David Mitchell's 6 favorite books

David Mitchell is the author of Cloud Atlas and number9dream, both of which were finalists for the Man Booker Prize. His latest novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, will be published this month by Random House.

He named his six favorite books for The Week magazine.

One title on the list:

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Last up, a book of nonfiction—in which the author projects what would (or will) happen to the world if (or when) the species Homo sapiens permanently disappears. The fruits of this many-headed inquiry are fascinating and curiously comforting.

Read about another book on the list.

The World Without Us appears on Annalee Newitz's list of thirty-five essential posthuman novels and is one of Louise Erdrich's five most important books.

--Marshal Zeringue