Favorite Classic:
The Portable Chekhov

"I love the short stories of Chekhov. Beautiful, heart-wrenching, funny, mysterious, very simple—they're about human contradictions and fallibility. If I had to pick one, it would be "The Kiss.""

Favorite Poet:
Keith Douglas Collected Poems

"Keith Douglas, a Second World War poet who died in his 20s in combat. He always spoke of how he felt this sense of impending doom. Had he lived, he would have been, with no doubt, the poet laureate. His poem "Vergissmeinnicht" ("Forget Me Not") is riveting and haunting—there's a terrible beauty to it."

What He's Going to Read Next:
Resistance by Owen Sheers

"It's about the Nazi invasion of this very small village in Wales. I'm in Los Angeles, and it's in a pile of books on my nightstand in London.'"

— As told to M Healey

More Books That Made a Difference

• John Cusack
• Jay-Z
• Jon Hamm