Away From Her" based on the Alice Munro story.

What are you listening to?

I listen to classical music day and night.

What's the last great book you read?

Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Raising Angus beef

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

"Saturday Night Fever"

What are you listening to?

The re-mastered reissue of Led Zepplin's The Song Remains the Same

What's the last great book you read?

Robert Bolano's The Savage Detectives

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Dunkin Donuts coffee

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Movie: "Into the Wild" directed by Sean Penn
Book: How to Know Higher Worlds: The Classic Guide to the Spiritual Journey by Rudolf Steiner

What are you listening to?

The Police

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Tennis

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

What are you listening to?

Regina Spektor
Gram Rabbit
Steve Earle

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Questionnaires

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

I saw three extraordinary movies in one week- "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men" and the "Diving Bell & the Butterfly." All three were so incredibly brave and bold, and they really restore one’s faith in the power and potential of the medium- but only when directors are given free rein.

What are you listening to?

I listen a lot to music people send me through the mail. Right now I’ve been loving new albums by Jay Bennet, and the Morning Bender, a band called The Bellows ( a couple albums by them), and someone gave me Andrea Schiff’s new album of Beethoven’s sonatas-pretty astonishing recording.

What's the last great book you read?

I was just re-reading Chris Abani’s book Graceland, which is just insanely well-done and unforgettable-lyrical and courageous and continuously surprising. Abani confounds and transcends all categories.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Linda Rond Stadt

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Steve Martin's Born Standing Up

What are you listening to?

La Traviata, with Renee Fleming

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Yankees

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Movie: "Into the Wild"
Book: A Man in Full by Tom Woolf

What are you listening to?

Nothing.

What are you currently reading?

Look Homeward Angel by Tom Woolf
Nana by Emile Zola

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

TV. The Apprentice with Donald Trump

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Jersey Boys

What are you listening to?

Charlie Chaplin "Modern Times"

What are you currently reading?

Night by Elie Wiesel

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

architecture

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Spring Awakening

What are you listening to?

Artur Schabel's Beethoven Sonata recordings

What are you currently reading?

Peter Matthiessen's Men's Lives

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Boxing

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
"Thyestes" translated from Seneca by Caryl Churchill, directed by Joanna Akalitis
"Feast of Love" directed by Robert Benton

What are you listening to?

"Joni Mitchell" compilation by various artists. Prince is a knockout.

What are you currently reading?

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Birds!

What have you read or seen recently that moved or surprised you?

Peeling the Onion by Gunter Grass
"The Rape of Europe"

What are you listening to?

I Like classical and jazz music

What are you currently reading?

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Real Estate

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I am reading a book about the Netherlands and was surprised about their early attempts at republic.

What are you listening to?

Leonard Lopate, etc. NPR is my constant friend. I don't have a television -- so the friendly voices and perceptive insights -- just enough perspective and distance from the immediate urgency of the news-- gives me awareness in an intelligent, helpful way without overloading my overloaded mind.

What are you currently reading?

The Great Gatsby -- I keep coming back to its rare lyricism and beauty.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I love solitary time. A rambling walk. Even the spartan silence of my apartment has a kind of rare appeal to me. Silence now for me is a kind of sacred oasis in what had become a crowded and complicated life. I have learned that any fool can complicate their life. Silence and solitary times rejuvenate me today.

What have you read that moved or surprised you?

The 7 Pillars of Wisdom
Churchill's Memoirs of WW1 & WW2
Lloyd George's War Memoirs

What are you listening to?

NPR

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Riding
Military History

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Superbad" – touching + too funny. SUPER GOOD + ridiculous! "McLovin" is my hero!

What are you listening to?

Pavarotti – I miss him.
My husband's band, the Cringe
Foo Fighters. They rule.

What are you currently reading?

Elizabeth Edwards - Saving Graces
She's a rock star. She really knows how to take a bite out of life.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I cannot make coffee.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"The Political Brain" by Drew Westen

What are you listening to?

John Adams, "On the Transmigration of Souls"
Elliot Smith, all the albums

What are you currently reading?

Susan Sontag essays

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Benito Mussolini - no, no
"Dancing with the Stars"
"Houses of the Holy" by Led Zeppelin

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Obscure Object of Desire."

What are you listening to?

Roberto Murolo, a Neapolitan singer

What are you currently reading?

"American Pastoral" by Philip Roth

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Ballet and opera

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

No, but everyday when I see someone helping another, I'm moved by that.

What are you listening to?

My wife

What are you currently reading?

"On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I build Web sites.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

No, but everyday when I see someone helping another, I'm moved by that.

What are you listening to?

don't listen to music

What are you currently reading?

The Bible

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Arthur Ashe

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Beyond Glory" – one man play with Stephen Lang, it was very compelling
Mad Men – TV show on Showtime; a TV show I actually like!

What are you listening to?

A new Willie Nelson album

What are you currently reading?

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Hotel shampoo bottles, as far as I know I’m the only person in the world who collects them

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Happy Feet"
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

What are you listening to?

The White Stripes, The National, Battles
WPRB (Princeton radio station)

What are you currently reading?

The Lorax by by Dr. Seuss

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Juggling
Bird-watching

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Last Child of the Woods by Richard Louv
"Ratatouille"

What are you listening to?

iPod music picked out by my kids

What are you currently reading?

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic 1910-1913 by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Rap music
Eating bugs ("Entomophagy")
Cooking elegant, 5-course dinners for people I love
The Explorers Club

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

“United 93” – It moved me with the courage I saw in it.

What are you listening to?

Landon Pigg, LP – He has a great voice and lyrics that seem to ring true.

What are you currently reading?

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox – His story is remarkable.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Eminem

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Bible

What are you listening to?

Jackson Taylor and Todd Snider

What are you currently reading?

The Bible and Spell of The Yukon by Robert W. Service

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Hip Hop

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Stone Alone, Bill Wyman's autobiography

What are you listening to?

My own outtakes (doing a new album)

What are you currently reading?

The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Neuro Surgery

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Tell No One"(movie)

What are you listening to?

Iris de Ment

What are you currently reading?

The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Jay-Z

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes
Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan
"Hamlet" at Shakespeare Theater, Washington D.C

What are you listening to?

Military Channel
C-Span
History Channel
Fox News Channel

What are you currently reading?

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

"Fargo" and other movies by the Coen Brothers

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Caught up with Alexander Payne’s "Sideways" – which was a total, total treat

What are you listening to?

Harry Potter Soundtrack for "Order of the Phoenix," written by Nick Hooper

What are you currently reading?

Stalingrad – book concerning the siege of the city which had extraordinary drama

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Premiership football, Arsenal Football Club

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"What Is The What" by Dave Eggers

What are you listening to?

Best of Jimi Hendrix
The Score to "Talk To Her"

What are you currently reading?

Citizens by Simon Schama
What Is The What by Dave Eggers
History Of Love by Nicole Krauss

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

New York Knicks
Boxing

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Once" & "Journey’s End"

What are you listening to?

Prince, Joni Mitchell, Annie Ross

What are you currently reading?

Away by Amy Bloom

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Modern Dance

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"La Vie En Rose" & "Journey's End"

What are you listening to?

K.D. Laing, Randy Newman, Joe Cocker (old stuff)

What are you currently reading?

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

TV Golf

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Dead Girl

What are you listening to?

John Mayer

What are you currently reading?

Charlres Bukowski, South of No North

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Boxing

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

What are you listening to?

Lucinda Williams

What are you currently reading?

The Logic of Sense, by Gilles Deleuze

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Baseball

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Movie: "Disturbia" -- clever and well made "take" on Hitchcock's "Rear Window"

What are you listening to?

A recording of Angela Lansbury's Broadway shows
ANY Mozart

What are you currently reading?

Doris Kearn's "Lincoln"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Blossom Dearie and New York hot dogs (Gray's Papaya)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Kite Runner
Tainted Blac

What are you listening to?

my wife

What are you currently reading?

Frank Rich, The Greatest Story Ever Sold

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

cross-country
motorcycle ridin

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Darling, by Russell Banks
Take This Bread, by Sara Miles

What are you listening to?

Orphans, by Tom Waits
Third Symphony, by Henryk Gorecki

What are you currently reading?

Snow, by Orhan Pamuk

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

cycle racing

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Pan's Labyrinth

What are you listening to?

"Die Tote Stadt" by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and "CY Walter- The Park Avenue Tatum".

What are you currently reading?

"George Gershwin" by Howard Pollack

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Nothing- I'm completely predictable.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Jimmy Carter's Apology for Terrorism. Surprised? Well, I should say.

What are you listening to?

a C.D.

What are you currently reading?

"Intellectuals" by Paul Johnson

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Triangle, the Kimura, and the Oomaplata

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Funny Games" -- a film by Michael Haneke

What are you listening to?

The new Joanna Newsom record

What are you currently reading?

"Humbolt's Gift" by Saul Bellow

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I wear my loves on my sleeve -- Westerns, baseball, etc. -- it is hard to imagine they would surprise anyone by now... perhaps Battlestar Galactica?

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Don DeLillo's forthcoming Falling Man

What are you listening to?

Songs: Ohia
"The Lioness"

What are you currently reading?

Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Chicken Sashimi

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

books by Erik Larson
film -- "Thank You for Smoking"
musical, "Spring Awakening"

What are you listening to?

Diana Ross, "Blue"

What are you currently reading?

recently a lot of Greek mythology for "Xanadu"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

cooking shows

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I was very pleased with the latest James Bond movie

What are you listening to?

Depeche Mode's "Violator"

What are you currently reading?

Re-discovered "Where the Wild Things Are"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I'm a sucker for Top 40 Radio

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I'm on a bit of a Bill Bryson kick. His passion for a place not his natural home or final destination speaks to a farmboy passing a few years in the big city before going back.

What are you listening to?

I don't think it will surprise anyone to hear that I've soldered my CD player shut with the Flanks inside. The whole county's gone apey.

What are you currently reading?

"Sometimes a Great Notion" and "A Fan's Notes" are running neck-and-neck in my recent recollection.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Pottery and Hip-Hop, specifically my stepmother and Talib Kweli, in that order

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"The Life Aquatic" for the 10th time

What's in your CD player right now?

I don't use a CD player. The new Bob Dylan album Modern Times is on my iPod

What's the last great book you read?

"The Wounded Healer," by Henri Nouwen

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

"Sex and the City"

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

One Night with the King

What's in your CD player right now?

Christmas music

What's the last great book you read?

Always Music in the Air

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Classical music

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The movie, "Lady in the Water"
A group of apartment dwellers banded together to help be special parts of rescuing a water girl, and were helped themselves, in seeing what was in themselves and what it meant and was worth.

What's in your CD player right now?

Chuck Bordsky - baseball stories. True stories, some very unfamiliar, some with a very human look at the stories.

What's the last great book you read?

I believe it was "Tyranny of Best Intents" -- a documentary of human rights adn their abuses in the U.S. (cracks in the dam that prosecutors take advantage of)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Barry Manilow. His music is not even "my type" but he has so much respect for his audience - the sets, his presence, etc. One time I saw him invite a woman onstage to sing with him and right after the song a staffer ran from the wings to present her with a videotape of it.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Melinda Mayne's Mother of Pearl and Daniel Alarcon's Lost City Radio.

What's in your CD player right now?

Books on tape

What's the last great book you read?

Lynne Tillman, "American Genius"
The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Safon

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Dogs

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Godfather II, which I re-watched with my 12 year old.

What's in your CD player right now?

The Goon Show (BBC Comedy Series from the 50s)

What's the last great book you read?

Lynne Tillman, "American Genius"
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Architecture

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I went to Colmar France to see the Isenhiemmer Alter and the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany

What's in your CD player right now?

Ryan Bingham, Bach

What's the last great book you read?

Lynne Tillman, "American Genius"
Susanna Moore, "Big Girls"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I collect Pre Colonial Currencies and coins people have put holes in
I love doing demolition

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I'm seeing 4 plays in the next 4 days -- but I've been working so hard I haven't seen anything recently

What's in your CD player right now?

I've got Bach in my head

What's the last great book you read?

Right now I'm reading Fagle's translation of The Aeneid

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I have a motorcycle. I like to work on it

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (British film)

What's in your CD player right now?

Mark Knopfler and Emmy Lou Harris

What's the last great book you read?

Experience by Martin Amis
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Ballet

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

the Martin Short play, "Fame Becomes Me" -- surprised me with its non-stop funniness and brilliant execution

What's in your CD player right now?

Rosa Passos

What's the last great book you read?

The Storm, by Ivor van Heerden

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Paul Harvey

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Fur" and "The Departed"

What's in your CD player right now?

Mozart's Requiem Mass

What's the last great book you read?

Elia Kazan's "A Life"
The Gift: poetry of Hafiz, translated by Daniel Landinsky

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

tennis, ice skating, basketball, classical music, cooking, dog shows

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Wilkie Collins's Armandale, a strange, action-packed puzzle of a novel

What's in your CD player right now?

Tabarro, Fanciulla del West, Turandot, because I have to learn new roles. In my free time, I am listening to old Italian songs

What's the last great book you read?

Chris Adrian's The Children's Hospital

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Law and Order reruns

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Between Two Worlds by Zainabl Salbi

What's in your CD player right now?

"Hello Darlin"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Steak Tartare

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I'm always concentrating on the new score and studying about the period when the opera was written. Also, about the character I'm singing.

What's in your CD player right now?

Tabarro, Fanciulla del West, Turandot, because I have to learn new roles. In my free time, I am listening to old Italian songs

What's the last great book you read?

Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I really like it when people ask me to fill out a questionaire right before I do a radio interview.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I loved the novelization of "Snakes on a Plane"

What's in your CD player right now?

Kevin Federline's astonishing new CD

What's the last great book you read?

The Yellow Book

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I really like it when people ask me to fill out a questionaire right before I do a radio interview.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I'm a huge P+P fan, but I had never seen and finally just saw Powell + Pressburger's "Canterbury Tales" -- an unlikely but thoroughly gripping story set during WWII -- I won't give it away but sign onto IMDB and more importantly, pick this up. There's a new box set of 9 Poweel + Pressburger films. This one is a gem!

What's in your CD player right now?

Nick Drake (introducing Nick Drake)
His voice haunts me. I listen to "The River Man" over + over + over + over + over

What's the last great book you read?

I just finished Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go Beautiful! Broke my heart.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

All things healthy! My house is a "juice bar"!!! People tend to think musicians (and jazz musicians) stay up late + hang out in bars...

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Jersey Boys

What's in your CD player right now?

Sting -- The Police

What's the last great book you read?

How to Know Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner,

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

jazz

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

One film seen recently that I found extraordinarily well done is Cinderella Man.

What's in your CD player right now?

I rarely use CD players.

What's the last great book you read?

Before the Dawn by Nicolas Wade,

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Track

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Capote - the movie

What's in your CD player right now?

Don't own one

What's the last great book you read?

Mary Lavin - Stories, Stories from Bective Bridge

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The court shows on television, especially The People's Court

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Book: Whiteman by Tony D'Souza
Plays: Shining City by Colin McPherson, Faith Healer by Brian Friel

What's in your CD player right now?

Nothing, but recently it was Verdi's I Lombardi

What's the last great book you read?

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Billy Wilder movies, Tom Ford movies

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Rivers and Tides, a film about Andy Goldsworthy.

What's in your CD player right now?

Regina Spektor's new album, Begin to Hope.

What's the last great book you read?

Anything by Roberto Bolano

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Project Runway

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Supersize Me"
"The Terminal"

What's in your CD player right now?

Dave Matthews, U2, Sting, Best of the 80's

What's the last great book you read?

Freakonomics

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Huge sports fan especially NFL and NBA

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Cotton Kingdom, by Frederick Olmsted

What's in your CD player right now?

Schubert's waltzes
Soul Rebels
Keene
Sia
Ashford & Simpson

What's the last great book you read?

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bullriders in the rodeo

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"An inconvenient truth"

What's in your CD player right now?

Brazilian Cartola

What's the last great book you read?

The adventures and misadventures of Maqroll Martes Pnin is next.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The feeling of what happens- Antonio dimasio

What's in your CD player right now?

Clem Snides

What's the last great book you read?

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Candid camera's stuff

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Garbageland by Elizabeth Royte: where does all that trash go?

What's in your CD player right now?

The Mars Volt, "Francis the Mute"

What's the last great book you read?

Pale Fire and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -- I'm on a Nabokov kick right now. Pnin is next.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Dirt. Most of my free time is spent digging holes and filling them back in.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Crash, the movie

What's in your CD player right now?

test pressing of my latest recorded CD

What's the last great book you read?

N.Y. Times daily
Sunday book review

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

baseball
N.Y. Times crossword puzzles

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Martin McDonagh's "The Lieutenant of Inishmore"

What's in your CD player right now?

The Ike Reilly Assassination,
Sparkle in the Finish,
Chicago Rock

What's the last great book you read?

Black Mischief, Evelyn Waugh
Please Don't Come Back From the Moon, Dean Bakopoulos

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Futurist loves, um. History. Local. U.S. World. I live in a house built in 1820 Just read the JW Booth book Manhunt

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I just finished "John Adams" by David McCullough. I was surprised that such a long book could hold my interest, but wow! McCullough painted such a detailed and itneresting picture of Adams and the real unsung hero of the book, his wife, Abigail. Before that, "Devil in the White City" and "Shadow Divers." Both great books.

What's in your CD player right now?

"The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. I love books on tape. Other than that, for music, I'm stuck in the 80s.

What's the last great book you read?

See above

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Heavy Metal when I'm working out. The harder the better. But only in the gym. I'm also a lover of historic fiction -- very specific genre, but a great one.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"The Constant Gardener"

What's in your CD player right now?

Rosetta Stone French Lessons

What's the last great book you read?

Memoirs of a Geisha The Da Vinci Code

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

solitude

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The last thing I read that surprised me was a website

What's in your CD player right now?

Oumu Sangare

What's the last great book you read?

Power Of Now

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

That I would admit that that was the last great book I read

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Everything is Illuminated

What's in your CD player right now?

Brahms Fourth Symphony

What's the last great book you read?

Hawaii

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

gardening

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Wooster Group, Emperor Jones

What's in your CD player right now?

Miles Davis, Walkin', Glenn Gould Well-Tempered Clavier

What's the last great book you read?

Leonid Tsipkin's Dostoyevsky at Baden Baden, Genghis Khan biography

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Rice Krispies

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Known World, by Edward P. Jones

What's in your CD player right now?

La Lupe, Nina Simone & Ghostface Killah

What's the last great book you read?

The Known World

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Books: Roberto Clemente's biography

What's in your CD player right now?

It's an iPod... Fania All Stars

What's the last great book you read?

Clinton's biography

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

LOVE watching dog shows, although I don't own a dog

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Books: Everyman, Philip Roth
1491 -- historical view of North and South America before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann
Movies: Russian Ark

What's in your CD player right now?

Mark Knopfler/Richard Thompson/Rudy Vallee

What's the last great book you read?

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Italy

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Everyman, Philip Roth

What's in your CD player right now?

Art Tatum

What's the last great book you read?

"A Writer's Life," Gay Talese

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Rembrandt

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

BBC series, Rocketman
episode of The West Wing dealing with John Spencer's death

What's in your CD player right now?

The Cody Carpenter Band
James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover"
Tyrone Wells "All That I Can Do"

What's the last great book you read?

Valley of Bones by Michael Gruber

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

hour-long BBC series television
mystery novels

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

A Life in the Theater, by David Mamet, at the Goodman Theater in Chicago

What's in your CD player right now?

Side by Side by Sondheim

What's the last great book you read?

Challenger Park, by Stephen Harrigan

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

country music

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Take the Lead" -- I've heard that Antonio Banderas' new film is terrific! I look forward to seeing it.

What's in your CD player right now?

Nigel Kennedy, Beethoven Violin Concerto
Fred Astaire film music
Duets with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald

What's the last great book you read?

I'm Not the Boss -- I Just Work Here by Howard Jonas

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Mongolian throat music

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The History Boys, by Alan Bennett
"Untold Stories" by Alan Bennett

What's in your CD player right now?

"Ten Easy Pieces" by Jimmy Webb

What's the last great book you read?

Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bagpipes!

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The Dice Man

What's in your CD player right now?

Rilo Kiley
The Velvet Teen -- Elysian
Life in Slow Motion -- David Greys
Bright Eyes

What's the last great book you read?

The Plot Against America -- Phillip Roth
The Book of Joe -- Jonathan Tropper

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

my small dog that should belong to a woman or a gay man

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Just finished Sam the Cat by Matthew Klam -- short stories, wonderful writing

What's in your CD player right now?

Amos Lee

What's the last great book you read?

On Beauty -- by Zadie Smith

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

tennis

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Andrew Harvey, The Last Minor
biography of Eleanor Duse (old)
complete works of Truman Capote
(a Hawaiian book I can't -- memory block! -- recall)
tv miniseries, Italian, "Best of Youth" (4th time)

What's in your CD player right now?

Chet Baker -- Mozart wind music -- "Jersey Boys" soundtrack
Chairasia

What's the last great book you read?

The Last Minor, Andrew Harvey

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

old country music (real, pre-Vegas)

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Albert Brooks' "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" is a terrific, funny movie
James Risen's "State of War" is an astonishing and important book

What's in your CD player right now?

Steve Earle's "The Revolution Starts Now"
Johnny Cash's "Fulsom Prison Blues"

What's the last great book you read?

Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Texas Longhorn football

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Walk the Line"

What's in your CD player right now?

Johnny Cash's greatest hits

What's the last great book you read?

All the King's Men (best book)
Turning Angel (latest)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

geography — love maps; John D. Macdonald's Travis McGee mysteries

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking

What's in your CD player right now?

the new Neil Diamond CD

What's the last great book you read?

Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

false eye lashes

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

film Junebug

What's in your CD player right now?

Oh Brother Where Art Thou

What's the last great book you read?

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

also, re-read The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

South Park

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Rebecca Miller's film, The Ballad of Jack and Rose

What's in your CD player right now

Dan Zanes, Jump Up (music for kids! that's not annoying)

What's the last great book you read?

Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Babylon. Saddam turned it into an amusement park, Six Flags Over Mebuchadnezzar, with moats, boats, picnic tables. In a few years, if we're lucky, Babylon will be the newest Lonely Planet hotspot

What's in your CD player right now

Kim Rickey, Bittersweet

What's the last great book you read?

Jim Crace, Quarantine

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

ESPN's Pardon the Interruption

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

book: The Case Against America

movie: King Kong

What's in your CD player right now

a mix my daughter made for me, from Motown to James Taylor

What's the last great book you read?

Kite Runner

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

sappy movies; I cry as soon as the music crescendos

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Ballet Russes:" an extraordinary documentary about commitment and true dedication and the absolute love of the arts -- the need to be connected

What's in your CD/iPod player right now

Greek music

What's the last great book you read?

"A Million Little Pieces"

currently reading the delightful "The Ponder Heart" by Eudora Welty

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

"Amazing Race" (not the family edition)

What have you read or seen recently

Heroes by Tom Stoppard at the Wyndham's Theater in the West End

What's in your CD player right now

Fauré's Requiem

What's the last great book you read?

Richard Eyre's diary, National Service

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Driving very fast

What have you read or seen recently

"Ballet Rusees" - terrific movie about the tours of the Russian ballet in the US, with amazing interviews with the dancers, many still full engaged - utterly alive - in their 80s and even 90s.

What's in your CD player right now

Aretha Franklin - "So Damn Happy"

What's the last great book you read?

Great is a big word - but books that left a big impression were Bezmozgis's short story collection - Natasha. The collected correspondence of poets Robert Duncan and Denise Levertou - and John Ashbert's new essay collection.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Gladys Knight and the Pips

What have you read or seen this fall (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley and Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

What's in your CD player right now

Satchmo — for my grandchild (and us)

What's the last great book you read?

Out of Africa

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

poker

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"The Weeping Camel" and "March of the Penguins"

What's in your CD player right now

The Last Piano Sonatas of Franz Schubert

What's the last great book you read?

Here is Where We Meet by John Berger
The poetry of Deborah Digges
The Extensive Record of Dogen Zenji

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Growing palm trees

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The issues of the Paris Review, of course.

What's in your CD player right now?

The new Bob Dylan bootleg series—No Direction Home—and the fabulous mix cd that comes with the current music issue of the magazine The Oxford American.

What's the last great book you read?

Marilynne Robinson's Gilead

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I don't know what people might expect, but I'm a big fan of funny writing.

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Million Dollar Baby"

What's in your CD player right now?

Buckethead
The Roots

What's the last great book you read?

Behold a Pale Horse, by William Cooper
The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Motor Cross, Demolition Derby, also the Rodeo.

What have you read or seen this winter (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

All the conflict around the world.

What's in your CD player right now?

Sonny Rollins: Live Radio Broadcast Europe

What's the last great book you read?

Footprints, by Wayne Shorter

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Avant garde jazz.

What have you read or seen this winter (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Batman Begins"
"March of the Penguins" "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

What's in your CD player right now?

A collection of classical jazz. I also enjoy classical music to relax to.

What's the last great book you read?

Jack the Ripper: Final Solution, which I found very interesting if, predictably, inconclusive.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

For no reason I can think of, I collect books and memorabilia relating to serial killers.

What have you read or seen this winter that moved or surprised you

After Ashley

What's in your CD player right now

Soul on Top, James Brown

What's the last great book you read?

Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads, by Greil Marcus

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Flamenco guitar

What have you read or seen this winter that moved or surprised you

Raising Your Spirited Child
"The Motorcycle Diaries"
"My Flesh and Blood"

What's in your CD player right now

The Boatman's Call, Nick Cave

What's the last great book you read?

The Star of Redemption, Franz Rosenzweig

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Folk dancing

What have you read or seen this summer that moved or surprised you

Movie: Sideways
Book: Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill by Gretchen Rubin

What's in your CD player right now

Something by Frank Sinatra

What's the last great book you read?

Franklin and Winston, by Jon Meacham
Or, in 1943, A Tale of Two Cities

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Great orators

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Sir Walter Raleigh, by Raleigh Trevelyan. Such a rich look into his life.

What's in your CD player right now

Black Eyed Peas. Erik Satie.

What's the last great book you read?

John Adams by David McCullough

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Folding knives.

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"The Bourne Supremacy"

What's in your CD player right now

The Lamont Cranston Blues Band. Specials-Lit

What's the last great book you read?

Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Simon Sebag Montefiore

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Gene Dolls-based on the actress Gene Tierney

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"The Control Room"

What's in your CD player right now

Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl

What's the last great book you read?

Atonement, Ian McEwan

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Baseball

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Fortress of Solitude, by Jonathan Lethem.

What's in your CD player right now

Domenico +2

What's the last great book you read?

The Known World, Edward P. Jones

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Opera

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Saw the British Open in Scotland live-fan support there was amazing.

What's in your CD player right now

Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles

What's the last great book you read?

The Dice Man, Luke Rhinehart

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Scrabble!

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Fahrenheit 9/11"

What's in your CD player right now

Musicology, Prince

What's the last great book you read?

The Age of Wire and String: Stories, Ben Marc us

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Sex in the City

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Coffee and Cigarettes"

What's in your CD player right now

The Best of Ernest Tubb

What's the last great book you read?

The Proud Tower, Barbara Tuchman

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Heather Locklear

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Air Guitar, by Dave Hickey

What's in your CD player right now

Bells, Brian Eno

What's the last great book you read?

Autobiography of Red, Anne Carson

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Dog shows and martial arts

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Bus 174

What's in your CD player right now

Songs for the Long, Lonely Drive, The Poem Adept
Revolutions Per Minute, Rise Against
OK Go, OK Go
Rose, The Race

What's the last great book you read?

Clumsy, Jeff Brown

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

The Detroit Pistons

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Atonement, by Ian McEwan

What's in your CD player right now

The audio disc that comes with McSweeney's Future Dictionary of America(I'm trying to listen to more recent music than my usual 1920s fare).

What's the last great book you read?

Jimmy Corrigan, by Chris War

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Maria Full of Grace"

"Fahrenheit 9/11"

What's in your CD player right now

Counting Crows

James Taylor

Robert Glasper

What's the last great book you read?

Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Salsa dancing

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon

What's in your CD player right now

Latin/African music

What's the last great book you read?

Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, by Sara Wheeler

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Politics

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Princess Diaries II.

What's in your CD player right now

Fountains of Wayne

What's the last great book you read?

David Copperfield (not quite finished, though)

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Tuna melts

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The Manchurian Candidate.

What's in your CD player right now

Rod Stewart

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Law and Order

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The film Collateral.

What's in your CD player right now

Black Magic, by Jimmy Cliff

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Boxing

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The film One Great Leap

What's in your CD player right now

Miles Davis playing "Nature Boy"

What's the last great book you read?

This Is the Beat Generation, by James Campbell

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Fado Music from Portugal

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Mercy Among the Children, by David Adams Richards

The Extra Man, by Jonathan Ames

"Fahrenheit 9/11"

What's in your CD player right now

Wilco's A Ghost is Born

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Horticulture

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Capturing the Friedmans"

What's in your CD player right now

I switch between Pippin and The Fantasticks for inspiration.

What's the last great book you read?

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Food. I live for food. And sculpture. And shopping.

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

The Butterfly Effect

What's in your CD player right now

Motown

What's the last great book you read?

The Death of Right and Wrong, by Tammy Bruce

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

Harley Davidson Motorcycle "stuff"

Dr. Laura Schessinger on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Cirque du Soleil

What's in your CD player right now

My daughter's road tape-Blind Faith, Cream, Steppenwolf, Donovan, etc.

What's the last great book you read?

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, by James Reston

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect

The Simpsons

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?
Sweeney Todd

What's in your CD player right now?
Jack Johnson; Sarah McLaughlin

What's the last great book you read?
Ian McEwan, "Saturday"

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

photos of Katrina aftermath in The New Yorker magazine

What's in your CD player right now

Count Basie — Basie Jam
Bass Lines Study CD

What's the last great book you read?

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

the craft of assistance in the service industry—people who have become very good at their jobs and beyond the call of normal duty

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Grizzly Man"

What's in your CD player right now?

epeche Mode (Violator)

What's the last great book you read?

Thomas Mann's The Glass Castle

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Duran Duran

What have you read seen or recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

The documentary, "Southern Comfort" — enormously moving — surprising the scope of human experience and insight. Beautiful. Affirming one's sense of humanity.

What's in your CD/iPod player right now?

Beck — The Golden Age

What's the last great book you read?

"Jane Eyre"
"What Would Jane Do?"

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Anything Paul Thomas Anderson has done or will do. Genius man.

What have you read or seen recently (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Belgium Essays, by Charlotte Bronte
Re-read Ariel by Sylvia Plath

What's in your CD player right now?

the last act of Wagner's "Parsifal"
before that it was "Italian Arias" by Maria Callas

What's the last great book you read?

"A Night of Serious Drinking" by Rene Daumal

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

opera

What have you read or seen recently?

I watched the film "Rushmore" - again - and was thrilled by how good it is - and how uniquely strange and generous.

What's in your CD player right now?

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Tepid Peppermint

What's the last great book you read?

Bruce Wagner The Chrysanthemum Palace

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The Hanshin Tigers - the Osaka baseball team

What have you read or seen this fall (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

"Million Dollar Baby"

What's in your CD player right now?

Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Dinah Washington

What's the last great book you read?

The Bible

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Horses and gardening

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

I watched the entire five seasons of "The Sopranos" on DVD. I'd never seen it before. It is the greatest TV show of all time.

What's in your CD player right now?

I have an iPod, so I haven't used a CD player for some time. I have allmy old favorites on it: Dylan, Springsteen, Bowie. New stuff includesAnthony and the Johnsons, Killers, Athlete.

What's the last great book you read?

Catcher in the Rye

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Autumn, puppies, the smile on a mother's face, mercy, world peace, no...scrap those...I like cheese best.

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Mad Hot Ballroom"
"Born into Brothels"
Just Let Me Play, by Charles Sifford

What's in your CD player right now?

Wonderland—Bobbito Garcia's Stevie Wonder Supermix
Best of Ella
Wu-Tang Clan
Tony Touch's Reggatony
La Playa Sextet

What's the last great book you read?

Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Broadway Show Tunes

What have you read or seen this winter (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Films: "Crimson Gold,"
Panahi "Touche pas au Grisby," Jacques Becker
Books: Wu Tang Manual,
Rza At Days Close: Night in Times Past, by A. Roger Ekirch

What's in your CD player right now?

Coco Rosie: La Maison de Mon Reve Albert Ayler Box Set Ali Farka Toure (various recordings)
Rza: The Formula for the Cure Merle Haggard: Greatest Hits

What's the last great book you read?

Scientific Dialogues with the Dalai Lama
Oklahoma Tough: My Father, King of the Tulsa Bootleggers, Ron Padgett

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Mycology (the study of mushrooms/fungi)

What have you read or seen this winter that moved or surprised you

"Hotel Rwanda"
"Ray"
"Spanglish" Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, A. Scott Berg

What's in your CD player right now?

Mozart
Beethoven
Rachmaninoff
Louis Armstrong
Nat King Cole
Julio Iglesias

What's the last great book you read?

The Notebooks of Captain Georges, Jean Renoir

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Tap dancing

Gene Wilder on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this winter that moved or surprised you?

The Guantanamo Play (London production)

What's in your CD player right now?

A mix of Miles Davis and Bach

What's the last great book you read?

Orientalism, by Edward Sayed

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

The squirrels in central park

What have you read or seen this fall (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you?

Film: Finding Neverland
Wild Swans, Jung Chang
To The Last Man, Jeffrey M. Shaara

What's in your CD player right now?

Show tunes

What's the last great book you read?

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Ice Hockey

Christine Todd Whitman on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this fall (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Sideways," Alexander Payne's movie. He's always made interesting films, but this one is something special. Wary, sad, funny.

What's in your CD player right now?

More Adventurous, by Rilo Kiley. Discovered yesterday, played to death already today.

What's the last great book you read?

Bob Dylan's Chronicles. I wasn't expecting such a smart, bright book about consuming art, books, music.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Well,I don't know. To me, there's no difference between what I do and whatDickens does. But I guess other people might not see it that way. So,Dickens!

Nick Hornby on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"SpongeBob SquarePants"—the movie.

What's in your CD player right now?

Miles Davis, Live at the Plugged Nickel

What's the last great book you read?

Master of the Senate, Robert Caro

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Outkast

Barack Obama on the Lopate Show

What's in your CD player right now?

Salif Keita, Moffou
Habib Koite

What's the last great book you read?

The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat

Les Bibliques des derniers gestes, Patrick Chamoiseau

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bubble Milk Green Tea

Emeline Michel on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Assassins"

What's in your CD player right now?

Sweeney Todd

What's the last great book you read?

Ridiculous!: The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam, David Kaufman

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Mexican Wrestling

Victoria Roberts on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Dark Star Safari, by Paul Theroux
"Big Fish"

What's in your CD player right now?

A CD mix made by my 29 year-old daughter.

My Baby Don't Tolerate, by Lyle Lovett
Rickie Lee Jones
1940's and 1950's jazz at the L.A. Jazz Bakery
Piano Concerto by Rachmaninov

What's the last great book you read?

The Human Stain, Philip Roth

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

This American Life and A Prairie Home Companion

Phil Jackson on the Lopate Show

Claire Danes in Stage Beauty

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce. Quite dense, but deeply revealing.

What's in your CD player right now?

Chet Baker, The Velvet Underground, Hank Williams

What's the last great book you read?

Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy
Bullet Park, John Cheever

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Children's shows like Teletubbies and Degrassi Jr. High

Claire Danes on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Embedded", by Tim Robbins. I found its anger surprising—it reminded me of how polarized things have become in the US.

What's in your CD player right now?

Eric Satie

What's the last great book you read?

Brighton Rock, Graham Greene

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Taxidermy. I was a volunteer taxidermist as a teenager at the Smithsonian in D.C.

Jon Lee Anderson on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

Slava's Show Show (clown performance)
Blindness, Jose Saramago

What's in your CD player right now?

A Ghost is Born, Wilco

What's the last great book you read?

Garden, Ashes, Danilo Kis

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Dogs

Jonathan Safran Foer on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

The U2 boat discovered off NJ

What's in your CD player right now?

Life on a String, Laurie Anderson

What's the last great book you read?

Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Sourdough rye bread (I'm a secret baker)

Barbara London on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc.) that moved or surprised you

"Collateral"
"Spider-Man 2"

What's in your CD player right now?

Dinah Washington

What's the last great book you read?

The Masterpiece, Emile Zola

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Sade

Philip Lopate on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

Tracy Letts' Bug

What's in your CD player right now?

Kings of Leon

What's the last great book you read?

In the Hand of Dante, Nick Tosches

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Gilbert and Sullivan

Steve Earle on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

The Leopard
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

What's in your CD player right now?

Bach's "Brandenburg" Concertos

What's the last great book you read?

The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Bobby McFerrin and Mark Morris

Frances Sternhagen on the Lopate Show

What's in your CD player right now?

Rusalka, by Antonín Dvorak

What's the last great book you read?

The Odyssey

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Irish Poetry

Gary Hart on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, by Jon Krakauer

What's in your CD player right now?

Hymns of the 49th Parallel, k.d. lang

What's the last great book you read?

How to Build a Tin Canoe: Confessions of an Old Salt, by Robb White
A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

I am a huge golf fan and am in love with John Daly.

Linda Greenlaw on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

A Multitude of Sins, by Richard Ford

What's in your CD player right now?

Aja, by Steely Dan

What's the last great book you read?

His Lovely Wife, the near–finished manuscript of my wife—Elizabeth Dewberry.

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Sumo wrestling.

Robert Olen Butler on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

"Fahrenheit 9/11"

"The Corporation"

What's in your CD player right now?

Talking Book, by Stevie Wonder

Laura Dern on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

  Food of the Gods, by Terence McKenna

Stalking the Wild Pendulum, by Itzhak Ben tov

What's in your CD player right now?

Crosby, Stills, and Nash

What's the last great book you read?

Timebends, by Arthur Miller

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Crayons and paper. Also solar power, but you might have expected that.

Peter Krause on the Lopate Show

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

Jerry Springer: The Opera

What's in your CD player right now?

Old U2 albums

What's the last great book you read?

War is a Force That Gives us Meaning, by Chris Hedges

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Pink Floyd

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

The Frogs

What's in your CD player right now?

Berlioz: Requiem

What's the last great book you read?

Obliviously On He Sailed: The Bush Administration in Rhyme, by Calvin Trillin

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Elm trees—I inject them against elm disease.

What have you read or seen this summer (book, play, film, etc...) that moved or surprised you?

Punchline, starring Tom Hanks and Sally Field

What's in your CD player right now?

ABBA's Greatest Hits

What's the last great book you read?

How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

What's one thing you're a fan of that people might not expect?

Ballroom dancing