I finished reading 2666 by Roberto Bolaño recently and still find myself thinking about it a lot. It told the stories of so many people’s lives so well and I found it very involving. Besides the main characters there were a large number of side stories, all of them engaging.

This quote from the book captures something incredibly well, if you have aspirations of writing well: “Ivanov’s fear was of a literary nature. That is, it was the fear that afflicts most citizens who, one fine (or dark) day, choose to make the practice of writing, and especially the practice of fiction writing, an integral part of their lives. Fear of being no good. Also fear of being overlooked. But above all, fear of being no good. Fear that one’s efforts and striving will come to nothing. Fear of the step that leaves no trace. Fear of the forces of chance and nature that wipe away shallow prints. Fear of dining alone and unnoticed. Fear of going unrecognized. Fear of failure and making a spectacle of oneself. But above all, fear of being no good. Fear of forever dwelling in the hell of bad writers.”