You are what you read

They say you are what you eat. I say, you are what you read.

If you want to be a reporter, you have to read the news. That used to mean reading a newspaper every morning, or even two or three. Now you can get your daily dose of news online. I’m agnostic on that point, as long as you read.

To be a good writer, you’ve got to read good writing. I read The New Yorker because I love the story mix, You never know what you’ll get from one week to the next, but there’s a 99.9 percent chance you’ll be captivated by a story on a subject you never realized could be so fascinating, or even existed.

Right now I’m reading two of my favorite authors. One is Anne Lamott, the dreadlocks-wearing, born-again, liberal writer from California’s Marin County who gained attention in 1993 with “Operating Instructions”, her hilarious, soulful account of the birth of her son and their first year together. I’m listening to Lamott’s book “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith” on CD. Listening to Lamott’s voice is like listening to a sermon: soothing and spiritual and good in small doses, a perfect companion for afternoon carpool rounds.

The other is Susan Straight, an ex-newspaper copy editor and current college professor who lives in southern California’s dusty Inland Empire. I first discovered Straight when my old book group “I’ve Been in Sorrow’s Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots”. I’ve also read “Highwire Moon”, which was a National Book Award nominee. Now I’m reading “A Million Nightingales” and it promises to be as good as the others.

It’s a coincidence that I’m reading both of these authors at the same time. Apart from gender and geography they don’t have a lot in common. But each does have a distinct and authentic voice. They sound so much like themselves. Because their books read so well, they make achieving that seem easy. But getting to that place requires enormous effort and practice.