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I avoid self-help books: Kalki Koechlin
Kalki Koechlin tells us which are her favourite books, what she reads while travelling and more.
Actor Kalki Koechlin opens up about her reading habits. Excerpts:
Which books are currently on your reading list?
Inferior by Angela Saini, Savaging the civilized by Ramachandra Guha and The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner.
Which was the best book you’ve read so far?
(Apart from all of Shakespeare’s work you mean!) God bless you Mr Rosewater-Kurt Vonnegut.
Which genres do you enjoy reading? Which do you avoid?
I like non-fiction, philosophy, poetry and novels. I avoid self-help books and cook books.
Which book do you think everyone should read at least once?
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.
What do you like to read when you travel?
Pulp, adventure or poetry.
Which is your favourite fairy tale or folk story?
The little Prince by Saint-Exupéry.
What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood stories have stayed with you?
All the classic fairytales my dad used to narrate to me when I was very young, the Frog prince was my favourite and I liked Thumbelina very much. Later, I would read fantasy. I particularly remember Magdalene L’Eagle’s books like A Wrinkle in Time.
If you had to name one book that made you who you are today, which would it be?
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and the poems of EE Cummings and Jacques Prévert (It’s impossible to name just one!).
Which author would you choose to write your life story?
Herman Hesse.
