Reading books about authors gives readers a deeper understanding of the life of the writers of their favorite books and stories. Those stories inspired you while growing up as a child and even as an adult. It also helps them understand the creative processes and inspiration that birth the words on the pages of the books they are reading. Novels about authors go deeper into revealing the author’s personal histories, challenges, and wins that are beyond the book titles.
Through books about novelists, readers get to know the mysteries behind the books the authors publish, and this does not matter if it’s an autobiography, fiction, or nonfiction. In this post, we’ll explore the seven best books about authors to help you understand the context behind their stories and the motivation that drives their journey as creatives and novelists.
1• “The Ghost Writer” By Philip Roth
- Audible Audiobook
- Philip Roth (Author) – Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 04/26/2016 (Publication Date) – Blackstone Audio, Inc. (Publisher)
The Ghost Writer is an engaging novel about authors published by Philip Roth. “The Ghost Writer” tells the tale of Nathan Zuckerman, a budding writer who gets mixed up in the lives of well-known novelist E.I. Lonoff and his assistant, Amy Bellette. Nathan revealed deep secrets about them through the literary world, such as Amy’s mysterious past and Lonoff’s nuanced interpersonal dynamics. The book digs deep into topics that connect to ambition, identity, and the indistinct boundaries between fact and fiction.
The author shares the difficulties of writing, interpersonal relationships, and the creepy traces of the past through Roth’s imaginative storytelling. Get this book to discover all that happened while visiting his famous novelist.
2• “Little Women” By Louisa May Alcott
- Alcott, Louisa May (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 505 Pages – 05/01/1983 (Publication Date) – Bantam Classics (Publisher)
The novel “Little Women” is a story that tells of the adolescence stage to adulthood of four sisters known as Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. May Alcott wrote this book and explores how important having family, love, and personal growth is in one’s life. All four sisters have their unique traits, challenges, and wins. It’s a story about authors everyone should read.
The main character in this story is Jo, who happens to be the second daughter. Jo has the desire and ambition to become a writer. The tale narrates her experience with her sisters while trying to achieve her goal of becoming a novelist. You should check the book out.
3• “On Writing” by Stephen King
- Audible Audiobook
- Stephen King (Author) – Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King (Narrators)
- English (Publication Language)
- 10/04/2000 (Publication Date) – Simon & Schuster Audio (Publisher)
If you are an aspiring writer seeking inspiration and insights, this book, “On Writing” by Stephen King, is a fantastic novel that can help you with tips, tricks, and hints on how to hone your writing skills and become a better novelist. Stephen King shares both the good and bad experiences in his life. How he struggled with addiction, as well as the accident that nearly claimed his life.
He dished out some advice to aspiring writers and those who have started their journey as authors. Stephen King dwelled more on how important discipline is, and how every writer should imbibe that. “On Writing ” is a novel for those who enjoy writing and seek knowledge to keep them going.
4″ “How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
- Hely, Steve (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 224 Pages – 07/08/2009 (Publication Date) – Grove Press, Black Cat (Publisher)
Steve Hely is one of the best writers I’ve read in recent times. He wrote this mind-blowing book, “How I Became a Famous Novelist”. This book is mainly for anyone interested in the publishing industry. In this book, Steve Hely followed popular trends in writing, which helped him manipulate the book-writing world. Furthermore, Steve Hely teaches readers the mechanism between creativity and market demand. This novel is entertaining and educating, helping aspiring writers understand what the publishing industry is really like.
5• “Wonder Boys By Michael Chabon
- Audible Audiobook
- Michael Chabon (Author) – David Colacci (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 12/30/2012 (Publication Date) – Brilliance Audio (Publisher)
Micheal Chabon is an amazing novelist that knows how to play with words and shares the story of Grady Tripp, a novelist and creative writing professor who is trying so hard to overcome the challenges life throws. While at this, he is trying so hard to navigate the essential phase in his life, which is his writing career. Micheal Chabon authored this inspiring novel, “Wonder Boys”. It is an engaging and enjoyable read because of his clever prose and examination of creativity, identity, and the writing process. Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire starred in the novel’s subsequent cinematic adaptation.
6• “The Wife” By Meg Wolitzer
- Audible Audiobook
- Meg Wolitzer (Author) – Dawn Harvey (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 05/07/2015 (Publication Date) – Blackstone Audio, Inc. (Publisher)
Meg Wolitzer’s fascinating book about authors, “The Wife,” dives into the issues of marriage, identity management, and the difficulties of keeping good relationships. The story follows Joan Castleman, the conceited and well-known novelist’s wife, as she went alongside her husband to grace the event of the Nobel Prize In Literature award her husband gained in Stockholm.
Meg Wolitzer brilliantly reveals the various aspects of Joan’s life and her part in the success of her husband’s achievement through memories and the recent happenings. Furthermore, the book also digs deep into the issues of sacrifice, power, relationships, and people’s decisions to achieve their goals. “The Wife” offers a deep look at a woman’s journey and how complicated and passionate a marriage can be.
7• “The Retreat” By Mark Edwards
- Audible Audiobook
- Mark Edwards (Author) – Simon Mattacks (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 05/10/2018 (Publication Date) – Brilliance Audio (Publisher)
“The Retreat” is one of the best books about novelists. We recommend that you read it. The story will keep you engaged and inspired. In this book, Julia Marsh, who is destitute and alone after losing her husband and kids, offers writing retreats at her remote home. Lucas Radcliffe, a well-known horror author with a dark history and subpar writer’s block, joined the writing retreat. Lucas gets motivated to unravel the mystery behind Julia’s missing daughter as he and Julia become closer. However, Lucas discovers that this remote and frightening part of Wales is not without its secrets. This prompts him to research the local legend, further increasing the suspense. You will reconsider scheduling your writing retreat after reading this book.
Wrapping Up
If you want to understand what goes on in the writing life of your favorite author, read books about novelists that have to do with the author. These writers are not almighty as some people see them. Individually, they face life challenges, marriage issues, loss of their loved ones, writer’s block, etc. Some fiction and nonfiction stories are born from what they go through in life. Some of them sit on the writing desk and reminisce on the recent happenings around them to get inspiration for their next book. Reading books about novelists will help you understand that, in reality, they have a life, husband, wife, mother, children, and a future they look forward to.
