The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard RussoMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked this up from the used book section of Kew & Willow.
I've read several books by Richard Russo, including Elsewhere, and generally enjoy them. I see a lot of parallel between his writing and Stephen King, though they write in very different genres. Since this was a collection of essays, it's quite different from the novels and the memoir, especially since I don't think these essays were written to be together in one book. That makes it so that certain stories or references are repeated in different essays, and while there is a cohesive theme running through them, it definitely doesn't hold together like Elsewhere did.
Having fairly recently finished reading Jonathan Franzen's How to be Alone, I also saw a lot of similarities between the two books. I felt like Russo was more positive in general, and it was definitely interesting to see a writer reflecting so deeply and honestly about his own craft. I had never really thought about how different the process of writing for a publisher and self-publishing could be, and it makes me appreciate print books more.
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