BEST AUTHOR BEST : DAVID ADJMI [2]

.-  What books are on your night stand?

I don't own a night stand, but I do have a desk across my bed that is presently overflowing with books I want to get to : '' Perfection,'' by Vincenzo Latronico; '' Honey '' by Victor Lodato.

'' The Silver Book '' by Olivia Laing; '' On the Calculation of Volume,'' by Solvej Balle; '' Committed '' by Suzanne Scanlon; '' Tragedy,'' by Terry Eagleton. [ Actually, I've already read this one but I like to keep it nearby for a project I am working on.]

.-  The best book about theater?

'' Prick Up Your Ears,'' by John Lahr, is the holy grail of playwright biographies - he's a great writer, and Joe Orton is a fascinating subject.

Any playwright who isn't brought to tears by the last third of Moss Hart's '' Act One '' [ where he finally figures out how to fix his play ] is made of stone.

Oh, and I am right now midway through Katie Kitamura's riveting, eerily spare '' Audition.''

.-  Are there any classic novels that you only recently read for the first time?

During Covid I finally sat down to read both '' Middlemarch '' and ''War and Peace '' and it was such a luxury '' Oh wait, Covid was five years ago - does that still count as recent ?"

.-  Your favorite book no one else has heard of ?

'' Pursuits of Happiness,'' by Stanley Cavell, which looks at classic Hollywood screwball comedies through the lens of philosophers like Hegel and Kant.

Groundbreaking when it was written and still immensely pleasurable if you dig that sort of thing [ I do ].

.-  It's hard enough to read a play script and get a lot out of it. Your play also includes a lot of music.  How would you recommend a reader approach '' Stereophonic,'' the book?

Plays really do need the sensual immediacy of a production. But with this play, the music adds a whole other - really vital - dimension.

It's hard to get goose bumps from a stage direction like, '' And they play a song, and it's incredible!'' So I imagine it could be a fun experiment to listen to the Broadway cast recording as you read it to help simulate an actual theatrical event.

.-  What's the last book you recommended to a member of your family?

I know I asked my mother not to read my memoir but she didn't listen to me.

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.