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 The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, an intimate, moving, and insightful collection from  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,  Pearl and 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 Writer's Library releases on September 8!

Check out The Writer's Library at Bud Werner Memorial Library.

Buy The Writer's Library from Steamboat Springs' independent bookstore, Off the Beaten Path.

About the Author

Nancy Pearl is a bestselling author, librarian and literary critic, but first and foremost, she is a reader and has spent her life promoting reading as one of the most beneficial and joyful experiences anyone can have. 

Pearl can be found on NPR’s Morning Edition  talking about her favorite books. Her monthly television show on the Seattle Channel, Book Lust with Nancy Pearl, features interviews with authors, poets, and other literary figures.  Among her many honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal and the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Nancy is the creator of the internationally recognized program If All of Seattle Read the Same Book, and was the inspiration for the Archee McPhee "Librarian Action Figure."  

Nancy has made readers' advisory the center of her work as a librarian and educator, and began developing her methodology and practices almost 40 years ago. Her goal is to ensure that readers' advisors have the skills to help patrons find good books, and she has spent over 15 years teaching her methodology to masters of library science students at the University of Washington.