It should surprise no one who’s read “House of Lies” — or seen the new Showtime series of the same name, starring Don Cheadle — that Kihn’s scathing indictment of the world of corporate consulting didn’t go down well with corporate consultants. Which is partly why Kihn is now living in Minnesota instead of Manhattan, a town he’ll probably never power-breakfast in again. Kihn laughs at the thought. “I moved here partly because of my wife, who’s from here,” he says, “but in terms of consulting, the book absolutely ended my consulting career.” But life’s been better since the TV show, he says. His former colleagues like him again. “I guess it makes consultants look sexy.” Here’s what’s in his library.
Libra
by Don DeLillo
It was in the ’80s when I first read this extraordinarily beautiful and vivid fictionalization of the JFK assassination. I was writing for Spy magazine then and was new to New York, and DeLillo has a vivid opening about someone riding on the subway, looking out the window. From that image on, I couldn’t put this book down.
A Journal of the Plague Year
by Daniel Defoe
I’m always amazed that a book so modern — almost YouTube-ish in its documentary style — was written almost 300 years ago. Defoe, who also wrote “Robinson Crusoe,” claimed this was an actual diary discovered in London in the 17th century, but it’s actually a novel and it’s very vivid. People rediscovered this book when AIDS [ravaged] New York.
Drinking: A Love Story
by Caroline Knapp
On a purely personal level, this book, about a high-functioning alcoholic, affected me more than any has. Knapp was in the publishing business in Boston, and I could relate to her. Unsparing, without pity, it’s helped thousands of people face the truth. I was sad, when she died, that I didn’t get to thank her.
Stud Rites
by Susan Conant
During stressed-out periods in New York, I’d read Conant’s books obsessively. She’s written 22 mysteries, but this is my favorite. Holly Winter, the detective character, is sort of inept, but she’s very serious about dog training and so am I: I just got my own Bernese mountain dog. This story’s about a venerable old judge who’s killed at a dog show.