Malcolm Gladwell Enjoys Watching 'Gossipy Stuff' Like “Emily in Paris” — Plus What Books He’s Been Loving (Exclusive)

The bestselling author chatted with PEOPLE about his current favorite books, shows and authors at the Texas Book Festival

Malcolm Gladwell is an Emily in Paris enthusiast!

At the 2024 Texas Book Festival, the bestselling author chatted with PEOPLE about the media he’s been consuming lately, including the more “gossipy” stuff, like a glamorous biography — and the Lily Collins-led rom-com series.

The admission arose after Gladwell, 61, discussed his favorite read of the year. “Wow, I've read so many books in 2024,” he told PEOPLE on Nov. 16. “I think maybe the most interesting book I've been reading [is] this really fun biography of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.”

“It was written some time ago. It's not a new book, but I always love … there's something about Hollywood history that I always find really fun,” he continued. “I like the combination of gossipy stuff and imagining yourself back in the glamorous fifties.”

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The hit Netflix show has a similar appeal, the Revenge of the Tipping Point author revealed when asked if there’s a “gossipy” show he likes to indulge in.

“My partner and I watch Emily in Paris,” he said. “That's what falls into that category.”

As for the media he’s looking forward to in the coming year, Gladwell revealed he’s excited about a David Epstein project “that'll probably come out in 2025,” noting that the author is “a good friend of mine and I love his work so much.”

“And also John McWhorter has a book on pronouns, which I read an advance galley of which is really, really fun,” he added. “And if you're into linguistics as I am, I'm looking forward to it.”

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When asked about fellow writers he’d like to lunch with, Gladwell lauded Zadie Smith, calling her “completely brilliant,” and Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of The Plot and The Sequel.

“She'd be really fun. I love those books,” he said of Korelitz. “I've read a number of her books now and I think they're fantastic. She would be a fun lunch to have.”

And, upon learning that Korelitz had named him when asked the same question, Gladwell added: “The love is mutual now.”

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The author also chatted briefly about his latest book, Revenge of the Tipping Point — an updated take on the topics he explored in his 2000 bestseller The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference.

Discussing the feedback he’s received so far on the novel, which hit bookshelves in October, he said, “It's a little early since it's only been out for a month.”

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“People have,” however, “said how much they've enjoyed it,” Gladwell added. “The chapter on the Holocaust is the one that people are like, 'I had no idea.' That's the one I've gotten the most kind of, you know, people saying 'that was nuts.' That was unexpected.”

As for his next project? The author, who is “not a planner” and admits he has a “very messy” process, said he'd love to do a biography of a living person. “It would be really fun to do a biography of someone, to be immersed ... someone who is alive. To really get immersed in one person's story.”

“Because I don't really do a lot of that. And I think that would be really interesting,” he added. “That's something I've thought about a great deal.”