"How could so profoundly sensitive a writer of beautiful English have been such an apparently shallow, even unpleasant, man? Whatever the answer, I re-read Waugh’s books again and again, mesmerized by the chiseled craftsmanship of every sentence. I could have chosen any of his books, but the Sword of Honor trilogy, an affectionately comic portrayal of the bungling chaos of military life, is perhaps my favorite."

"I am just starting this magnificent new biography of Paracelsus. Ball, who is almost as much a polymath as his subject, brings out not only the extraordinary intellect and character of the man, but all the intellectual and social and political currents of the 16th century. Even before finishing it, I can tell that this book will take its place among my favorite half-dozen science biographies."

"Most theatre actors learn to act doing Chekhov. His plays are a rite of passage. Fanatically popular, they are very hard to do well (in fact it rarely happens) but when you do hit a moment right in Chekhov's world, it brings you as close to the heart of humanity and beauty as you may ever get. “The Cherry Orchard” is a particular favorite."

"I bought this in 1985 and have read it constantly since. It is always near me. Wallace’s poems often reflect on the act of creating, and he evokes exquisite mental images that are thrilling. One of my favorite poems is “The Snow Man.” “For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.”"

"Jaws is my favorite film of all time. I’ve seen it about 30 times. Even though it has a ludicrous backdrop of them trying to find this Great White shark, I think it’s a film about people and relationships — and I just think the performances are fantastic. It has amazing characters and it has this very commercial, suspenseful backdrop, so I do think it’s a perfect movie."