Review by Booklist 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. This inquisitive duo traveled the country to speak with writers not so much about their "physical libraries, but the libraries they carry around in their hearts and minds." The central questions--"Why do you read, and how does reading help you write?"--engendered marvelously free-wheeling conversations powered by enrapturing candor and brilliant commentary on the craft and resonance of literature. A striking number of writers confess to early, voracious, and wildly indiscriminate reading, while many named Homer, Flannery O'Connor, James Baldwin, Ray Bradbury, Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Lorrie Moore as crucial influences. Carnegie Medal winners Jennifer Egan, Richard Ford, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Donna Tartt are mesmerizing. Russell Banks recounts his part in getting his mentor, Nelson Algren, fired from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. A school poster inspired young Michael Chabon to read Newbery winners. Mazaa Mengiste shares her youthful reading focus on books about revolutions. 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.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Inspired by the questions of why books seem so human, personal, and alive, and whether people embody the books they read, librarian critic Pearl ("Book Lust" series) and writer, editor, producer, and playwright Schwager interviewed 22 American writers about what they read and how it affects their work. Interviewees reveal what they read as children, as well as the books influencing their writing today. Here, "library" refers not to a physical collections but rather the works that shaped an author's output. Contributors include Laila Lalami, Luis Alberto Urrea, Maaza Mengista, Louisa Erdrich, and Siri Hustvedt, alongside Pulitzer Prize winners Jennifer Egan, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Richard Ford. Among the most inspirational figures: Toni Morrison, followed by James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Denis Johnson, and Lorrie Moore. VERDICT Recommended for bibliophiles and readers curious about the works and authors behind the books they love.--Denise J. Stankovics, Vernon, CT
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Writers reflect candidly on the literature that shaped them and their work. Librarian and literary critic Pearl teamed up with media journalist, producer, and playwright Schwager to interview American writers about the books that "whispered most persistently in their ears." They asked a diverse selection of novelists, poets, and nonfiction writers, "how does the practice of reading inform the life of a writer?" Gently probing interviews elicited thoughtful responses about books that informed each writer's literary sensibility and professional aspirations. Appended to each interview is a brief list of the writer's treasured titles. Not surprisingly, many attest to having been early and enthusiastic readers. Jonathan Lethem described himself as a "prodigious, insatiable reader" when he was young. Jennifer Egan, too, was a precocious reader, and she was drawn to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca when she was 11 and discovered Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth in high school. Wharton, she says, became a "huge touchstone for me," as did writers she hoped to emulate, including Ethan Canin, Michael Chabon, and Don DeLillo. For Lethem, Kafka's The Trial "became this talismanic thing." Louise Erdrich remembers the impact made by Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar. "You started me, Herman, you started me," she recalls. For several writers, the books they read as children felt alien to the world in which they lived. Susan Choi, the biracial daughter of Jewish and Korean parents, thought of books "as a portal to some better place, where all the pretty people live in nice landscapes." Growing up in Morocco, attending French schools, novelist Laila Lalami found books "exclusively populated by French people with French concerns." As a Vietnamese refugee, Viet Thanh Nguyen found Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are "literally too dark for me." Other interviewees include Luis Alberto Urrea, T.C. Boyle, Siri Hustvedt, and Donna Tartt. A spirited collection offering intimate insights into the writing life. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
