Just finished Annie Dillard's 'The Writing Life'—wow. This isn't your typical 'how-to-write' manual. It's more like sipping whiskey with a Pulitzer-winning writer who tells you, 'Yeah, this craft will wreck you, but here’s why we keep doing it anyway.'

Dillard’s metaphors hit different. She compares writing to chasing a log in the ocean (you’ll row forever and still drown sometimes). Her stories about ignoring fireworks to work? Brutally relatable. Pro tip: Skip if you want bullet-point advice; savor if you crave poetic truth bombs.

PS: That line about 'your safe full of ashes' if you hoard ideas? Still staring at my notebook like it owes me money.