To read a paper book is another experience: you can do it on a ship, on the branch of a tree, on your bed, even if there is a blackout.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I write in a noisy, distracting world so the books can be read there.
A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.
I had expected that at some point during the first draft a light would go on, and I would understand, finally, how to write a book. This never happened. The process was akin to blindly walking in the dark, feeling my way only by touch, and only recognising dead ends when I smacked into them.
I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark.
I've seen a lot of people buy my books and then fall asleep on the plane soon afterwards.
Writing books is a nice retreat. There's nothing quite like diving into a book for a few hours. That is a big time vacation.
In the winter, I read next to a wood-burning stove. In the summer, we have a place up in Michigan where I like to read in a hammock. It's almost entirely hidden by cedar trees and right up by the water. You can climb in there and see nothing but water and be seen by nobody. It's perfect.
I don't think I could set a book in a place without knowing it really well.
One of the maddening ironies of writing books is that it leaves so little time for reading others'. My bedside is piled with books, but it's duty reading: books for book research, books for review. The ones I pine for are off on a shelf downstairs.
I can never get to sleep without a book.