How I Read

I think I read differently than most people. A compelling narrative can pull me in, but it's an author's craft that keeps me there. I love the detective work of uncovering the hidden devices employed by clever writers - their scene choices, plot structures, symbolism, callbacks, and especially the Easter eggs tucked away for attentive readers. Beneath every great story lies another story: how it was built.

Reading as deconstruction is a little like standing before a Motherwell or a Frankenthaler for the first time. Color and form appear effortless until you begin to see the intention beneath every brushstroke. That's what I love discovering in novels. It’s not only the beauty, but the structure hidden beneath it.

A good book must have both. Story, structure and style is the definition a great read for me. My writing heroes include Michael Crichton, George Saunders and Herman Hesse. Each of these authors inspire me. They’re not to be compared because they stand alone. Unique voice, equally imaginative and memorable stories make them great authors with unforgettable books.

Crichton was the first author I read whose style most replicated a film script. Scene after scene after scene. I was unable to put his novels down. I joked with my wife that his books were like crack cocaine. His carefully researched, believable science, told with the pace of an action movie, led me to read deep into the night. Some days my job suffered from lack of sleep. But worth it.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders is one of the finest novels I've ever read. I suggested it for our family book club, to which I was initially criticized. I was told, before any of us had read it, that it was too weird. I think in hindsight that’s what drew me to it. His characters elicit familiarity with Lincoln, portraying a very human tragedy with gentleness while introducing his own cosmology of the dead. I saw a video interview with him saying that this novel was intentionally written as a challenge. And one of his purposes was to teach the reader how to read it. His use of italicization, chorus voices, dialect, and other devices gave Lincoln’s grief a solemn, intimate rendering. The novel doesn't simply tell a story, it teaches the reader how to read it. I found that extraordinary.

Hesse’s books must be read as a body of fantastic literary fiction that offers historic settings and personal reflection. Reading his books taught me that novels can wrestle with theology without becoming sermons. His technique of carrying the reader from familiar religious traditions, Buddhism, Christianity and others into his own spiritual vision. 

When I finish a great novel, I'm rarely finished with it. I want to go into the back room and watch the author at work. Where did they hide the structure? Why did they choose this scene instead of another? What are they feeling? Are they laughing? Crying? Have their characters begun making decisions of their own? That's the joy of reading for me. I don't just want the story—I want to understand the craft that gave it a voice.

That’s how I read.