Recommendations you can check.
Co-founder of Rockstar Games and lead writer on Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption; left Rockstar in 2020 and founded Absurd Ventures.
4 things
War and PeaceBook Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace is one of the best novels written in Russian, I would argue. I think both of those are because if you’ve only got one book, you want a long book.
Lex Fridman Podcast #484, at (02:24:23); transcript published by the host. Asked which books he would recommend to an alien.
2025-10-31·lexfridman.com ↗
Vanity FairBook William Makepeace Thackeray
So I think there’s something amazing about, you know, Vanity Fair, I used to love the novel, not the magazine, because same thing, all of life is here.
Lex Fridman Podcast #484, at (02:24:39); transcript published by the host.
2025-10-31·lexfridman.com ↗
1984Book George Orwell
I love 1984. I’d never listened to it or read it, and then I think I did it on Talking Book, or I maybe read it, I can’t remember, during COVID. And became, I think I did both, became obsessed by it.
Lex Fridman Podcast #484, at (02:26:20); transcript published by the host.
2025-10-31·lexfridman.com ↗
Life and FateBook Vasily Grossman
I think the most complete one, because it is this all of life being there, probably is Life and Fate. Which is amazing.
Lex Fridman Podcast #484, at (02:28:14); transcript published by the host.
2025-10-31·lexfridman.com ↗
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