Collection
Genres
Publication
HarperOne (2020), Edition: Illustrated, 368 pages
Description
Literary Criticism. Nonfiction. HTML: Performed by Nancy Pearl, Jeff Schwager and a multi-cast that includes book contributors Luis Alberto Urrea, Siri Hustvedt, Laurie Frankel, Vendela Vida, and Richard Ford. The Writer's Library audiobook also features real conversations with Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman, and Laila Lalami. 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" 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. 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 .… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bell7
In "The Writer's Library", Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager travel the U.S. to interview 23 different authors in their homes about the books they read. The result is a fantastic collection that gives the reader a front-row seat to warm conversations about reading and how it's impacted each author's
It's fascinating to me to read both about the writer's craft and their reading, so this is the perfect book for me. Nancy and Jeff pick a variety of authors, and it was interesting to see how similar and different each author's list was - Lorrie Moore gets mentioned a lot, for example, and a couple of authors would disagree about The Great Gatsby. Some loved science fiction, while others listed more classics. The interviewers and authors share an infectious love of reading, making this collection highly enjoyable and sure to add to your TBR - both of books written by the interviewed authors, and the ones they love!
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writing. Each interview is as unique as the author, with no pre-set questions making them organic and conversational. It felt like sitting with them in their living rooms and listening to them gush about their favorites. And for any readers like me ready to note all a favorite author's recommendations, there is a list of books mentioned at the end of each interview. It's fascinating to me to read both about the writer's craft and their reading, so this is the perfect book for me. Nancy and Jeff pick a variety of authors, and it was interesting to see how similar and different each author's list was - Lorrie Moore gets mentioned a lot, for example, and a couple of authors would disagree about The Great Gatsby. Some loved science fiction, while others listed more classics. The interviewers and authors share an infectious love of reading, making this collection highly enjoyable and sure to add to your TBR - both of books written by the interviewed authors, and the ones they love!
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LibraryThing member jillrhudy
First of all: I want interviews with at least 100 more authors! Sequel(s) please!
"The Writer's Library" is the ideal gift for any writer or avid reader. Authors Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager interview a diverse group of writers about the books that shaped their lives and their writing. As a
I had a wonderful time not only reading the literary biographies of these authors but also highlighting every book I have read, and jotting down every book I want to read. I may need to buy a hard copy so that I can make careful annotations in the margins: Nancy Pearl, the co-author, wrote both "Book Lust" and "More Book Lust" which are in my possession, crammed full of post-it notes. I never, ever get tired of discovering what books other people love—the unforgettable books that really made an impact.
Don't be surprised if you look at the books that inspire an author and are inspired (because you share their taste), to delve into that author's own books! I have gravely missed out by not reading Donna Tartt, evidently.
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and was encouraged to submit an honest review.
"The Writer's Library" is the ideal gift for any writer or avid reader. Authors Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager interview a diverse group of writers about the books that shaped their lives and their writing. As a
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librarian, I was delighted to note that many of the famous interviewees cited their libraries as formative influences in their childhoods. Hardly any child who loves to read has parents who can afford to buy them every book they want to read and these authors were not exceptions!I had a wonderful time not only reading the literary biographies of these authors but also highlighting every book I have read, and jotting down every book I want to read. I may need to buy a hard copy so that I can make careful annotations in the margins: Nancy Pearl, the co-author, wrote both "Book Lust" and "More Book Lust" which are in my possession, crammed full of post-it notes. I never, ever get tired of discovering what books other people love—the unforgettable books that really made an impact.
Don't be surprised if you look at the books that inspire an author and are inspired (because you share their taste), to delve into that author's own books! I have gravely missed out by not reading Donna Tartt, evidently.
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and was encouraged to submit an honest review.
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LibraryThing member nancyadair
Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager's book The Writer's Library lets readers in on their favorite authors reading history, what they keep on their bookshelf, and how those books impacted their lives and their craft.
Pearl writes, "Our consciousness is a soaring shelf of thoughts and recollections, facts
I was happy to see books I have read mentioned but there were also many books new to me that I will add to my TBR list. Certain books were mentioned by more than one writer, such as Ray Bradbury and Richard Adams' Watership Down.
Readers will enjoy these interviews, comparing book shelves, and learning the books that influenced these writers.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
Pearl writes, "Our consciousness is a soaring shelf of thoughts and recollections, facts
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and fantasies, and of course, the scores of books we've read that have become an almost cellular part of who we are." I found myself thinking about the books that were on my shelves across my lifetime.I was happy to see books I have read mentioned but there were also many books new to me that I will add to my TBR list. Certain books were mentioned by more than one writer, such as Ray Bradbury and Richard Adams' Watership Down.
Readers will enjoy these interviews, comparing book shelves, and learning the books that influenced these writers.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
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LibraryThing member LadyoftheLodge
This book features interviews with writers, in which they are asked about their own reading and libraries, and how reading affected their authorship. A brief introduction is included with each interview, describing key facts about the author who is being interviewed. The essays are written in
I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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question and answer style, which for me became tedious after awhile. The conceptual framework for the book is a good one, but I did not recognize most of the authors, nor was I familiar with some of the books they described. Readers who are interested in finding out more about authors and their connections to reading, and how their reading lives support their writing lives, will most likely find this work worth a look.I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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LibraryThing member Lisa2013
This is a fantastic book!
These are excellent interviews, much better and going deeper than most others I’ve read that are similar. I wasn’t that enthusiastic about reading one right after the other and finishing the book all at once the way I would with a novel or many other types of
This is a book meant for an audio edition! I don’t often say that. I ended up reading the hardcover AND the Axis 360 audio edition simultaneously. I appreciated both formats. I liked the book lists at the end of each section and being able to see them and loved the drawing of the faces of each of the authors at the beginning of their sections, and I’m visually oriented so I liked reading along as I listened. Video interviews would have been great! I love going to author talks and readings. Listening to everyone enriched the reading experience. I enjoyed the questions and responses Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager provided and how they kept the flow going. It felt like vicariously being there in the room. A note: the audio edition has two very short sections that the hardcover did not. 15 minutes and 10 minutes long, of authors talking but I have no idea of their identity because they were not introduced. My guess is it might be additional material from two interviews that were in the book proper. I didn’t really listen to those since I didn’t know the identity of the talkers and because the sections appeared after the hardcover edition content.
It was a great book for me to read during the pandemic. It reminded me of the many times I have attended conversations with authors events. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done that, even prior to the pandemic. (I did attend a few virtual events earlier in the pandemic held by one of my favorite local independent bookstores.)
Unfortunately, the interview I most wanted to read/hear was Donna Tartt’s and that was the only author whose voice I assume was someone else’s and where there was less flow to the conversation, and less general conversation, and that was because her section was held as an email interview vs. an in person conversation. I still found it interesting but it was a bit of a disappointment. I know the chapter would have been different and better had it been a true interview like all the others included.
I love learning about others’ lives and authors are particularly fascinating to me. I love them and I appreciate them. I enjoyed reading about their early lives, books they’ve liked throughout their lives, and the many other things they discussed.
The interviews were excellent. Nancy Pearl is a treasure but I will say that in the audio edition of this book I found her voice grating.
This was a perfect book for me to conclude 2020. It’s been a difficult year and a weird year and a particularly isolated year for me, and this was almost being like back at author talks, and without dealing with parking problems or experiencing any other worries. A perfect book at a perfect time. I loved it.
These are excellent interviews, much better and going deeper than most others I’ve read that are similar. I wasn’t that enthusiastic about reading one right after the other and finishing the book all at once the way I would with a novel or many other types of
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non-fiction books. I liked pacing my reading with this one. Each author/interview has so much to offer and there are both similarities and differences between them. This is a book meant for an audio edition! I don’t often say that. I ended up reading the hardcover AND the Axis 360 audio edition simultaneously. I appreciated both formats. I liked the book lists at the end of each section and being able to see them and loved the drawing of the faces of each of the authors at the beginning of their sections, and I’m visually oriented so I liked reading along as I listened. Video interviews would have been great! I love going to author talks and readings. Listening to everyone enriched the reading experience. I enjoyed the questions and responses Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager provided and how they kept the flow going. It felt like vicariously being there in the room. A note: the audio edition has two very short sections that the hardcover did not. 15 minutes and 10 minutes long, of authors talking but I have no idea of their identity because they were not introduced. My guess is it might be additional material from two interviews that were in the book proper. I didn’t really listen to those since I didn’t know the identity of the talkers and because the sections appeared after the hardcover edition content.
It was a great book for me to read during the pandemic. It reminded me of the many times I have attended conversations with authors events. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done that, even prior to the pandemic. (I did attend a few virtual events earlier in the pandemic held by one of my favorite local independent bookstores.)
Unfortunately, the interview I most wanted to read/hear was Donna Tartt’s and that was the only author whose voice I assume was someone else’s and where there was less flow to the conversation, and less general conversation, and that was because her section was held as an email interview vs. an in person conversation. I still found it interesting but it was a bit of a disappointment. I know the chapter would have been different and better had it been a true interview like all the others included.
I love learning about others’ lives and authors are particularly fascinating to me. I love them and I appreciate them. I enjoyed reading about their early lives, books they’ve liked throughout their lives, and the many other things they discussed.
The interviews were excellent. Nancy Pearl is a treasure but I will say that in the audio edition of this book I found her voice grating.
This was a perfect book for me to conclude 2020. It’s been a difficult year and a weird year and a particularly isolated year for me, and this was almost being like back at author talks, and without dealing with parking problems or experiencing any other worries. A perfect book at a perfect time. I loved it.
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LibraryThing member john.cooper
A series of edited live conversations with a wide variety of writers about their favorite books, this volume is a great way to find the next great thing to read, and it's fun to "hear" some of your favorite writers talk and joke. (The single exception is Donna Tartt, who was unavailable in person;
A major flaw of the book design is that while the editor's name head the top of every even-numbered page, the writers' names appear only in the interview by first name. So you can't easily page through the book looking for a particular author unless you already know, for example, that T.C. Boyle is "Tom." This could have easily been solved by putting the interviewee's name at the head of the odd-numbered pages of their interview.
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her emailed "interview" is informative but seems very stiff in contrast.) Nancy and Jeff also do a good job of asking about each writer's own works, so you're reminded of their books too that you might not have read. A major flaw of the book design is that while the editor's name head the top of every even-numbered page, the writers' names appear only in the interview by first name. So you can't easily page through the book looking for a particular author unless you already know, for example, that T.C. Boyle is "Tom." This could have easily been solved by putting the interviewee's name at the head of the odd-numbered pages of their interview.
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LibraryThing member SamSattler
The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives is a collection of author interviews compiled by Nancy Pearl, “America’s favorite librarian,” and Jeff Schwager, a noted critic of books, movies, and theater. What makes the interviews such compelling and
The twenty-three authors, all but one of whom was interviewed in person, are:
Jonathan Lethem Laila Lalami
Louis Alberto Urrea Jennifer Egan
T.C. Boyle Susan Choi
Andrew Sean Greer Madeline Miller
Michael Chabon/Ayelet Waldman Maaza Mengiste
Amor Towles Louise Erdrich
Dave Eggers Laurie Frankel
Viet Thanh Nguyen Jane Hirshfield
Richard Ford Siri Hustvedt
Charlie Johnson Vendela Vida
Donna Tartt Russell Banks
(Just in case you are curious, the Donna Tartt interview was conducted via email.)
I was fortunate that several of my favorite authors are included on the list, but as it turned out, I enjoyed the thoughts of those authors with whom I was previously unfamiliar as much as I did those of my old favorites. In their shared introduction to the book, Nancy and Jeff address the book’s title and their interview style/intent this way:
“Thus the title, The Writer’s Library. Not necessarily the writers’ physical libraries, but the libraries they carry around in their hearts and minds; the books that have shaped their tastes, their psyches, the subject matter that fascinates them, the craftsmanship that fills them with envy, the stories that have resonated so deeply that they feel like stories they themselves have lived. For in telling us about the books that informed their lives, they would tell us the stories of their lives.”
And, in almost every instance, their plan worked brilliantly. The interviews are all very conversational in style with the exception of the emailed one with Donna Tartt. That interview reads more like a monologue than an interview, and as such, it suffers in comparison to the other twenty-two in the book.
Among my favorite quotes from The Writer’s Library are these:
“Someone once said that history gives you the facts, and fiction gives you the truth of the facts.” - Nancy Pearl, interviewing T.C. Boyle
“Life is too short for bad books.” - Michael Chabon
“The mark of a great novel is that it is engaging as a story, it feels organic in it composition, and yet the way in which all the various components interact creates an infinite number of harmonic combinations in the service of meaning. That’s why different readers of great works can discover different ideas, form different emotions, draw different conclusions, and support the validity of their impressions by pointing to various elements of the text. The best books don’t mean one thing.” - Amor Towles
“…short stories are something that to me are perfect because they have sort of the grace and insight of a poem and the narrative of a novel but, you know, much shorter, so you can have your fix in twenty or thirty minutes with a great short story.” - Viet Thanh Nguyen
“There’s not much crossover, you know. When I give readings, I don’t see any black faces out there, and I think to myself, Couldn’t I just have a couple of black readers, please? Because I, you know, I read black writers - I read everybody. I write black characters. I think that the nature of identity politics has bled into literary outcomes. The whole worth of literature is that it’s trying to show us we’re less distinct from each other than we thought we were.” - Richard Ford
“Reading fiction can move us into new places and provide new perspectives on the world. It can create an expansion of consciousness and serve as an intimate form of knowledge. This has been forgotten in our culture because the imaginary is regarded as soft, feminine, and unserious.” - Siri Hustvedt
“It is what you read that matters and that you read not to shore up your own smug beliefs but to press yourself beyond them. Books become us. They are literally embedded in our nervous systems in memories. Those memories shift over time, but they form us nevertheless.” - Siri Hustvedt
“…I think that in addition to everything that fiction does to entertain and enlighten us, it needs to make us better people, give us insights into, or at least empathy for, other people.” - Nancy Pearl during her Charles Johnson interview
So there you, have it, a taste of what I most enjoyed in the twenty-three interviews. I found the book largely to be inspiring and comforting in the sense that, perhaps, my lifetime of reading has done some actual good and has made me a better person that I would be if I had not been a reader all my life.
Bottom Line: Reader, beware! Your TBR list is going to grow exponentially if you read The Writer’s Library. By my count, and considering the possibility of a duplication or two, I added some 88 individual books and/or authors to my own.
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entertaining reading for avid readers is that each of them focuses on the influence that particular books have had on the various writers throughout their entire lives, but especially during their formative years.The twenty-three authors, all but one of whom was interviewed in person, are:
Jonathan Lethem Laila Lalami
Louis Alberto Urrea Jennifer Egan
T.C. Boyle Susan Choi
Andrew Sean Greer Madeline Miller
Michael Chabon/Ayelet Waldman Maaza Mengiste
Amor Towles Louise Erdrich
Dave Eggers Laurie Frankel
Viet Thanh Nguyen Jane Hirshfield
Richard Ford Siri Hustvedt
Charlie Johnson Vendela Vida
Donna Tartt Russell Banks
(Just in case you are curious, the Donna Tartt interview was conducted via email.)
I was fortunate that several of my favorite authors are included on the list, but as it turned out, I enjoyed the thoughts of those authors with whom I was previously unfamiliar as much as I did those of my old favorites. In their shared introduction to the book, Nancy and Jeff address the book’s title and their interview style/intent this way:
“Thus the title, The Writer’s Library. Not necessarily the writers’ physical libraries, but the libraries they carry around in their hearts and minds; the books that have shaped their tastes, their psyches, the subject matter that fascinates them, the craftsmanship that fills them with envy, the stories that have resonated so deeply that they feel like stories they themselves have lived. For in telling us about the books that informed their lives, they would tell us the stories of their lives.”
And, in almost every instance, their plan worked brilliantly. The interviews are all very conversational in style with the exception of the emailed one with Donna Tartt. That interview reads more like a monologue than an interview, and as such, it suffers in comparison to the other twenty-two in the book.
Among my favorite quotes from The Writer’s Library are these:
“Someone once said that history gives you the facts, and fiction gives you the truth of the facts.” - Nancy Pearl, interviewing T.C. Boyle
“Life is too short for bad books.” - Michael Chabon
“The mark of a great novel is that it is engaging as a story, it feels organic in it composition, and yet the way in which all the various components interact creates an infinite number of harmonic combinations in the service of meaning. That’s why different readers of great works can discover different ideas, form different emotions, draw different conclusions, and support the validity of their impressions by pointing to various elements of the text. The best books don’t mean one thing.” - Amor Towles
“…short stories are something that to me are perfect because they have sort of the grace and insight of a poem and the narrative of a novel but, you know, much shorter, so you can have your fix in twenty or thirty minutes with a great short story.” - Viet Thanh Nguyen
“There’s not much crossover, you know. When I give readings, I don’t see any black faces out there, and I think to myself, Couldn’t I just have a couple of black readers, please? Because I, you know, I read black writers - I read everybody. I write black characters. I think that the nature of identity politics has bled into literary outcomes. The whole worth of literature is that it’s trying to show us we’re less distinct from each other than we thought we were.” - Richard Ford
“Reading fiction can move us into new places and provide new perspectives on the world. It can create an expansion of consciousness and serve as an intimate form of knowledge. This has been forgotten in our culture because the imaginary is regarded as soft, feminine, and unserious.” - Siri Hustvedt
“It is what you read that matters and that you read not to shore up your own smug beliefs but to press yourself beyond them. Books become us. They are literally embedded in our nervous systems in memories. Those memories shift over time, but they form us nevertheless.” - Siri Hustvedt
“…I think that in addition to everything that fiction does to entertain and enlighten us, it needs to make us better people, give us insights into, or at least empathy for, other people.” - Nancy Pearl during her Charles Johnson interview
So there you, have it, a taste of what I most enjoyed in the twenty-three interviews. I found the book largely to be inspiring and comforting in the sense that, perhaps, my lifetime of reading has done some actual good and has made me a better person that I would be if I had not been a reader all my life.
Bottom Line: Reader, beware! Your TBR list is going to grow exponentially if you read The Writer’s Library. By my count, and considering the possibility of a duplication or two, I added some 88 individual books and/or authors to my own.
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LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
As someone who loves reading, books, and talking about books this was perfect for me. I found it fascinating to get a glimpse of what books influenced such an eclectic group of writers. It made me look at my own reading history and at books and reading in a different way. I also loved that there
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were so many great quotes. In particular I loved when Russell Banks said "But books open the door to the larger world. I don’t read to escape. I read to enter." That really resonated with my personal experiences. Highly recommended! Show Less
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
Any work that inspires me to jot down more than two dozen book recommendations is worthy of four stars. True, I found the Q&A format that's used to explore authors' backgrounds and reading habits a bit formulaic and tiresome in spots. But from a pure utilitarian standpoint, the no-nonsense format
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makes total sense. Pearl's work is a gold mine for folks who are always on the lookout for worthy books. Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
So with only a couple of exceptions I haven't read these authors, so they aren't the "ones you love" for me, though they seem well selected. The books and authors that were most frequently brought up do seem worth following up on, though I felt there was a certain amount of preferential selection
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on the part of the Pearl and especially Schwager. A more interesting set of interviews might be derived by each of these interviewing/conversing with a younger author with much the same questions, but also a "what would you like asked about your reading" question for each of them. Show Less
LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
Most writers are readers, but what do they read? Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager wondered about this very thing, and so they decided to ask some of them. The result is “The Writer's Library” (2020), which contains interviews with nearly two dozen authors.
Typical questions asked by Pearl and
The answers are varied, of course, yet certain books and certain authors pop up frequently. Several authors remember reading the Narnia Chronicles, Beverly Clearly, “The Lord of the Rings,” Judy Blume, “Watershed Down” and “Charlotte's Web” as children. Many, both men and women, read science fiction in their youth, especially such authors as Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov There are frequent mentions of Emily Dickinson, Henry James, Lorrie Moore, J.D. Salinger, Raymond Carver, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, Flannery O'Connor and John Updike, although sometimes there are striking differences in reading tastes. Some admire Updike, while others don't. The same with Dickens. Some books once admired are in some cases now despised, such as Agatha Christie mysteries or those Narnia stories.
Some of the best-known writers interviewed included T.C. Boyle, Amor Towles, Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, Donna Tartt and Russell Banks. Some of them will no doubt be mentioned at some point in the future when other writers are asked what books are on their shelves.
Typical questions asked by Pearl and
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Schwager include: What did you read as a child? Did any book inspire you to become a writer? Which books have been most important to you? Do you read while you have a book in progress?The answers are varied, of course, yet certain books and certain authors pop up frequently. Several authors remember reading the Narnia Chronicles, Beverly Clearly, “The Lord of the Rings,” Judy Blume, “Watershed Down” and “Charlotte's Web” as children. Many, both men and women, read science fiction in their youth, especially such authors as Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov There are frequent mentions of Emily Dickinson, Henry James, Lorrie Moore, J.D. Salinger, Raymond Carver, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, Flannery O'Connor and John Updike, although sometimes there are striking differences in reading tastes. Some admire Updike, while others don't. The same with Dickens. Some books once admired are in some cases now despised, such as Agatha Christie mysteries or those Narnia stories.
Some of the best-known writers interviewed included T.C. Boyle, Amor Towles, Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, Donna Tartt and Russell Banks. Some of them will no doubt be mentioned at some point in the future when other writers are asked what books are on their shelves.
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Awards
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — September 2020)
Pages
368
ISBN
0062968505 / 9780062968500