Growing up, I read the classics—John Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald.

Steinbeck told great stories, Hemingway wrote with precision, Fitzgerald with elegance.

I also read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I thought it was fascinating until I realized the philosophy beneath it – corporations ruling the world – didn’t sit right with me.

I read a lot of nonfiction, too. John Fowles’ The Magus was a big one for me. It parallels Dickens’ Great Expectations – both about illusion and self-deception. I read a lot of Dickens.

Recently, I’ve been rereading Cormac McCarthy – his prose construction is breathtaking in its simplicity. No Country for Old Men is a masterclass in clean, musical writing. When I reread All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, I’m struck every time—the first 40 pages are some of the most beautiful prose in English.