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Every book Woody Allen recommended on podcasts

3 books · 1 episode across 1 podcast

Woody Allen appears on Honestly with Bari Weiss, reflecting candidly on his life, career, and long-standing relationship with storytelling. Discussing the scale of his own literary output, Woody humorously contrasts his writing with Fyodor Dostoevsky's massive classic novel 'The Brothers Karamazov,' noting that he simply does not possess the physical or creative size for such monumental literature. During a lightning round of questions, Woody shares a surprising perspective on reading, revealing that throughout his life he largely viewed reading as homework. He identifies only two books that he genuinely enjoyed reading for pleasure: J. D. Salinger's 'The Catcher in the Rye' and Ira Levin's thriller 'A Kiss Before Dying.' These rare exceptions stand out in a lifetime mostly defined by filmmaking, writing screenplays, and viewing other literary classics through an academic or burdensome lens. Woody's remarks offer a rare, idiosyncratic look into his personal tastes, stripping away pretense to reveal a surprisingly sparse list of books that genuinely captured his imagination outside of his own prolific creative endeavors.