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Article: Books that made a difference to James Frey: the Oprah's Book Club author has a soft spot for literary bad boys (Bret Easton Ellis, Henry Miller, Baudelaire). But where would he be without Lao-tzu?(reading room)(Tao Te Ching; Tropic of Cancer; Paris Spleen; Crossing; Rules of Attraction)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- O, The Oprah Magazine
- Article date:
- January 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Hearst Communications, reprinted with permission of Hearst. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I LOVE BOOKS. I LOVE LOOKING AT THEM, HOLDING THEM, staring at them, and shopping for them. When I was a child, I read everything I could get my hands on, usually to the detriment of whatever schoolwork I was supposed to do. As I got older, I kept reading. English was the only class I ever did well in.
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Through my late teens and early 20s, books were the only place I found peace from the mess of my life. After I cleaned up the mess, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I believed the best way to learn to write books was to read books, so I read, and still do, for two or three hours a day. I don't have specific tastes or try to focus ...