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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

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

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26 Reviews

3.5
“3.75* Audioboek op Storytel. Een beetje te lang en niet alle autheurs zijn even interessant. Maar het concept is wel heel leuk. Fijn dat er ook autheurs met een andere achtergrond bijzaten. Het was erg motiverend en inspirerend om mensen hun levenswijsheid en verhaal tot succes te horen. Daarnaast ben ik er ook van weggestapt met een hele lijst nieuwe boekrecomendaties.”
“A great reference book that brings us closer to the books our favorite authors grew up with. My favorite stories were Donna Tartt and Luis Alberto Urrea. I ended up with some insights that I want to annotate here for me, as I plan to revisit the book or even buy it later on: Parents and immediate family members are key to raising readers. Grandparents are reading champions. We must have books at home and let the little ones explore them. Public Libraries are a must for all communities. The classics are classics for a reason, and they should be kept closed and read often. Non classics are as important as classics: comic books and other forms of literature are very important literature mediums, yet they still need more acknowledgement and recognition. Authors need to read as they nourish their creative genius reading each other. Reading and writing are a great way to keep the creative brain happy (not stated like this in the book of course, just my conclusion from reading about these wonderful people.)”
“This was one of the most pretentious books I have ever read. The number of authors interviewed in this book that talk about their early reading/favourite books being "unrefined", "less distinguished", "pulp fiction", "popular fiction", and "trash" was just hilarious. The way they refer to popular fiction as genre fiction with such distate, the way some authors describe how they are now "serious readers" and "can no longer endure trash" is just pompous, self important garbage. This whole book screamed arrogant writers who believe they are better than any writer that doesn't write "literary" fiction. Just let readers read.”

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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