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The Writer's Library

The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

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

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    • Reviews

      • AudioFile Magazine
        Writers are readers first. So whom do they read? What did they read as children? Which writers influence them today? What do they read for entertainment? These are some of the questions that librarian Nancy Pearl and playwright Jeff Schwager pose to 22 current writers, including T.C. Boyle, Louise Erdrich, Laurie Frankel, and Richard Ford. The questions elicit a mix of thoughtful, informative, fun answers. Sadly, they make for a mixed audio experience, largely because the interviews have been re-created by Pearl and Schwager with five authors reading their own words and the rest being read by narrators. The pace can be choppy, and what should sound "live" does not. Despite the confusing production, the content is fascinating. Listen with note-taking pen in hand. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
      • Publisher's Weekly

        Starred review from June 15, 2020
        Pearl, a librarian and critic, and Schwager, a journalist and playwright, bring boundless enthusiasm and curiosity to this eclectic and probing book of interviews. The 22 authors represented are a varied and never boring cohort, most of whom reminisce about beloved series from childhood, such as The Great Brain and Encyclopedia Brown (both adored by Andrew Sean Greer and Michael Chabon). All of the interviewees muse intently on what they value about touchstone writers: Madeline Miller enthuses about discovering Margaret Atwood and Lorrie Moore in high school, who “were just so exciting, linguistically, to read... I didn’t know you could use language like that,” while Laila Lalami praises V.S. Naipaul, particularly A House for Mr. Biswas, for his candid exploration of the “cross-cultural encounter.” Susan Choi recalls, with some embarrassment, trying to write her version of George Orwell’s 1984. As Pearl and Schwager note, “One of the best parts of talking about books with people... is discovering that you share a love of the same books.” Readers of this delightful compendium will relish the chance to find many of those shared loves, as well as discover new ones. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc.

    Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

    Languages

    • English

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