Annie Lennox Talks Books, Memory and Movie Music in New York Times Interview

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Annie Lennox opened up about her reading habits, her new book Retrospective, and the kind of creative project she’d love to take on next. The interview offers a thoughtful glimpse into Annie’s world, blending personal reflection with artistic insight.

She describes Retrospective as a “souvenir of frozen moments,” filled with photographs and bite-size memories from her life in music. Rather than writing a traditional memoir, Annie chose a visual format that reflects her strong connection to imagery and design.

One of the most intriguing parts of the interview is her response to a question about future film work. Annie has already written songs for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but she revealed she’d love to score an entire film soundtrack. She imagines something based on a Roald Dahl story or a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, ideally directed by Tim Burton. It’s a creative pairing that fans would love to see happen.

Annie also shared her habit of reading books from back to front, which she puts down to curiosity, impatience and being left-handed. She reflected on the impact of books like When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön, which helped her through a personal crisis, and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which she believes should be essential reading.

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