In her interview for the New York Times “By the Book,” author Liane Moriarty identifies a few of her favorites:
- Kansas in August by Patrick Gale
- The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
- The Dry by Jane Harper
- The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
- In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
Only the last two are in my library system, so I am starting with them.
I share Moriarty’s admiration of author Anne Tyler. When Moriarty was asked which author she would want to write her life story, she answered:
“Anne Tyler, please, because she would make my ordinary life extraordinary and my flaws adorable, and she’d find some beautiful truth that I would only recognize once she pointed it out to me.”
Related Reviews:
The No Charge Book Bunch 
I read Crow Lake when it was fairly new. The library I went to had a reader advisory desk and the woman who was there always had great picks. In a Sunburned Country is also a good read. It’s very funny and I listened to him read it. Nearly wrecked my car in a parking lot when one line cracked me up.
I just got Lawson’s Man Booker finalist. Did you read that too? I love discovering a new author (to me anyway). Looking forward to reading Bryson – I could use a good laugh.