What we're reading this summer
WASHINGTON (CBS News) - "Face The Nation" host Bob Schieffer sat down Sunday with five esteemed mystery novelists to talk about their favorite books, the changing industry and the creative process.
"Mean Streak" author Sandra Brown, "Personal" author Lee Child, "The Skin Collector" author Jeffery Deaver, "The Director" author David Ignatius and "Cop Town" author Karin Slaughter shared their insights into the world of fiction. The Orlando Sentinel wrote about the "lively, engaging" conversation.
The prolific panel of authors also revealed what books they are currently flipping through:
Brown is reading "Natchez Burning" by Greg Iles, a thriller about secrets and sin in the Deep South. The protagonist, a lawyer, revisits the Civil Rights era in Mississippi as his father is investigated for murder.
Child is reading "Jet Set" by William Stadiem, which takes readers back to the glory days of aviation.
Deaver is reading "A Magnificent Catastrophe" by Edward Larson, a look at the tumultuous American presidential in 1800, the first true campaign with two political parties fighting for power. "If we think politics is newly invented now, it's exactly the same as it was back then," Deaver said on Sunday.
Ignatius is reading "Lawrence in Arabia" by Scott Anderson, a historical profile of T. E. Lawrence, who led British campaigns during World War I in the Middle East. "It's just scarily appropriate for the mess that we're all looking at in the Middle East now ... and it just makes your skin crawl," Ignatius said.
Slaughter is reading "The Quick" by Lauren Owen, a gothic novel that takes place in Victorian England.
Our very own Bob Schieffer is reading "The War That Ended Peace" by Margaret MacMillan this summer. The book presents a close historical examination of the build-up to World War I.
The authors also shared some of their favorite books and works that give them inspiration.
Slaughter recently finished reading Brown's "Rainwater," which tells a Texas tale from the Great Depression era. "It's a wonderful book because she's so great at writing characters," Slaughter said.
Ignatius praised English writer Graham Greene, the author of classic novels "The Heart of the Matter" and "The Quiet American." "They're very modern books, they're so elegant," Ignatius said, adding that he often re-reads these works before writing a new book.
And if you're looking for more from our guests, check out "Face Off," a collection of short stories penned by pairs of writers who merged their fictional worlds together into one narrative. Child and Deaver participated in the project, which was curated by the International Thriller Writers.