Writing

I just started reading The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg and the first three pages made me want to swear off writing.....just toss my keyboard off the deck and start laying tile, or maybe fix lawnmowers for a living.
I'd read his first book, It's all over but the Shoutin', and I was blown away.  But that was several years ago, before I started getting serious about writing.
I went to hear Bragg speak a few months ago and picked up Frogtown but I was reading several books simultaneously, so it went on the "to read" shelf. Today when I finished Catcher in the Rye, I scanned our bookshelf for my next book and Frogtown jumped out at me (no pun intended).
Bragg is the most down to earth author I've ever met. He talks like he writes. There are people from other parts of the country, who might hear his southern drawl, and think him a simpleton. But a line from the hit movie Sweet Home Alabama makes the point - "Jes cuz I talk slow, doesn't mean I'm stupid."
Bragg has the unique ability to use common words, to tell his stories, but he also has the ability to reach inside with his prose, and touch your heart.
All I know is, reading his work makes me want to get better.
If you get a chance to pick up one of his books, I highly recommend that you do. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.