"This is about a young man who goes to a sanitarium in the Swiss Alps to visit his tubercular cousin and winds up staying there for seven years. To paraphrase the Stefon character from SNL, “it’s got everything: love, illness, art, philosophy, religion…”"

"In High School I was working at Waldenbooks when this book came in, it wasn't until years later that I realized emulating Edie Sedgwick and dying face-down on my pillow, high on drugs, might not be the most glamorous way to go."

"This novel about a young man’s seven years in a sanitarium for tuberculosis is quite possibly my favorite book of all time. A new translation from the German by John E. Woods in 1996 makes this marvelous read more beautiful than ever."

"I have a signed copy of “My Father’s Glory” that was given by Pagnol to my father. The author and filmmaker’s story of his youth in the hills of Provence reminds me of many summers I spent there in my early years. "

"This book means so much to me — I remember when Perry was taking these photos in Dublin 20 years ago. Ogden is sincere about the subject, and captures the natural beauty of the Dublin people, and the human connection between man and horse."

"It’s so corny, but it was the first film I saw and the thing about the mother hit me really badly. I remember it was a good connection with my sister, who was fifteen years older. I was about 5 or 6.”"

"In my formative years I was completely taken by this combination of low life, stage pantomime and romantic twizzle. Jean-Louis Barrault, Etienne Decroux, Arletty and Pierre Brasseur on the boulevard of crime. Now, in my dotage, I like it more than ever."

"One of the most talked about books of the last couple of years, and for good reason. Both sobering and conservatively optimistic in equal measure, it seems even more relevant for us at the moment to learn from our socio-anthropological history."