Author Archives: Paul Constant

The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq goes to Ryan Barrett. This is surely the most controversial book of the five, the one that a lot of people will hate. It’s fashionable to dislike Houellebecq nowadays, since Updike gave … Continue reading →

Our host, Levi Fuller, is the only one of these musicians I’d met before I started this project. And so I had some extra knowledge I could put toward the selection: I already knew he’s a great reader, and I … Continue reading →

Joshua Morrison gets another favorite of mine: The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. Readers of this book have to overcome a pair of misfortunes in order to discover what a gem it is: First of all, they have to care enough to … Continue reading →

So I assigned Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls by Matt Ruff to Johanna Kunin. (The first assignment is here.) This is probably the book I feel most connected to; a lot of this book takes place … Continue reading →

As Levi mentioned yesterday, he asked me to take part in his exciting new Songs about Books project. I interviewed the five musicians who volunteered for the job, and picked books for them to write songs about. For the next … Continue reading →