Reading Like a Writer

When is the last time you read a book with a highlighter and pen and sticky tabs (or book darts, which I love)? With the launch of the Book Club for Writers last week I have rediscovered the pleasure in spending time with a novel and really looking at it from a craft perspective. Reading a book this way means you don't even have to like it to get something out of it. (There is a reason, after all, that the book was published.) Remember how in school we read all those books whether we liked them or not? We learned something, darn it!

In the case of our selection, chosen by vote, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett has a lot to offer in the handling of time and narrator control (sometimes Lara is telling her tale to her daughters, sometimes she's telling it to herself/the reader). I'm halfway through and I'm enjoying the book (even though that's not a requirement for analytical reading!) a lot more than I thought I would. When I read for pleasure, I usually don't choose the hot new title. (Is anyone else like this?)

If you are here, reading this, you are probably a reader, too. But on the off chance that you are new to writing and wonder how reading plays into the whole ambition of writing and writing well, let me share enthusiastically that reading (widely, across genres) is so central to what we are trying to accomplish that I would go so far as to say that reading is the most important thing—second to actually sitting down and doing the writing. If you’re not sure what to read or where to start, there’s nothing I would love more than to “prescribe” you a book! Send me a note and I’ll recommend something to you.

And If you're interested in reading and discussing Tom Lake along with us, why not join? We're meeting on Zoom on September 13, 2023 at 5pm Pacific, and we've started a Discord server to host chats online, too.