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Anna Quindlen

Biography

Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen is
the author of five previous bestselling novels (RISE AND SHINE, BLESSINGS, OBJECT LESSONS, ONE TRUE THING, BLACK AND BLUE), and seven
nonfiction books (A SHORT
GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE, GOOD DOG. STAY., BEING PERFECT, LOUD & CLEAR, LIVING OUT LOUD, THINKING OUT LOUD, and
HOW READING CHANGED MY
LIFE). Her New York Times column "Public and
Private" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. From 2000-2009, she wrote
the "Last Word" column for Newsweek.

Article

Anna Quindlen has been delighting her readers with both her novels
and her collections of essays for some time now. Always
interesting, always opinionated, Anna Quindlen is well worth
reading.

Her first novel, OBJECT LESSONS, tells the story of twelve-year-old
Maggie Scanlon who is struggling with the death of her grandfather
and the lessons he is trying to teach her. The book is an engaging
story of a young woman coming of age.

Her novel, BLACK AND BLUE, takes up the story of an abused woman
and what happens to her. How the protagonist leaves her abusive
husband and deals with her new life make for unforgettable
reading.

Both THINKING OUT LOUD and LIVING OUT LOUD are collections of
essays that originally ran in the New York
Times. Quindlen opines on topics ranging from the Gulf War
through the controversy over abortion. She observes euthanasia from
the perspective of a dying man's wife, comment's on her daughter's
second birthday, and considers the reasons why men still earn more
than women. Both books are interesting and will have you thinking
for a long time.

HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE is a memoir of her love of reading. She
discusses books she read as a child and segues into the issue of
reading for pleasure. She analyzes the power books hold over us all
and discusses the reasons why books inspire such love in all of us.
She even includes a reading list for those of us who might need
one.

Anna Quindlen is well worth reading --- whether you choose her
novels or her works of nonfiction. Pick up one of her books --- you
won't be disappointed.

   --- Judith Handschuh (JHScriba@aol.com)