Why this blog?

I am a writer. According to certain relatives, I was born, not with a silver spoon, but a pencil in one hand and a stack of paper in the other. It did take a while to crawl my way to my mother's typewriter; it has only gotten worse since then.

One thing I've discovered over the years is that most writers are also readers. At least the best writers are. It's rather difficult to become a better writer without reading; you never really grow as far as you can without combining the two. Imagine a child just learning his or her alphabet, learning to print out the letters, and never learning to read. That child might question why have letters? What's the use of learning to make a capital A look different from a lower-case z, if there's no reading? That would be silly. And yet, for a writer to never read is just as far-fetched.

Granted, not everyone who reads writes, other than what is required of his or her job. But for someone who writes full-time, reading is fundamental. No matter what our job is, we tend to wonder how others in the same line of work are faring. And while a good book might not tell you how that writer's life is going right this minute, it does give the reader a good insight to that particular writer's mind. Stephen King and Anna Quindlen come to mind; the former might have trouble trying to write One True Thing or Black And Blue, while the latter might have a totally different spin on Carrie or The Stand.

So, with this blog, I intend to explore the books I've been reading, the authors I enjoy, the stories I plan to read. I'll be posting my first book/author post in the near future; it will probably deal with Anna Quindlen, exploring her novels (mostly) and her books based on her articles.

One last thing: If you have a book you absolutely love, a favorite author, or a book that you feel people should steer clear of, please feel free to post a comment.