'The Office' Star Brian Baumgartner Shares His Favorite Timeless Reads

Brian Baumgartner, best known as Kevin Malone on the hit comedy The Office, gave Marie Claire a peek at his bookshelves, filled with classics like Shakespeare and Truman Capote, in the latest episode of Shelf Portrait—our video series in which celebrities, influencers, and famous bookworms show off their personal libraries.

In the video, Baumgartner shares some of his favorite books, including Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (pick it up if you love true crime!), Delia Owens's Where the Crawdad Sings, David Sedaris's Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, and William Shakespeare's The Sonnets (Kathy Bates inscribed this book for him before they worked together!). 

Baumgartner also loves John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany and John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces (Ignatius J. Reilly is a character he has always wanted to play!). Like most of us, his favorite childhood book was Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and, naturally, the author wishes the inimitable Steve Martin could read to him before bed.

Watch the hilarious video, above, and then order Baumgartner's own new book, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, out now.