By Angela Deckard and Shelby Toren, Branch Librarians
We hope you have plans to attend our inaugural On the Same Page event with Ann Patchett this coming April. We’re several months away, so you have plenty of time to read up on Ann Patchett and get ready to meet the author herself. In the meantime, here are some fun facts about the development of Tom Lake to get ready for the big event!
- Ann chose the cover before she finished writing the book! While on a trip to Paris in May 2022, Patchett visited Musee de l’Orangerie to see Monet’s Water Lilies. On the way out, she saw Gustav Caillebotte’s Parterre de marguerites or Daisy Bed. She instantly knew that would be the cover of her novel-in-progress and bought some postcards of the painting to send to her publisher.
- Audiobook listeners are in for a treat. Meryl Streep narrates Tom Lake and it is fabulous! Patchett has said that she always pictured Meryl Streep reading the book as she was writing. Fortunately, Patchett had a connection to Streep through her agent, Felicity Blunt, who is married to Stanley Tucci, a good friend of Meryl Streep. According to Patchett, when she emailed Streep to narrate the audiobook, Streep wrote back saying, "Oh, that sounds like a wonderful book. I'll do that."
- Finally, Ann Patchett wrote the entire book while walking on a treadmill! In an interview with PBS, Patchett shared, “It just thrilled me. I would get up in the morning and think, ‘I’m ready to go to work, I’m going to get on the treadmill desk, I’m going to write my book.’ And I have never felt that way before. It was a joy.”
We’re so excited to welcome Ann Patchett to Michigan on April 24. If you haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, you can place a hold here, opens a new window. Print copies are available right away at many branches.
If you would like to receive updates, reminders and fun information straight to your inbox, sign up at kdl.org/samepage, opens a new window.
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