Justin Average asked Robin Rinaldi:

Hi. You mention classic literature several times in your memoir (George Eliot, Lao Tzu, Dostoyevsky...). Which books and authors were/are important in your life?

Robin Rinaldi Hi Justin. I tend to go back and forth between classic and modern authors. My two favorite classic authors are Tolstoy and George Eliot, both for the same reason: I consider them masters of the psychological. I could re-read "Anna Karenina" endlessly and still be amazed at how slowly and patiently Tolstoy builds the complete worlds of Anna and Levin and uses them for contrast. And when I first read Eliot's "Middlemarch," I dog-eared every tenth page for some long brilliant paragraph illuminating human relationships and expectations. I'm also a huge fan of Kundera, Franzen, and most recently, Elena Ferrante. I've spent the last few months reading everything she's ever written. Her books are fiercely honest accounts of womanhood. Thanks for asking!

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