You’ve probably heard this a hundred times before, but reading is the single best thing you can do to grow as a writer. It’s not just useful for inspiration but for form, style and approach. I have most of my light bulb moments reading other writers and find myself marking up pages and scribbling notes in margins and pushing books into other writers hands.
So, I’m starting a new series for my paid subscribers called Reading to Write, where I’ll share books that have helped me be a better writer and observer and share my practice with you, as well as an invitation to write.
The next few books I’ll be looking at are:
Saltwater by Jessica Andrews
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
But first up is Exteriors by Annie Ernaux. Ernaux is a Nobel prize winning writer I’ve had recommended to me for years, but I’ve never managed to get around to reading. I treated myself to a stack of titles from Fitzcarraldo Editions last year and this slim volume is where I started with her writing.