05 February 2011

Bonus Post: Better, FTW

I just finished reading Atul Gawande's book Better. In a word: breathtaking.

I'm at a loss to describe how this book affected me. It's about how to perform well in a complex, high-stakes profession, and I find many parallels to my own work.

It's also an example of truly fine writing. As in, his writing is so good you almost don't notice how good it is. The quality of his prose blends in to the background of his story, then halfway through the chapter you notice that reading his words is like drinking cold water on a hot day.

I wish I could write half as well as Dr. Gawande.

If you haven't read any of his books, today's not too soon to start. He's really that good.

1 comment:

David Haddad said...

I was referred to your blog by the Herding Cats blog. I just purchased the book and started on the first few pages. You are right, he is an excellent writer.