In his very excellent Consider This: Moments in my Writing Life After which Everything was Different, Chuck Palahniuk offers many many assignments. These are all designed to try to get you (me) the reader/writer to be a better writer. Tucked in way at the back is a list of fiction to read, short novels and short stories. I like those. There’s also a list of non-fiction, but we’ll get to that later.
Today, the first of the fiction books arrives in the mail (USPS mail tracking is one of the best inventions; it salves many maladies of the soul). I’m starting with CP’s workshop leader, Tom Spanbauer. Only one of his books is on the list. Faraway Places.
A new project, a new set of books. By the way, you should read Consider This. In the workshop I teach in my head, it’s become the new “Welcome” text.