Books Quote by William Zinsser

I am a novelist. I traffic in subtleties, and my goal in writing a novel is to leave the reader not knowing what to…

— Teju Cole

When you read, don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think

— Tom Schulman

“Forget all those prescriptive ideas about "the novel" and "literature" and set down your feelings and thoughts as they come to you, freely, in…

— Haruki Murakami

“When you write a book and leave your readers emotional when they're done reading it. Then and only then you have connected with your…

— Jerry Don Nicholes Sr

In the best nonfiction, it seems to me, you're always made aware that you are being engaged with a supple mind at work. The…

— Phillip Lopate

A novel should tell a story, be a pleasure to read, and at the same time it should be thought-provoking, even a bit instructive.

— Olga Tokarczuk

Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…

— Ashwin Sanghi

Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most successful nonfiction books are those that can be boiled down into an argument so…

— Geoff Dyer

You want to say the thing that will drive everybody in the direction you want to go. But as a writer you have a…

— Michael Pollan

“How many times in life have I been advised to "toe the line," to "tone it down," to stop "pushing the envelope"? As a…

— Sherry Jones

The first book you write because of the way it makes you feel. The second one you can't help but wonder how it's going…

— Kathryn Stockett

I'm bothered, as a reader, when I feel the writer is filling in too much. Again, whether it's nonfiction or fiction, I think writers…

— Lynne Tillman