title: About the Author: The Passionate Reader's Guide to the Authors You Love, Including Things You Never Knew, Juicy Bits You'll Want to Know, and Hundreds of Ideas for What to Read Next
author:  Alfred Glossbrenner 
description: Who was the inspiration for the character of Rhett Butler? Where can I find Terry McMillan's tips for a book-promotion campaign? How old was Issac Asimov when he graduated from high school? With its entertaining blend of trivia, biographical facts, and reading recommendations, <I>About the Author</I> provides information on all your favorite writers and their books. Arranged alphabetically, the authors get a full two pages each, including dates of major life events, related Web sites and fan clubs, a full list of titles, and personal inspirations that can give you new ideas for other books to discover. Is Wally Lamb your favorite author? Since some of his favorites are Alice Walker, Margaret Atwood, and John Updike, maybe you should give some of their books a try. Several generations are covered here, and all genres, including C.S. Lewis, Zora Neale Hurston, Mario Puzo, and Patricia Cornwell. You say you've worked your way through all these books already? Well, check out the "What Else to Read" section at the back--these pages cover award-winning titles, bestsellers, and "Top 25" lists assembled by universities, fan Web sites, and professional organizations devoted to specific genres. College students who consider themselves well-read will be surprised at how many Pulitzer Prize winners they're unfamiliar with. The list of banned books may be just the thing to get your teen reading regularly. A terrific guidebook for literature lovers, it even has a listing of regional events related to books and reading, as well as contact information for major publishers and booksellers. Read this book with pen and paper in hand; you're sure to have a reading list several pages long by the time you've finished. <I>--Jill Lightner</I>
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  Pascal Garnier was born in Paris in 1949. The prize-winning author of more
  than sixty books, he remains a leading figure in contemporary French
  literature, in the tradition of Georges Simenon. He died in 2010.
  
  Emily Boyce is an editor and in-house translator at Gallic Books.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ‘Wonderful … Properly noir’
  
  Ian Rankin
  
  ‘Garnier plunges you into a bizarre, overheated world, seething death,
  writing, fictions and philosophy. He’s a trippy, sleazy, sly and classy read’
  
  A. L. Kennedy
  
  ‘Horribly funny … appalling and bracing in equal measure. Masterful’
  
  John Banville
  
  ‘Ennui, dislocation, alienation, estrangement – these are the colours on
  Garnier’s palette. His books are out there on their own: short, jagged and
  exhilarating’
  
  Stanley Donwood
  
  ‘Garnier’s world exists in the cracks and margins of ours; just off-key, often
  teetering on the surreal, yet all too plausible. His mordant literary edge
  makes these succinct novels stimulating and rewarding’
  
  Sunday Times
  
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