BOOKS: What have you been listening to that youve liked recently?

HAMBLIN: Theodore Dreisers An American Tragedy. I dont know if I like it. Im still thinking about it. Ive been listening to Robert Caros The Power Broker. I picked that up because Ive been thinking about how the infrastructure of New York may change because of the pandemic. Just like everyone else, I think thats an amazing book.

BOOKS: What were some of your pre-pandemic best reads?

HAMBLIN: I really enjoyed In the Land of Men by Adrienne Miller. Its about being a female editor at Esquire in the 90s and editing David Foster Wallace. The media coverage of the book was weirdly meta. The media described it as being a book about Wallace but it was about how these giant male literary characters overlooked Miller. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh was beautifully written and fun. I like fiction that is grounded in reality, but which is also extremely absurd.

BOOKS: Do you read books about science and medicine?

HAMBLIN: Not at all, because its what I do all day. I used to, books like Siddhartha Mukherjees The Emperor of all Maladies. Now I feel that I cant immerse myself in books about science, partly because I see all the mechanisms. I enjoy fiction because I have no idea how to do it. Fiction still looks like magic.

BOOKS: How would you describe the books you pick?

HAMBLIN: Voice and humor are the most important things to me. I love Hunter S. Thompsons work, especially Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72. He was very informative for me in understanding what it was that drew me to reading, that there is real person on the other side and the voice doesnt sound too polished. Thats what I like about social media, that authenticity, the sense that you are getting a first draft of history. Thompsons work has that energy and authenticity.

BOOKS: How did you discover audio books?

HAMBLIN: I finally got into this in college, and I cant say it was a sophisticated reading list. It was stuff like Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time. I was curious about the universe. I knew if I had a hard time reading I would have a hard time understanding a book about quantum physics. One of the first long books that I became deeply immersed in was Larry McMurtrys Lonesome Dove. I think I consider it my favorite because for most of my childhood I didnt think I could read a book that long. I remember not wanting to put Lonesome Dove down.

BOOKS: How did you survive high school?

HAMBLIN: I was in a public school in Indiana and I was an athlete and wanted to be a doctor. I didnt appreciate the value of literature. Id do my assignments and just get through them. I always did the worst on reading sections of standardized tests.

BOOKS: Were there any classics that ever grabbed you then?

HAMBLIN: No. I loved The Great Gatsby when I eventually listened to it. Ive listened to it about ten times. I had read it in high school but missed a question on a test about the color of the light at the end of Daisys dock. I thought that was a wildly unfair question. Now, I get it.

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @GlobeBiblio. Amy Sutherland is the author, most recently, of Rescuing Penny Jane'' and she can be reached at amysutherland@mac.com.

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When it comes to books, hes listening - The Boston Globe