Quote of the day

Mostly, it felt like there was a book that had already been written years before and then fed through a paper shredder one sheet at a time. It was as if I had the pile of thinly sliced strips covering my desk, and all I had to do was reassemble the book that was already there. After all, it was already there. Living your life is the hard part. Getting it glued down on paper in the right order is tedious, but in comparison to the living, it isn't that hard.

--Ann Patchett, on writing Truth and Beauty (which, if you haven't read, you should. Right now. I'll wait.)