Claire Lombardo

Books, Beach, & Beyond

Claire Lombardo is the best-selling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had (the April 2024 Reese’s Book Club pick) and the recently released Same As It Ever Was. We start with Claire’s origin story, her social work and family therapist background, as well as her time at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Claire discusses teaching writing classes, point of view, first sentences, writing flawed characters, and growing up in the Midwest and how that comes across on the page. We dive into her new book Same As It Ever Was and the characters you meet in it, editing such a long story, long marriages, and more. Claire mentions her part-time job as a bookseller at Prairie Lights, her best book recommendations, and Tim and Claire try to solve the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder case.
Reading List:

• The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
• Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
• Leaving by Roxanna Robinson
• Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
• American Mermaid by Julia Langbein
• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
• Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
• The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West

Other Authors Mentioned:
Ethan Canin, Frank Conroy, John Irving

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Happy Reading!