'Russian authors are more sensitive'

-------------------------------------------------------- A skinny figure invariably clad in black and with shimmering long black hair the envy of many women, Jay Subijakto, 44, is not as eccentric as he looks. A director/photographer/architect, his many interests make him a great conversationalist, not only about video clips and stage sets -- the fields he is best known for -- but also culture, politics and spiritualism. Much of that knowledge comes from extensive reading, and here he reveals the written material that gets him thinking. -------------------------------------------

What's on your bedside table?

A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Selected from the World's Sacred Text by Leo Tolstoy. I like Tolstoy for his esoteric mind; his view is very universal. This book is like his reflection on life, where he takes quotations from diverse sources like Lao-Tzu, Greek philosophy, etc., and expresses it in his own words.

Author, author...Who is most interesting to you? Russian authors. My all-time favorite book is The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, on his experience of living in a gulag prison. Coming from repressive circumstances, Russian authors emerge as more sensitive and deep thinkers.

I also like Milan Kundera, and different versions of the Mahabharata are always intriguing.

Kid's choice?

The children's knowledge series from Ladybird Book publisher.

Magazine selections?

National Geographic, I love to travel and the magazine can also come up with something futuristic. Also the British magazine Wallpaper, for its good content on architecture, lifestyle, new places and fashion.

Favorite places to pick up a good book?

Aksara bookstore, for not looking too much like a bookstore, where we can sit and enjoy the book, and there is a CD store inside as well.

The Page One section inside Kinokuniya bookstore in Ngee Ann City, Singapore, is a great place to browse for arts and architecture books.

-- JP