The first novel by Melbourne-based author Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project, became a global bestseller after its 2014 publication, and the last in the trilogy, The Rosie Result, is out Tues., Feb. 5. Simsion tells WHO about his literary loves.
What’s the first book you remember reading?
The entire series of Noddy. I must have been about 5. I just loved the idea that I could read on my own. And I used to copy out all of Noddy’s little songs painstakingly.
What do you read on holiday?
Non-fiction. It feels like a guilty pleasure. When I’m reading fiction, I’m looking at how it’s done.
What book do you always return to?
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps. It’s a spiritual book. I’m not a Zen adherent but it was given to me by someone who was and he said, “You can’t approach this like a normal book, you have to let it soak in,” and I’ve soaked it in over a number of years.
What book would you have loved to have written?
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s a very clever book about the commonalities between computer science, mathematics, painting and music. [It] became a bit of a cult book for computer people, which is what I was back in the day.