Books Of Your Life With Elizabeth

Elizabeth talks to legendary fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, American Gods, the Sandman comic series and many other bestsellers. He's also the co-author of "Good Omens," which has just been adapted to TV by Amazon. He talks about "playing God" as a writer, about his friend and collaborator Terry Pratchett... and about the books that changed his life - including the children's book series that inspired him to start writing what would later become "Good Omens."

• Awakening Joy by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
• The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo
• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
• Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown

Jared Diamond, the author of Guns Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, invites Elizabeth into his Los Angeles home where he shares the books that have shaped his life. He speaks about Walden by Henry David Thoreau, If This is a Man by Primo Levi, Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and other books that reflect his adventures in New Guinea. They also discuss his latest book, Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis and why he remains optimistic for the future.

Author, editor and entrepreneur Will Schwalbe loves to talk about the books that have changed his life. He's written two books to the subject, The End of Your Life Book Club, which was about the books he read with his mother while she was dying, and Books for Living, about the role books can play in our lives and how they can show us how to live each day more fully and with more meaning. In this podcast he talks about a few gems: The Importance of Living, Giovanni's Room, A Little Life, and Why I Wake Early among others.

Author, essayist, art critic, and Guggenheim fellow Frederic Tuten discusses his memoir, My Young Life, Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, and why he doesn't want to live in a world without books.

*Our theme was composed by Mia Schettino. Additional music from Caius Cowgill's Atlas Orchestra and Podington Bear."

Podcaster, author, blogger, and very tall person Nora McInerny discusses her latest book, No Happy Endings, about how she found love again after her first husband Aaron died of brain cancer, and three other books that have shaped her life: Smashed: The Story of a Drunken Girlhood, Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food, and Man's Search for Meaning.

*Our theme was composed by Mia Schettino. Additional music from Caius Cowgill's Atlas Orchestra and Podington Bear."

Famed author, editor, publisher and activist Dave Eggers discusses his latest book, Parade, as well as the books that have shaped his life: Anna Karenina, Dune, Gulliver's Travels, The Adventures of Augie March, and the Voice of Witness series.

Prize-winning author Marlon James and Elizabeth discuss books that have changed his life: Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn, Shame by Salman Rushdie and Sula by Toni Morrison.

LeVar Burton and Elizabeth discuss books that have shaped his life, from Roots by Alex Haley to The Teachings of Don Juan series by Carlos Castaneda. Along the way, he spoke about his desire to live life as a "spiritual warrior," personal accountability, and the flexible nature of "truth" today.