What is David Lynch's favorite book?

Robert Henri's The Art Spirit, which he calls his "Bible." He says it "made the rules for the art life," shaping his early idea of a life built around painting, coffee, and cigarettes.

Where do David Lynch's book recommendations come from?

They come from the documentary The Art Life, Tim Ferriss's Tribe of Mentors, his own book Catching the Big Fish, and the interview collection Lynch on Lynch.

Has David Lynch written any books?

Yes, two art books: David Lynch: Nudes and David Lynch: Snowmen, showcasing his photographic and visual art alongside his film work.

Why does David Lynch feel connected to Kafka?

He calls Kafka "the one artist that I feel could be my brother," recommending The Metamorphosis, a kinship reflected in the surreal, unsettling atmospheres that define his own films.

What books does David Lynch recommend?

David Lynch's book recommendations open a window onto the dream-logic of one of cinema's great surrealists. The director of Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Twin Peaks, and a lifelong painter and meditator, reads across art, existential fiction, and spiritual philosophy. This list of 8 titles is drawn from documentaries, Tim Ferriss's Tribe of Mentors, and the interview collection Lynch on Lynch, and its themes are philosophy, fiction and literature, and psychology and human behavior. The book he calls his "Bible" is Robert Henri's The Art Spirit, which "made the rules for the art life" of coffee, cigarettes, and painting. He describes Kafka as "the one artist that I feel could be my brother," recommending The Metamorphosis, and points to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. His devotion to Transcendental Meditation surfaces in Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Science of Being and Art of Living, which he says "really helped me."

Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.

David Lynch

Q: What books does David Lynch recommend?

His 8 recommendations include The Art Spirit by Robert Henri, The Metamorphosis by Kafka, Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, Frank Capra's The Name Above the Title, and Jerzy Kosiński's The Painted Bird.

The visionary auteur behind Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead shares his unique insights on creativity, meditation, and the artistic process.

David Lynch

Read by David Lynch

The Art Spirit

Notes, Articles, Fragments of Letters and Talks to Students, Bearing on the Concept and Technique of Picture Making, the Study of Art Generally, and on Appreciation

byRobert Henri

2007288 Pages

(27,194)

creativity-design philosophy self-improvement

“The Art Spirit sort of became the art life, and I had this idea that you drink coffee, you smoke cigarettes, and you paint, and that's it... that sort of became my Bible, because that book made the rules for the art life.”

— David Lynch

Source: The Art Life (Documentary)

Get on Amazon