I am often given books by friends and family. This year for Christmas my daughter gave me This is My Best edited by Retha Powers and Kathy Kieman published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2006 (paperback). She found it heavily discounted at one of the major chain bookstores.
The premise of the book is that about 50 fiction and non-fiction writers and poets and even two cartoonists (Scott Adams and Gary Trudeau) pick a short piece of their writing that they think is their best work. In an essay that precedes each piece, the author explains why he or she chose that particular piece and why they think it is their best work. I found the essays fascinating and enlightening (expect Paul Auster's. He wrote what I found to be an exceptionally snotty single paragraph for his essay saying that writers didn't know anything about their own work and shouldn't talk about it.) The essays made me realize that all writers, even famous ones, go through a universal process of fears, doubts, and self-criticisms as they strugle to translate their ideas from brain to paper. I highly recommend the book.
So what was the best book you received as a gift in 2007?
The premise of the book is that about 50 fiction and non-fiction writers and poets and even two cartoonists (Scott Adams and Gary Trudeau) pick a short piece of their writing that they think is their best work. In an essay that precedes each piece, the author explains why he or she chose that particular piece and why they think it is their best work. I found the essays fascinating and enlightening (expect Paul Auster's. He wrote what I found to be an exceptionally snotty single paragraph for his essay saying that writers didn't know anything about their own work and shouldn't talk about it.) The essays made me realize that all writers, even famous ones, go through a universal process of fears, doubts, and self-criticisms as they strugle to translate their ideas from brain to paper. I highly recommend the book.
So what was the best book you received as a gift in 2007?
