The Comprehensive and Encyclopedic Conor Oberst Reading Guide: books featured in Oberst's lyrics and books he's talked about in interviews. Lyrics and links provided to cite my sources, cover my ass, etc.

Lyrics:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (“Tereza and Tomas” from Letting Off The Happiness)
Mitchell Is Moving by Majorie Weinman Sharmat (“A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever, and A Necklace” from Fevers and Mirrors)
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe (“Jetsabel Removes The Undesirables” from Fevers and Mirrors)
Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann (“Neely O’Hara” from Every Day and Every Night)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (“Four Winds” from Cassadaga)
The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger (“Lover I Don’t Have To Love” from Lifted)
White Noise by Don Delillo (“Gold Mine Gutted” from Digital Ash In A Digital Urn and “Napalm” from Salutations)
Author J. A. Hobson (“Light Pollution” from Digital Ash In A Digital Urn)
The Power Of Myth by Joseph Campbell (“Soul Singer In A Session Band” from Cassadaga)
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (“If The Brakeman Turns My Way” from Cassadaga)
Author Hunter S. Thompson (“Roosevelt’s Room” from Outer South and “Chesapeake” from Better Oblivion Community Center)
Author Ernest Hemingway (“Roosevelt’s Room” and “Common Knowledge” from Outer South and Upside Down Mountain, respectively)
The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov (“Synesthete Song” from Gentleman’s Pact)
Jules Verne (“Firewall” from The People’s Key)
The Myth Of Sisyphus by Albert Camus (“Shell Games” from The People’s Key)
Tree Of Smoke by Denis Johnson (“Haile Selassie” from The People’s Key)
The Book Of Hours (“Haile Selassie” from The People’s Key)
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki (“Beginner’s Mind” from The People’s Key)
Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut (“Napalm” from Salutations)
1984 by George Orwell (“Anonymous” from Payola)
Author Sylvia Plath (“A Little Uncanny” from Ruminations/Salutations)
Author Chirstopher Hitchens (“A Little Uncanny” from Ruminations/Salutations)
Author Oliver Sacks (“A Little Uncanny” from Ruminations/Salutations)
Author Dylan Thomas (“Dylan Thomas” from Better Oblivion Community Center)

Interviews:

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (interview, 2003)
God Is Red: A Native View Of Religion by Vine Deloria Jr. (interview, 2008)
Hail Mary, Full Of Holes by Simone Felice (interview, 2008)
Oryx and Crake and The Year Of The Flood by Margaret Atwood (interview, 2010)
Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (interview, 2010)
Author Rene Descartes (interview, 2011)
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (interview, 2011)
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick (interview, 2017)
The Power Of Now: A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle (interview, 2017)
Only Love Can Bring You Peace: Selected Lyrics by Simon Joyner (interview, 2017)
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zin (interview, 2017)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (interview, 2020)
Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson (interview, 2026)

The year of the flood

The year of the flood

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The year of the flood (2009)

The year of the flood (2009)