"What is this writing life? I was living alone in a house, and had set up a study on the first floor. A portable green Smith-Corona sat on the table against a wall [...]"

Cool women with typewriters. Denna Dillard, däremot, var fantastisk! Måste tillstå att just en metafor för livet och litteraturen lånad från naturen, i form av en kämpande liten inchworm (mätare?) på ett grässtrå, är en av de bästa passagerna i hela boken.

Läsplats: Mersea Island, Essex.

I'm not alone. If that's not worth it's weight in gold then what is?

"The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."

Lovely and enjoyable quick read, but not what I expected... More memoir. Doesn't compare to the inspiration of writing down the bones and bird by bird.

Found this very noodly to begin with, but as it wandered along its short path - easily consumed in one sitting - it reached quietly into my writer’s soul and had a gentle rummage. Will undoubtedly revisit and expect greater rewards…

I thought this slim book took a whole lot of patience. Not much of it's to do with writing really, but I'm sure that was by design. I much prefer Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird or Stephen King's On Writing to this read. Not recommended for a first-time reader of Dillard. She's an acquired taste, but oh, once you have tasted and seen that the Dillard is good, you won't regret it (see: Holy the Firm).

This book isn’t what I expect. Instead of a “how to” Dillard gives is a narrative memoir about her time spent writing. She wove in a few beautiful metaphors for a well-lived life.

Engaging, thought provoking, direct, and perhaps everything you need to hear if you are working as a writer. It is a quick but inspiring read.