New collection of plays released
Wood shares that a book collecting three of her plays—Papermaker, The Half-Light, and Saint Dad—was published the same week as the interview.
M
Monica Wood
Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright based in Maine. She is the author of several books for aspiring writers, including The Pocket Muse 1, The Pocket Muse 2, and Description, as well as novels such as When We Were the Kennedys and How to Read a Book. Her three plays—Papermaker, The Half-Light, and Saint Dad—debuted at Portland Stage in sold-out productions.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed How to Read a Book.
1
Books ReviewedIn Monica Wood's own words
Author Monica Wood joins host Bill Nemitz on the Maine Public Book Club to discuss the inspiration, characters, and writing process behind 'How to Read a Book'.
Uploaded by Maine Public, 2025 · Watch on YouTube ·
Also in this interview
Ask LuvemBooks about Monica Wood
Monica Wood is a Maine-based novelist, memoirist, and playwright whose range runs from writing guides like The Pocket Muse to novels such as When We Were the Kennedys. We've reviewed 1 of their books: How to Read a Book, which builds its story around an unusual pairing — a small-town bookstore and a women's prison — where a retired English teacher's prison book club draws her into the life of an inmate convicted of killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident. That book holds a 4.5/5 reader rating from over 23,000 Amazon ratings.
- Where should I start?
- How to Read a Book is the natural starting point — it's the one Monica Wood book we've reviewed, and it earned a 4.5/5 reader rating from over 23,000 Amazon ratings. The premise is immediately engaging: a retired English teacher leads a book club at a women's prison and forms a connection with Violet, an inmate convicted of killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident. It's also a National Bestseller published by Mariner Books in May 2024.
- What's their writing style?
- Based on the book we've reviewed, Wood works in literary fiction with a strong sense of place — small-town Maine — and a fondness for stories built around books themselves. How to Read a Book puts a bookstore and a prison book club at the center of the narrative, pairing a retired teacher with an inmate. Her background as a teacher of writing, reflected in craft books like Description, suggests an author who thinks carefully about how stories are put together.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed 1 book by Monica Wood so far. How to Read a Book is a National Bestseller set in a small-town bookstore and a women's prison near Portland, Maine, where retired teacher Harriet's prison book club connects her with Violet, an inmate convicted in a drunk-driving death. It holds a 4.5/5 reader rating from over 23,000 Amazon ratings.
- What genre do they write?
- The Monica Wood book we've reviewed, How to Read a Book, is classified as Literary Fiction. Across her wider career, though, Wood moves between forms: novels, memoir, books on the craft of writing, and stage plays. Readers who enjoy character-driven stories rooted in a strong sense of place will find her fiction a good fit.
Who is Monica Wood?
Where should I start?
What's their writing style?
Books we've reviewed
What genre do they write?
Who is Monica Wood?
Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright based in Maine. She has written several books for aspiring writers, including The Pocket Muse 1, The Pocket Muse 2, and Description, along with novels such as When We Were the Kennedys and How to Read a Book. Her three plays — Papermaker, The Half-Light, and Saint Dad — debuted at Portland Stage in sold-out productions.
Follow up
What is Monica Wood best known for?
Has Monica Wood written nonfiction?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
Press Enter to ask. Answers come from our editorial Q&A — start typing to see related questions.
Authors Like Monica Wood
Elizabeth Strout
Women's Fiction
Literary Fiction
Elizabeth Strout is an American novelist and author.
4 books reviewed
Shelby Van Pelt
Women's Fiction
Literary Fiction
Shelby Van Pelt is the author of *Remarkably Bright Creatures*, a women's fiction novel that follows a widow navigating life after loss while uncovering secrets about her late husband. The book blends humor, heart, and mystery as its protagonist discovers
1 book reviewed
J
Jane Smiley
Women's Fiction
Literary Fiction
Jane Smiley is an American novelist.
1 book reviewed
Kazuo Ishiguro
Literary Fiction
Born in Nagasaki and raised in Britain from the age of five, **Sir Kazuo Ishiguro** has emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature.
1 book reviewed
B
Barbara Claypole White
Literary Fiction
Barbara Claypole White is a bestselling author born in rural England who writes and gardens in the forests of North Carolina. Holding a history degree from York University, she pursued fashion journalism before turning to fiction. She writes emotionally layered book club fiction about families in crisis, complicated relationships, and characters with mental health challenges.
1 book reviewed
Barbara Kingsolver
Literary Fiction
Barbara Ellen Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist, and poet.
1 book reviewed