Books on Books Review: The Writer’s LIbrary

Books on Books Review: The Writer’s LIbraryTitle: The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives
Author: Nancy Pearl, Jeff Schwager, Susan Orlean, T. Coraghessan Boyle
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: This was a really enjoyable collection of interviews with thoughtful readers.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about what a good genre books on books is, which reminded me that I needed to review this great example of that genre. In The Writer’s Library, editors Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager interview well known authors about books. They discuss current and childhood favorites, as well as how their reading and writing relate. Interviewees include an impressive number of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners and nominees. Even though I haven’t read most of these authors, I knew nearly all of their names.

I was a little worried that I wouldn’t enjoy this book as much because I’d read books by so few of the authors. Fortunately, it turned out that all of the authors had such thoughtful things to say about books that inspire them that it was a pleasure to read regardless. I do think if one of the authors in the collection is a real favorite of yours, you’ll get even more out of this. These are wonderful, personal conversations that give you a lot of insight into how each writer thinks. I was particularly intrigued by how variable the relationships was between authors’ reading and writing. Some authors can’t read anything while writing, while others stop writing and read when they’re stuck. Some authors seem to be inspired when reading books like their own, while others are more competitive. A fascinating range of perspectives were represented here!

It was also a delight to hear about the books these authors loved. They’re all clearly people who spend a lot time thinking about what makes a book great and they all were able to clearly articulate what made books a favorite for them. It was a ton of fun to “listen in” on enthusiastic conversations about books between the editors and these authors. I think anyone who likes books on books is likely to find a lot to love in this one.

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