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Amanda Palmer

Top Ten Books

Thanks to an explosively theatrical performance style, Amanda Palmer has carved a niche for herself as one of America’s most galvanizing musicians, both as one half of The Dresden Dolls and in her solo career. She has said, “What I do comes from a deep desire to be seen and to see others.” Her now famous Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for her second solo album, Theater is Evil, raised $1.2 million, giving rise to a TED talk and a bestselling book, The Art of Asking. Below are Amanda Palmer’s favorite books, available to purchase as a set or individually. See the full list...

10

Dropping Ashes on the Buddha

Seung Sahn

This was one of those life-changing books that finally popped the light off in my little brain, when I read this at 24. These are mostly letters to students, and Seung Sahn writes in this funny, broken-invented English way that screams off the page to be understood; there is nothing clever. I gave it to all my friends. This led us to start email chains for the past few years that now sign off: "ALL THE TIME JUST SAY: DON'T KNOWWWWW" (to be read in Korean accent).

9

The Hotel New Hampshire

John Irving

The first book I ever read that made me jump up and down in bed and pump my fist while reading. It was a physical reaction. I could not help it. I love this book, love this family, love this man's writing. The film's not bad, either. It's a supplement.

8

Steppenwolf

Hermann Hesse

When I was 15, I was in love. At 17, I told him I'd probably sleep with another man if given the chance. He left me in that moment, on the town green, after two years of non-stop passion. He moved to Prague. Seven weeks later, a blank brown packaged arrived with a book in it. No dedication. Another life-changer. Now that I'm married to a fantasy author, I'm not sure why this book isn't filed in fantasy. I was tricked; I don't read fantasy. But this book has a fantastical realism that pierces to the bottom of the psyche. I've re-read and re-read this sucker every five years since then, and I always read a different book.
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Caitlin Moran
$204.87
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll
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Doug Rushkoff
$168.95
Cosmic Trigger

Robert Anton Wilson
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John Irving
$156.93
Fifth Business

Robertson Davies
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Julie Klausner
$172.83
I Lost it at the Movies

Pauline Kael
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Alice Waters
$238.80
Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair

Carlo Petrini
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Penny Arcade
$168.54
The Quiet American

Graham Greene
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Alan Hollinghurst
$171.79
The Blue Flower

by Penelope Fitzgerald
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Edmund White
$168.90
The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Richard Flanagan
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Sarah Waters
$160.64
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm