The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives

by Nancy Pearl, Jeff Schwager

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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)

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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 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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hardlyhardy | Jul 5, 2023 |

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 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. (

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quondame | May 30, 2022 |

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 makes total sense. Pearl's work is a gold mine for folks who are always on the lookout for worthy books. (

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brianinbuffalo | Dec 8, 2021 |

In this wonderful collection, Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager sit down and talk with authors about their favorite books and the books that inspired them. Each interview includes a list of books on their bookshelves. This is essentially book and list crack made for me.

While there were a number of favorite authors in the book including Louise Erdrich, Donna Tartt, Madeline Miller, and Michael Chabon, there were also authors interviewed that I haven't read before. It is also fun to find when one of your favorite books is on someone's list such as Red Mars on Viet Thanh Nguyen's list. So...which do I start with first? Catching up with contemporary authors interviewed or starting to read the classics that are frequently mentioned?

There is also a wonderful forward by Susan Orlean which I read before reading the book and then again after.

Here are some books I plan to read after reading this:
The Golden Bowl by Henry James (on Jennifer Eagan's list and a James I haven't read)
Train by Pete Dexter (on Michael Chabon's list and I like the Dexters I've read)
Moby-Dick (Amor Towle's list, but I'm currently reading it right now)
Everyman (on Susan Choi's list, and I know, I know, read Roth)
Black Boy by Richard Wright (on Charles Johnson's list)

I'll also be adding others to my own grand TBR list. (

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auldhouse | Sep 30, 2021 |

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 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! (

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JJbooklvr | Sep 18, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Nancy Pearl	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Schwager, Jeff	—	main author	all editions	confirmed

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In Senegal, when someone dies, you say this his or her library has burned. -Susan Orlean, Forward

This book would never have been written had we not met in the spring of 2017.... Nancy Pearl, Introduction

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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
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