Why Writers Should Read Great Books

Writers should read great books for this reason.

Great books show a writer what is possible.

I personally, find few things as intellectually compelling as coming across a sentence or paragraph that I wish I had written.

The story, the phrasing, and the cadence of the words all culminate into something beautiful and you have to stop and reread the passage two more times.

Here is an example of a passage that jumped out at me like this.

I know of literally no successful writers that did not start by reading.

And, when stuck or down, you can look at a classic text as a mentor too.

Fill your ears with the music of good sentences, and when you finally approach the page yourself, that music will carry you. It will remind you that you are a part of a vast symphony of writers, that you are not alone in your quest to lay down words, each one bumping against the next until something new is revealed. It will exhort you to do better. To not settle for just good enough. Reading great work is exhilarating. It shows us what’s possible. When I start the morning with any one of the dozens of books in rotation on my office floor, my day is made instantly better, brighter. I never regret having done it. Think about it: have you ever spent an hour reading a good book, and then had that sinking, queasy feeling of having wasted time?

-Dani Shapiro, Still Writing