I’m a sucker for books like For the Love of Books (1999). The concept is simple. Editor Ronald B. Shwartz asked writers what their favorite book was. Shwartz received 115 responses and they’re all here in this volume.
Now some of the contributors listed more than one favorite book (which I’m okay with). Some authors came up with some real doozies!
I find books like For the Love of Books a browser’s delight! One of my favorite moments reading this book was Elmore Leonard’s advice: “I’ve learned it has to be fun or it isn’t worth doing.” (p. 149). Do you recognize these writers? Are any of your favorite writers represented here? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgements — xii
Introduction — xv
Diane Ackerman — 1
Robert Alter– 3
Ken Auletta — 5
Nicholson Baker — 6
Russell Banks — 7
Dave Barry — 8
John Barth — 13
Jacques Barzun — 15
Ann Beattie — 17
Louis Begley — 20
Madison Smartt Bell — 21
Anne Bernays — 23
Sven Birkerts — 26
Amy Bloom — 28
Roy Blount, Jr — 31
Robert Bly — 35
Benjamin C. Bradlee — 43
Rita Mae Brown — 44
Art Buchwald — 44
Christopher Buckley — 45
Ethan Canin — 49
Philip Caputo — 51
John Casey — 55
Robert Coles — 60
Robert Coover — 62
Robert Creeley — 65
Guy Davenport — 66
Rita Dove — 70
Gretel Ehrlich — 75
Joseph Epstein — 80
Anne Fadiman — 82
Clifton Fadiman — 85
Stanley Fish — 87
Penelope Fitzgerald — 90
Bruce Jay Friedman — 91
William Gass — 95
Sir Martin Gilbert — 98
Gail Godwin — 100
Nadine Gordimer — 102
Doris Grumbach — 104
Pete Hamill — 106
Jonathan Harr — 111
John Hawkes — 114
Anthony Hecht — 120
Edward Hoagland — 124
John Irving — 126
Justin Kaplan — 128
Susanna Kaysen –132
Alfred Kazin — 134
Tracy Kidder — 135
W.P. Kinsella — 139
Caroline Knapp — 140
Maxine Kumin — 141
Anthony Lane — 143
David Leavitt — 145
Elmore Leonard — 147
Doris Lessing — 149
David Lodge — 154
Phillip Lopate — 156
Norman Mailer — 158
William Manchester — 159
James McBride — 162
Bruce McCall — 165
Frank McCourt — 167
Elizabeth McCracken — 173
Joseph McElroy — 175
Thomas McGuane — 178
Ved Mehta — 180
W.S. Merwin — 182
Arthur Miller — 183
Sue Miller — 184
Peggy Noonan — 187
Joyce Carol Oates — 190
Sharon Olds — 193
Michael Ondaatje — 195
P.J. O’Rourke — 197
Amos Oz — 198
Cynthia Ozick — 199
Grace Paley — 201
Jay Parini — 201
Robert B. Parker — 206
Noel Perrin — 207
Marge Piercy — 209
Robert M. Pirsig — 211
Richard A. Posner — 214
Padgett Powell — 216
Reynolds Price — 219
James Purdy — 221
Mario Puzo — 222
Anna Quindlen — 222
Richard Rhodes — 225
Mordecai Richler — 227
Lillian Ross — 229
Judith Rossner — 233
Witold Rybczynski — 236
Orville Schell — 237
Joanna Scott — 240
Carol Shields — 243
Alan Sillitoe — 245
Neil Simon — 247
Mona Simpson — 248
W.D. Snodgrass — 252
Oliver Stone — 253
Mark Strand — 255
William Styron — 257
Gay Talese — 259
D.M. Thomas — 260
John Updike — 264
Kurt Vonnegut — 265
Wendy Wasserstein — 269
Paul West — 272
Richard Wilbur — 278
Geoffrey Wolff — 279
Tobias Wolff — 283
Herman Wouk — 285
Bibliographical Index — 287
About the Editor — 298
