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)