See all the beautiful books comedian is reading right now

South African comedian, television and radio host and actor, Trevor Noah has just published his first book Born a Crime, a collection personal essays on growing up in South Africa.

In an interview with The New York Times “ the king of clapbacks reveals the book he is reading currently, African authors that inspire him and why he prefers e-books over paperbacks.

What books are currently on your night stand?

For fiction I’ve got Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” and Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist.”

For nonfiction I’ve got Jill Leovy’s “Ghettoside,” a fascinating account of life in the L.A.P.D. homicide division that should change the way we all understand the policing problem in America.

I also just finished Chuck Klosterman’s “But What if We’re Wrong?” Which is a question I constantly ask myself because: What if we are?

What’s the last great book you read?

Thanks to my job at “The Daily Show” I get to read many amazing books written by our guests. The last great one I read was Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing,” a fascinating novel about the legacy of the slave trade on both sides of the Atlantic.

When, how often and how much do you read? Electronic or paper?

I read every day. Some days more than others, but every day. I almost always read electronically; I travel a great deal, and the weight of physical books has become a luxury I can’t afford, and I’ve actually grown to love reading on my phone more than paper. It’s not romantic, but it works for me.

Who are your favorite South African writers? And the best book you’ve read about South Africa?

I don’t know if I could pick the best; the territory is too rich. J. M. Coetzee and Zakes Mda are probably the best-known South African novelists in the West, and deservedly so. Nelson Mandela was as great a writer as he was an activist and leader.

Sol Plaatje was a founder and first general secretary of the organization that became the A.N.C.; his writings were largely ignored during his lifetime, but they’ve survived to become some of the most compelling and celebrated accounts of the early days of apartheid.

Rian Malan’s “My Traitor’s Heart” is a brutal excavation of a white South African’s conscience at apartheid’s end. Among contemporary South African writers, Khaya Dlanga is a personal favorite. His memoir, “To Quote Myself,” is as good an account as you’ll find about life in the country today.

What’s the last book that made you laugh out loud?

Paul Beatty’s “The Sellout.”

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

J. K. Rowling, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Nelson Mandela.

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