• Michael J. Fox always has two audiobooks queued: one fiction, one nonfiction.
• Parkinson’s has shifted his reading from print to listening, often on Audible.
• His new memoir, Future Boy, revisits the era of Back to the Future and Family Ties.
• He names Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow as a recent standout and keeps the Torah on his shelf.
Why Michael J. Fox now prefers audiobooks
Michael J. Fox says Parkinson’s disease has changed how he reads: holding a book can be difficult, so he has largely moved to listening. In an email interview published with his new memoir, Future Boy, Fox explains that he usually keeps two audiobooks ready on Audible — a nonfiction title he listens to at night and a fiction book for daytime listening, travel or downtime.
Two books, two moods
Fox’s listening routine is practical and intentional. He reserves nonfiction — ranging from political commentary to history and natural history — for evening hours because it’s easier to pick up where he left off. Fiction, by contrast, is his choice for leisure moments: the beach, travel or long stretches of free time.
From Agatha Christie to noir
Fox describes a childhood appetite for reading that began with Agatha Christie and later expanded into a love for classic noir authors such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain. That early taste for mysteries and crime fiction helped shape a lifelong engagement with storytelling across genres.
Recent favorites and surprising shelfmates
Among recent reads, Fox singled out Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow for its prose and emotional depth. He also noted that some books on his shelves might surprise readers — for example, the Torah. His remark underscores a broad curiosity that spans literature, faith and history.
Future Boy: revisiting the rise to fame
Future Boy, the latest entry in a string of memoirs from Fox (he’s authored four previous memoirs), goes back to an earlier period of his life. The book revisits the years when he was balancing signature roles in Back to the Future and the sitcom Family Ties, offering new reflections on fame, acting and the pressures of those breakthrough projects.
A personal tone
Fox says he gravitates toward books that reach him emotionally. He mentioned recent memoirs by other actors — noting how the candid, personal accounts by people like Charlie Sheen and Matthew Perry resonated — and continues to seek out work that blends craft, empathy and honesty.
What this means for readers
Fox’s shift from print to audio reflects a wider trend among readers who adopt formats that fit their lives. His reading habits — balancing fiction and nonfiction, daytime and bedtime listening — offer a simple template for readers who want variety and emotional connection in what they choose to “read.”
Credit: Rebecca Clarke (photo credit from the interview feature)
Image Referance: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/books/review/michael-j-fox-future-boy-memoir.html