Sharing the books of her life in an interview with The Guardian, Patchett spoke on the eye-opening brilliance of Roxane Gay, enduring influence of John Updike, and the profundity that can be found in vintage dog portraits. In 2010, noting her hometown of Nashville’s lack of good booksellers, she co-founded Parnassus Books with partner Karen Hayes. Best known for the 2001 PEN/Faulkner award-winning novel Bel Canto, Ann Patchett has achieved both critical and commercial success for luminous novels that explore the clashing lives of disparate characters.