As the Amazon review says, this is hardly the sappy fare you'd expect from a book so titled... actually, one of my favourites was the piece from Joyce Carol Oates, although I found the piece by Katherine Weber less entertaining. In any case, this is a very sharp collection of essays and excerpts about love.

What a gem of a collection! Writers new to me as well as some favorites are all wonderful and charming and loose and intelligent in this odd little collection. The only one that disappointed was Joyce Carol Oates, but only one dud isn't bad. Some of these essays are as good or better than fiction by these illustrious authors. Perfect for book discussion groups.

This interviewer, Mickey Pearlman, has mastered the technique of transporting the reader into the presence of some of the best writers in America. As a reader, I felt that I was in conversation with these writers hearing them talk candidly about their childhood, religion, racial and ethnic identity, the world of publishing and their respective genres. Here is a book that captures imagistic words that describe these authors'lives, values and writing habits. This book should be in the hands of every writer who wants to emulate success and comprehend other writers' defiance, imagination and obsessions. A great read!

How sad that this is only available through "special order." It's a great collection of interviews with some of our most beloved and critically acclaimed female writers--mostly authors of fiction. Mickey Pearlman is an insightful interviewer, and the window into the creative process this book provides makes it good for would-be writers and writers' groups, not to mention anyone who is a fan of good fiction. Mickey Pearlman has also published another set of interviews called "A Voice of One's Own." It's apparently out of print now, but it's also a good read if you can get a hold of a copy. Some of the authors interviewed in these books include MFK Fisher and Laurie Colwin (before their deaths, of course), Josephine Humphreys, Alison Lurie, Carole Maso, Jill McCorkle, Janette Turner Hospital, Margaret Atwood, Kate Braverman, and Jane Smiley.

Written a decade ago "A Voice Of One's Own", is a collection of twenty-eight women writer's relections about their craft of writing. The interviewer address to them the questions of what motivates, sustains and inspires them as writers. Unlike other interview collections this work is very inclusive in that it contains women from various racial, ethnic, regional, age and sexual preference groups.

Instead of a question and answer format as is usual in most interview collections, the interviewer decides to use a narrative form where one can see the interweaving of the answers and relections of the various authors. They become the center of focus, not the interviewer or the question. Three areas are prominently dealt with in this work.

1. The development of each woman as a writer. Harriet Doerr shares with us that she didn't consider herself a writer until she went to college at age 65.

2. How memory is linked to writing. Gloria Naylor's asserts that all writing filters itself through memory.

3. How children and family impact on writing. Most of the authors have children and share their thoughts about the challenges for that endeavor.

Having a voice and knowing how to creatively articulate it is a hallmark of this work. You will be inspired and reflective of your own writing as you hear these voices.

I purchased this book to get ideas on great books to read - I'm not part of a book club. After reading MANY of the books that she recommends, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the feminist choices in books that she makes. There are some terribly written, and otherwise terrible books on her list, that apparently, were only included as they (i) cast the male characters in a bad light, and (ii) cast the female characters in a positive light. I'm not a feminist. If you are, buy this book - you'll get many recommendations that will make you feel good. (Please don't respond by saying, "oh yeah, well I see William Faulkner and Charles Dickens are on the list - they're not quite feminists". You're right, they're not, but 98% of her chosen books could be categorized as "feminist reading").

My book club is always arguing over which book to read next. Mickey Pearlman's book is going to give me the ammo to back up my choices. It's a great book for solitary readers, too.

What a terrific book! Is there anyone more passionate about books or more knowledgable than Mickey Pearlman? Books these days stay on the shelf for two or three months at best, and sometimes the best books aren't even reviewed, so a lot of wonderful choices fall by the wayside. This book rectifies that situation! What I loved most about this book was the way Pearlman introduces books you might never have thought of or known about, as well as better known choices. I also loved,loved, love the way she gave such a huge diversity of choices. No matter what you are looking for, historical fiction, mainstream fiction, thrillers, or quirky new reads sure to get you thinking and discussing--this is the book to reach for.