Rex Grignon, Reading Between the 'Toons

Rex Grignon is head of character animation at DreamWorks Animation. Behind him is Alex the lion, voiced by Ben Stiller in the DreamWorks film 'Madagascar.'

DreamWorks

Rex Grignon is head of character animation at PDI/DreamWorks in Redwood City, Calif. He worked on the first Shrek movie, DreamWorks' first film Antz, and on a new animated work, Madagascar.

He tends to read non-fiction, and says he loves to read about something that's different from the type of work he does. But he also plays bass guitar as a hobby, so he also likes to read about music and music theory.

"I don't differentiate between my spare time and being on vacation," he says. "Reading is a luxury and pleasure."

Rex Grignon's List:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Broken Music: A Memoir, by Sting

Beyond the Bass Clef, by Tony Levin

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, by Michael Miller. "It's always embarrassing to buy these... Much as I had to swallow my pride, I'm better because of it."

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. "It's just amazing hearing these stories of pioneers... I just couldn't put it down."

How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell (He read the children's book with his 8-year-old daughter, Grace.)

Three Investigators series (when he was a kid)

The Cyberiad, by Stanislaw Lem

Testaments of Honour, by Blake Heathcote