BEST AUTHOR BEST : SUZANNE NOSSEL

 

The new book '' Liberalism as a Way of Life '' is a call to action about what we are trying to defend, and why,'' says the executive director of PEN America, which has had an especially fractious year.

.-  What's the last book that made you laugh?

Mo Rocco and Jonathan Greenberg's '' Roctogenarians '' I went to college with Mo, so if he is getting ready to contemplate how to rock those later decades of life, I'd better be doing the same.

.-  Writers have a lot of opinions. What makes you good at getting them to work together?

The main thing is to agree not to agree on everything. If you tried to create PEN America today it would be impossible to get such a large collection of writers to agree on anything; they would never sign on to a single organization.

We cannot move in lock step with every writer or partner on every issue - the opinions among such a diverse group make that impossible.

Our charter is to champion the freedom to read and write and defend the liberties that make it possible, and that's where we find common ground.

.-  What books are on your night stand?

Charlotte Lydia Riley's '' The Free Speech Wars ''  She and I have agreed to write for a Penguin Random House UK series of short books that will offer opposing views on substantive issues of the day.

Ours will address the question '' Is Free Speech Under Threat?' '' I badly want to read Salman Rushdie's ''Knife'' and have brought it with me on a few short trips, but have not yet found myself in the emotional space to dive in.

And Sarah Lewis's '' The Unseen Truth,'' which isn't out until September, a riveting account of the visual senses through which we do and don't see and understand race.

.-  What's the last great book you read?

Call me a nepo-spouse, but my husband, the historian David Greenberg, has spent the last five years researching and writing '' John Lewis : A Life,'' which will be published in October.

We all know enough to admire Lewis, but understanding his barebone upbringing in rural Alabama and subsequent rise to national prominence at such a young age, his fearlessness in facing down beatings and jailings, and his stalwartness in standing by his ideals through a lifetime of Washington wheeling and dealing is staggering.

.-  What's the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

Alexandre Lefebvre's '' Liberalism as a Way of Life '' helped me to better understand the interplay between culture and liberal values that is at the heart of so much of my work. 

At a time when liberalism is under assault from multiple quarters in the U.S. and around the world, Lefebvre offers a rousing case that liberalism is not only the best political system, but also a spiritual touchstone that makes for a rewarding life, warm relationships and a thriving society.

It's a real call to action about what we are trying to defend, and why?

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.