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

Publisher Review

"Pearl and Schwager bring boundless enthusiasm and curiosity to this eclectic and probing book of interviews. The 22 authors represented are a varied and never boring cohort.... Readers of this delightful compendium will relish the chance to find many of those shared loves, as well as discover new ones." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The nearly two dozen literary conversations gathered here are at once substantial and effervescent-magnetic qualities attributable to the focus on what writers read and the expertise and passion of the two interlocutors, renowned librarian and book champion Pearl and playwright, producer, and journalist Schwager....Complete with lists of titles from each writer's inner library, this is a zestfully elucidating and inspiring portal onto the lives and thoughts of truly exceptional writers." -- Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) "A spirited collection offering intimate insights into the writing life." -- Kirkus Reviews "The Writer's Library offers a cornucopia of pleasures with respected writers giving fans an insider's look at their libraries and reading habits. This is a treat that no bibliophile will want to miss." -- Shelf Awareness "The Writer's Library is a great concept that is wonderfully executed. It would make a great holiday gift for the literati in your life." -- Bookreporter.com "The Writer's Library offers a cornucopia of pleasures with respected writers giving fans an insider's look at their libraries and reading habits. This is a treat that no bibliophile will want to miss." -- Shelf Awareness