“I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have from reading novels. The understatements in the tenor saxophone of Lester Young, the crystal, haunting, forever searching sounds of John Coltrane, and the softness and violence of Count Basie's big band - all have fired my imagination as much as anything in literature.” PeopleWritingBigsYoungReadingLiteratureSoundImaginationNovelForeverViolenceListeningBandJazzI Have LearnedMy ImaginationHauntingCrystalsSoftnessSaxophoneTenorsUnderstatementColtraneReading NovelsLester Young Author:Ernest Gaines
“I was always an album guy, not a greatest hits kind of guy, not so much a radio guy. I'm not saying one is better than the other but... It was like reading a novel but shorter than that. You go into a world for an hour and you absorb yourself into it rather than just passively listening and flipping through this and that.” WorldKindGuyReadingHoursNovelListeningRadioAlbums Author:Mark Stoermer
“I would say recently I've gotten back to perusing [Samuel] Beckett's novels. Listening to the way Donald Trump speaks without saying anything has made me think about language.” ThinkingWayMadeSpeakLanguageNovelListeningTrumpBeckett Author:David Duchovny
“Graphic novels might really speak to one child who's struggling with the other kinds of reading and might help them discover that storytelling is joyful and personal and illuminating. They might find your way in auditorily by listening to audio books in the car instead of playing Game Boys or watching DVDs.” WayKindChildrenBookHelpingMightReadingGamesSpeakBoysNovelStruggleCarListeningStorytellingJoyfulGraphicDvdsPlaying GamesIlluminatingGraphic NovelsAudioAudio Books Author:Emma Walton Hamilton
“I'm inspired by watching and listening to people. For example, my first novel, The Scale, came to life after I overheard two women discussing their struggle with their weight at the gym.” PeopleNovelStruggleListeningInspiredGym Author:Mika
“Listening to people discussing a novel can be very interesting, if you've read whatever novel is being discussed. No one, it seems, ever says, "This is a great book but I didn't like it." Taking a little time to think about why this might be has been very liberating.” PeopleThinkingBookInterestingNovelListeningVery InterestingLiberatingTime To ThinkGreat Book Author:Zia Haider Rahman