Kerri Maher, author of ‘The Paris Bookseller’ and other historical novels, takes a contemporary approach to reading

BOOKS: What are you reading?

Maher: All my reading pleasure is on audiobooks these days. Currently I’m listening to Tomi Adeyemi’s “Children of Blood and Bone” which is a terrific fantasy series for young people. The one I read before was “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. It is set in the early 1960s and concerns a female chemist who becomes a television chef. It’s a hilarious and deeply feminist novel. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

BOOKS: How much of your reading is historical fiction?

Maher: Probably two-thirds to three-quarters. This has been the case for about six years. After writing my first novel, I started getting more attached to reading it. One of the first I read was “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain, which I loved. I’ve always been fascinated by expatriate writers from the 1920s, like Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. “The Paris Wife” is about this decade.

BOOKS: Who are your favorite historical fiction writers?

Maher: Renée Rosen, who wrote “Park Avenue Summer” and “The Social Graces”, and Kip Wilson, who writes YA in verse. Another writer I love is Kate Quinn. His books are absolute page-turners. “The Diamond Eye” is set during World War II and is based on a real Russian woman who was a librarian and became a sniper.

BOOKS: What have you read for your book that you would recommend?

Maher: Sylvia Beach’s own memoir, “Shakespeare and Company”. She is a charming writer. I first read this in college and that’s how I found out about the amazing life she led. Another book I revisited was Hemingway’s ‘A Moveable Feast’ and I dove back into Amanda Vaill’s ‘Everybody Was So Young’ which focuses on Sara and Gerald Murphy, who were then a prominent American couple. in Paris.

BOOKS: Do you read non-fiction?

Maher: I like non-fiction but I don’t read as much as I would like. I am a profoundly slow reader. Audiobooks saved me. I can read while folding laundry, walking the dog or cooking dinner. It makes me feel like I’m wasting no time.

BOOKS: When did you start using audiobooks?

Maher: Long before Audible, 15 or 16 years ago. I had to kill two hours a day to get to a teaching job. I could only listen to so much of NPR. So I picked up books on CDs from the library. That’s how I read “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr, a great historical novel. It’s a door stopper. It took many trips. Another huge book I listened to was “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. The drive for this is terrific.

BOOKS: What did you read about Paris for your project?

Maher: I went to Paris! I stayed in an Airbnb in a building with a plaque that says “James Joyce lived here in the summer of 1921 when he wrote Ulysses”. So I could imagine Joyce living there and enjoying the yard. Just up the street was Hemingway’s first apartment in Paris. I had this amazing live search experience.

BOOKS: What do you read next?

Maher: I’m in a rare moment where I’m not sure what to read. All I have to do is tap into my Instagram account and I’ll find something. There are so many great discussions of what to read out there. Back when I ran the literary magazine Yarn, when Instagram was new, I had a young woman on staff who suggested we get into it. All the old fogies said to themselves: “What are we going to do? Take pictures of books? It turns out that’s what millions of people want to see.

The interview has been edited and condensed. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @GlobeBiblio. Amy Sutherland is the most recent author of “Rescuing Penny Jane” and can be contacted at [email protected].

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