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3.5 

The Writer's Library

By Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager &
The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager &  digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

NEW & NOTEWORTHY ~ THE NEW YORK TIMES 

With a Foreword by Susan Orlean, twenty-three of today's living literary legends, including Donna Tartt, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andrew Sean Greer, Laila Lalami, and Michael Chabon, reveal the books that made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives in this intimate, moving, and insightful collection from "American's Librarian" and recipient of the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service Nancy Pearl and noted playwright Jeff Schwager that celebrates the power of literature and reading to connect us all.

Before Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jonathan Lethem became revered authors, they were readers. In this ebullient book, America’s favorite librarian Nancy Pearl and noted-playwright Jeff Schwager interview a diverse range of America's most notable and influential writers about the books that shaped them and inspired them to leave their own literary mark. 

Illustrated with beautiful line drawings, The Writer’s Library is a revelatory exploration of the studies, libraries, and bookstores of today’s favorite authors—the creative artists whose imagination and sublime talent make America's literary scene the wonderful, dynamic world it is. A love letter to books and a celebration of wordsmiths, The Writer’s Library is a treasure for anyone who has been moved by the written word. 

The authors in The Writer’s Library are:

  • Russell Banks
  • TC Boyle
  • Michael Chabon
  • Susan Choi
  • Jennifer Egan
  • Dave Eggers
  • Louise Erdrich
  • Richard Ford
  • Laurie Frankel
  • Andrew Sean Greer
  • Jane Hirshfield
  • Siri Hustvedt
  • Charles Johnson
  • Laila Lalami
  • Jonathan Lethem
  • Donna Tartt
  • Madeline Miller
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • Luis Alberto Urrea
  • Vendela Vida
  • Ayelet Waldman
  • Maaza Mengiste
  • Amor Towles

52 Reviews

3.5
“A longtime fan of podcasts such as But That's Another Story and Bookmarks, both of which interview authors about their favorite books and/or the books that have shaped them, I was hoping this book would be more of the same. However, two main differences prevented that from being the case. For one, the podcasts ask writers to select a book (or perhaps, isolate their choice to an author/series). In The Writer's Library, chapters are full transcripts of conversations that go all over the place, covering a wide range of writings. At times it was overwhelming, leaving me feeling like I was listening in on a private conversation I wasn't informed enough on the subject to be a part of (which was surprising given my literature and library degrees). Secondly, as the book was composed of interview transcripts, I felt like there was far too much of the interviewers in this book. I found their commentary distracting and, again, made me, the reader, feel like I did not belong there. Combine this with the fact that many of the authors selected here seem to be of the same generation and therefore there was a lot of overlap in books that were discussed, and this book was only okay.”

About Nancy Pearl

A Seattle7Writers project for literacy, this novel was written by Kathleen Alcalá, Matthew Amster-Burton, Kit Bakke, Erica Bauermeister, Sean Beaudoin, Dave Boling, Deb Caletti, Carol Cassella, William Dietrich, Robert Dugoni, Kevin Emerson, Karen Finneyfrock, Clyde Ford, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Mary Guterson, Maria Dahvana Headley, Teri Hein, Stephanie Kallos, Erik Larson, David Lasky, Stacey Levine, Frances McCue, Jarret Middleton, Peter Mountford, Kevin O'Brien, Julia Quinn, Nancy Rawles, Suzanne Selfors, Jennie Shortridge, Ed Skoog, Garth Stein, Greg Stump, Indu Sundaresan, Craig Welch and Susan Wiggs. Foreword by Nancy Pearl. Introduction by Garth Stein.

Jeff Schwager

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