Anne Tyler

kennyc · 10-25-2013, 09:38 AM

From Writers Almanac today:

Quote:

Today is the birthday of novelist Anne Tyler (books by this author), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941. She's written 19 novels, most of them set in Baltimore, where she's lived since 1967. Her family moved around a lot when she was small, and they finally settled in a Quaker commune in the mountains of North Carolina. Certain myths have sprung up about her childhood, probably because she doesn't give many interviews and people have drawn their own conclusions. Some say she didn't wear shoes or go to school until she was 11. She did, in fact, attend a one-room school for all the children who lived on the mountain. There weren't a lot of books, though, so she read Little Women 22 times. Living in the relative isolation of the commune was good training for a fledgling novelist; she says it gave her a bit of distance from the rest of the world, training her to be a slightly detached observer of it.
She published her first novel, If Morning Ever Comes (1964), when she was 23.
....

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.or...ate=2013/10/25

I have not read a lot of her work but what I have I've loved - Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Breathing Lessons, Saint Maybe and more Recently Noah's Compass. I've got her most recent novel but have not read it .... on the TBR list...

Bookpossum · 10-25-2013, 06:37 PM

Happy birthday Anne Tyler. I love her novels and have them all. Such a gentle, quirky writer.

bfisher · 10-25-2013, 07:16 PM

Any suggestions for which of her novels to start with?

kennyc · 10-25-2013, 09:18 PM

Well I'd suggest the one's I mentioned, but other's might think otherwise.

crich70 · 10-25-2013, 09:38 PM

The Accidental Tourist is interesting. There is even a movie version of the book if I remember right.

Bookpossum · 10-29-2013, 01:36 AM

The Accidental Tourist was the first one I read, after seeing the film - I hadn't come across her before that. Then I just got all of her books and read them. Hard to recommend one over another and I think kenny's list is a good one. I just recently read The Beginner's Goodbye which I think is her most recent book, and loved it, but I find it really hard to single out one book over the others. Each one stands alone, so it really doesn't matter which one you start with.

crich70 · 10-29-2013, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

The Accidental Tourist was the first one I read, after seeing the film - I hadn't come across her before that. Then I just got all of her books and read them. Hard to recommend one over another and I think kenny's list is a good one. I just recently read The Beginner's Goodbye which I think is her most recent book, and loved it, but I find it really hard to single out one book over the others. Each one stands alone, so it really doesn't matter which one you start with.

I heard about her through Robert J. Ray's book "The Weekend Novelist" which used examples from "The Accidental Tourist" among other authors (including Hemingway) in showing how to write a novel in 52 weeks.

BenG · 11-09-2013, 04:09 PM

I've just finished The Accidental Tourist. I haven't read Tyler before but this was great. I plan to read another in a month or so.

kennyc · 11-09-2013, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

I've just finished The Accidental Tourist. I haven't read Tyler before but this was great. I plan to read another in a month or so.

Excellent!

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10-25-2013, 06:37 PM	#2
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Happy birthday Anne Tyler. I love her novels and have them all. Such a gentle, quirky writer.

10-25-2013, 07:16 PM	#3
bfisher Wizard Posts: 1,638 Karma: 28483498 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ottawa Canada Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)	Any suggestions for which of her novels to start with?

10-25-2013, 09:18 PM	#4
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Well I'd suggest the one's I mentioned, but other's might think otherwise.

10-25-2013, 09:38 PM	#5
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	The Accidental Tourist is interesting. There is even a movie version of the book if I remember right.

10-29-2013, 01:36 AM	#6
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	The Accidental Tourist was the first one I read, after seeing the film - I hadn't come across her before that. Then I just got all of her books and read them. Hard to recommend one over another and I think kenny's list is a good one. I just recently read The Beginner's Goodbye which I think is her most recent book, and loved it, but I find it really hard to single out one book over the others. Each one stands alone, so it really doesn't matter which one you start with.

11-09-2013, 04:09 PM	#8
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	I've just finished The Accidental Tourist. I haven't read Tyler before but this was great. I plan to read another in a month or so.

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