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Late Last
Night Books
because so much reading, writing, and living happens after-hours
Since 2013
Gary Garth McCann, founder and managing editor
an ad-free magazine about fiction by authors Terra Ziporyn * Sally Whitney * Eileen Haavik McIntire * Gary Garth McCann * Peter G. Pollak * Garry Craig Powell * Jenny Yacovissi * Lily Iona MacKenzie * Todd S. Garth * Daniel Oliver
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WRITERS AS READERS: READING THE WRITER’S LIBRARY

Late Last Night Books
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TERRA ZIPORYN

Author of The Bliss of Solitude, Time’s Fool, Do Not Go Gentle, and the new novel Permanent Makeup as well as many nonfiction works including The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health, Alternative Medicine for Dummies, and Nameless Diseases.

4 JULY 2021 WRITERS AS READERS: READING THE WRITER’S LIBRARY
The Writer's Library offers an intimate and fascinating glance of writers as readers.
The Writer’s Library offers an intimate and fascinating glance of writers as readers.

What is your favorite book? As a writer, this is the most common–and most dreaded–interview question I get. I know writers are supposed to be readers, and I am one. But my mind always goes blank.

In The Writer’s Library, literary mavens Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager ask this question of a slew of prominent authors. And these people know how to answer. This fascinating book is filled with 23 interviews with authors including T.C. Boyle, Michael Chabon, Jennifer Egan, Louise Erdrich, Madeline Miller, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Donna Tartt, and Ayelet Waldman on books that “made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives.”

Books that Change (Writer’s) Lives

This is a book you’ll want to keep around just for the lists at the back of every chapter naming the most influential authors and books each author cites. If you want a great writer-vetted list of books to read before you die, this is a great list to keep on hand.

It’s also an affirmation of the joy of reading and books and writing. And a great guide to anyone looking to freshen up their reading list.

Literary Inferiority Complex

Admittedly, this book is a tad intimidating. Especially if you read the book chronologically, which I did. The first interview is with Jonathan Lethem, who seems not only to recall every favorite and influential book: he can instantly describe every obscure title he’s ever read in excruciating detail. Worse, his interviewers Nancy and Jeff can too!

Not only do these people seem to have instant recall of everyone they’ve read and why they’ve liked or disliked them. They also seem to remember minute details about plot, character, and style. I can barely remember what I read last night.

Time's Fool by Terra Ziporyn

Writers who also teach writing or review books for a living have better recall. That makes sense.

But as you read on, you realize that having an elephant’s memory for literature is not necessarily a prerequisite for literary success. Some writers (e.g., T.C., Boyle) say they change their minds daily about favorite books. Others say they can’t recall what they read 2 weeks ago. For plenty of writers, it took the discussion itself to dredge up memories. Phew.

Building a Writer’s Library

For all the feelings of literary inadequacy this book fueled, I had one moment of vindication when one of the interviewers admitted never having made it through Proust.

Here I get some points: By devoting part of every evening to reading 10 pages for nearly a year now, I am now in the home stretch. I only have 700 or so pages left to go.

Now I’m hankering to finish so I can devote my Proust-time to these new luscious books.

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Terra Ziporyn

TERRA ZIPORYN is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and science writer whose numerous popular health and medical publications include The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health, Nameless Diseases, and Alternative Medicine for Dummies. Her novels include Do Not Go Gentle, The Bliss of Solitude, and Time’s Fool, which in 2008 was awarded first prize for historical fiction by the Maryland Writers Association. Terra has participated in both the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and the Old Chatham Writers Conference and for many years was a member of Theatre Building Chicago’s Writers Workshop (New Tuners).  A former associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association  (JAMA), she has a PhD in the history of science and medicine from the University of Chicago and a BA in both history and biology from Yale University, where she also studied playwriting with Ted Tally. Her latest novel, Permanent Makeup, is available in paperback and as a Kindle Select Book.

 

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