photo: CNN
Interviewer №1 about the books that he loves
“The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly
“I read every crime novel by Michael Connelly, who I think is the best.”
Larry King on Reddit.com
Between his two most popular characters, the dour detective Harry Bosch and brash attorney Mickey Haller, Connelly has hit on a definite Book of the Times. Murder brings the two characters together, who dislike each other based on similarities rather than opposite characteristics. Haller has inherited a dead attorney’s cases, and Bosch is in charge of finding out why he died. Haller must find out whether or not a new high-profile Hollywood client is hiding information, and Bosch has to find out if Lincoln Lawyer bait will bring the sharks into the open.
“One Summer: America, 1927” by Bill Bryson
Larry King on Reddit.com
1927 was a busy year, between the Atlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh, a great baseball season with Babe Ruth, and the strangled husband of a Queens Village housewife. Ruth Snyder later took up temporary residence in Sing Sing. However, politicians such as Calvin Coolidge seemed to take things easy, while others had to clean up from a disastrous flood in Mississippi. This era of Al Capone’s sharp and illegal dealings and ‘talking’ pictures shares space with bankers’ decisions in Long Island that brought on the Great Depression. If anything, Bryson’s book proves that the former glory days had much of our current age’s trouble and action.
“Life Itself: A Memoir” by Roger Ebert
Larry King on Reddit.com
After over twenty years of film critique, and after a bout with thyroid cancer, Ebert launched out into the world of autobiography. From journalism in the small town of Urbana, Illinois, Ebert traces his steps forward into the Chicago Sun-Times and co-authorship with Russ Meyer on the cult film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Some of the usual fare exists, from alcoholism and marriage to politics and religious views. Movie buffs will enjoy the personal anecdotes of John Wayne and Martin Scorsese, and life philosophers will be interested to hear a critic’s thoughts on the importance of happiness.
“Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger
Larry King on Reddit.com
Also recommended by Haruki Murakami, Bill Gates
Catcher in the Rye is undoubtfully a classical work of the American literature and is very popular in “Top 10 books” lists. This novel was the peak of J.D. Salinger’s career, as after it was published, he decided to live a life of a hermit. The main character being an expelled student named Holden Caulfield, the book is a first-person story written in the accordingly stylized language. Though he is just 16, he encounters many events that tend to preclude adults. Catcher in the Rye is about a youth of 1960-s,but it is still actual today.
“How to Overthrow the Government” by Arianna Huffington
“Every elected official should be forced to read it.”
Larry King
Quoting sections of the Declaration of Independence, Huffington moves beyond political commentary toward encouraging a shift away from the status quo of a divided and ineffective government. Moral and political decay have become indistinguishable, and this President and Chief Editor of the Huffington Post urges citizens to restore power to a government that better reflects the wishes of the people – rather than the elite. Both campaign finance reform and civil disobedience are reviewed and detailed, with pointers toward existing groups of activists already engaged in anti-establishment work.
