Top Picks: 8 Anne Tyler Books

Happy birthday, Anne Tyler! In honor of the acclaimed novelist's 75th birthday on October 25, I'm recommending top picks for seasoned fans or Anne Tyler newbies.

Published in 1964, her first book, If Morning Ever Comes, began a long career of examining people's everyday lives through storied characters and the relationships they share.

Fans are most likely familiar with her 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner, Breathing Lessons, about a middle-aged couple examining their lives as they travel to a funeral, as well as her Pulitzer Prize finalists, The Accidental Tourist and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, which focus on loss and the hope that comes with it.


Breathing Lessons is available in other formats.

The Accidental Tourist is available in other formats.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is available in other formats.

Her latest novel, Vinegar Girl, retells Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, but there are many more to choose from for anyone looking to dive a little deeper.

Vinegar Girl is available in other formats.

In A Spool of Blue Thread, you may think you know the Whitshanks until the next chapter comes along. As Abby and Red start to see their own lives through their children's eyes, you start to see Abby and Red in a different light. Tyler's special way of peeling away the layers of a story reflects her knowledge of real relationships.

A Spool of Blue Thread is available in other formats.

Digging to America takes a look at what it means to be an American to two families who adopt babies from Korea at the same time. The families start a celebratory arrival day tradition, yet as the children grow older, feelings of being an outsider start to form.

Digging to America is available in other formats.

What does it mean to stay true to yourself when your life turns out different than expected? Beck questions this herself in Back When We Were Grownups as she sees the different roles she plays in her family's lives.

Back When We Were Grownups is available in other formats.

For even more stories about the intricacies of domestic life, check out all of Anne Tyler's books.