Ask a reporter "what book shaped your life?" and you're likely to hear about more than one.
That was the case with four of our radio journalists 鈥� Sam Baker, Stella Chavez, Rachel Osier Lindley and Jerome Weeks 鈥� who recently got a chance to chat about exactly that.
This month, hosted a Coffee with 四虎影院 gathering with contest winners from a recent 四虎影院 membership drive. Sam, Stella, Rachel and Jerome discussed their work, how they got into radio and 鈥� you guessed it 鈥� books that they love.
They shared a list of more than a dozen favorite titles at the meet-and-greet. Here they go into one or two that have especially impacted them.
Sam Baker
Local Morning Edition host and health reporter | bio
禄 by Wilfrid Sheed
The title refers to Gershwin (George), Berlin (Irving), Porter (Cole) and dozens of others composers and lyricists whose work 鈥� largely for Broadway and movies 鈥� during the first half of the 20th century make up what鈥檚 been called the 鈥淕reat American Songbook.鈥�
Through individual profiles mixing historical research, keen insight, humor and lots of 鈥済ood dish,鈥� Sheed traces the evolution of American popular song, how jazz influenced its growth and what all of it says about America.
House works as a 鈥渟traight-through鈥� read, but each profile stands on its own, so you can dive in or even cherry-pick at will to great satisfaction.
鈥� Sam
More of Sam's favorite books:
- by Marc Myers
- by Maya Angelou
- by David Hajdu
- by Tad Hershorn
Stella Ch谩vez
Education and immigration reporter | bio
禄 and by Erik Larson
Erik Larson is one of my all-time favorite writers. He started out as a journalist, so I鈥檓 often drawn to writers who began their career that way.
As a narrative non-fiction writer, Larson masterfully draws the reader in. I鈥檓 always amazed at the amount of research he does for his books. It鈥檚 so extensive that when he writes, he puts you right there, in a particular place and time.
Reading his books is like reading a great novel. But you also learn about important historical events, like the deadly 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston or the sinking of a luxury ocean liner, the Lusitania during World War I.
鈥� Stella
More of Stella's favorite books:
- by Alfredo Corchado
- by Erika Sanchez
- by Candice Millard
- by Charles Yu
聽 聽 聽 聽 View this post on Instagram 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Had fun today at @halfpricebooks meeting @keratx listeners & talking about our favorite books and our job! #books #bookstagram #halfpricebooks #publicradio #reporterlife #meetandgreet A post shared by Stella M. Ch谩vez (@stellamchavez) on Dec 9, 2018 at 1:37pm PST
Rachel Osier Lindley
Statewide coordinating editor, Texas Station Collaborative | bio
禄 by Steve Brusatte
If you鈥檝e ever watched "Jurassic Park" and wished you could go back and walk among the dinosaurs, you鈥檒l love this book. The author paints a vivid picture of what the world was like millions of years ago. You鈥檒l learn a lot about dinosaurs and the ins and outs of how a modern paleontologist works and makes new discoveries. He uses his own experiences collecting bones in the field as an entryway into the past.
禄 by Michael Chabon
This book takes place in New York, before and after World War II. It follows two cousins who create a hit comic book superhero. It鈥檚 a thrilling, fantastical and immersive story, the kind of book that makes you want to leave a party so you can go home and read. The characters are larger-than-life, but Chabon breathes such life and detail into them that they feel like old friends. I recommend this book because it鈥檚 fun, while also being a deep look at human connection.
鈥� Rachel
More of Rachel's favorite books:
- by Robert McCammon
- by Stephen King
- by Bohumil Hrabal
- by Jeff Vandermeer
- by Rebecca Solnit
Jerome Weeks
Senior arts reporter, Art&Seek |
禄 by Otto Friedrich
City of Nets is one of the richest, most fascinating narrative histories of the movie industry. Friedrich did not set out to uncover new sources. Rather, he compiled many of the already extant memoirs, studies and histories into a complex narrative that intertwines the lives and creative output of directors, producers, actors, union leaders, mobsters and political opportunists.
Friedrich begins with what is often considered the peak year for the Hollywood studio system (1939, which saw the release of "Citizen Kane," "Stagecoach," "Gone with the Wind "and "The Wizard of Oz") through World War II and the immigration of great European talents 鈥� some of whom delighted in L.A., many of whom never fit in (the novelist Thomas Mann, the atonal composer Arnold Schoenberg, the playwright Bertolt Brecht).
We move through the battles with unions and the rise of the mob (and its move to Las Vegas) all the way up to 1949 and the arrival of the House Un-American Activities Committee investigation into the "Red" influence in Hollywood.
City of Nets is not just an indispensable study in understanding this American art form and culture factory; it鈥檚 a tremendously entertaining book to read, period.
鈥� Jerome
More of Jerome's favorites:
- by Henry Fielding
- by Taylor Branch
- by William Goldman
- by Julian Barnes
- by John Gregory Dunne
- by David Foster Wallace
- by Zadie Smith
- by A.S. Byatt
- by Don DeLillo
What shaped your life? stalwarts answer that Q and more at
— Rick Holter (@rickholter)
