Leslie's Reviews > Letters of E.B. White

So it took me nearly seven years to read this wonderful, wonderful book of letters by my favorite writer of all time. I bought it new, as soon as I saw it at my beloved now-defunct Locust Books in Westminster, and it became my bedside book. And, since I rarely read in bed any more--although I love to read in bed, so why I don't do it more often is a puzzlement--it, yes, took me all these years to finish.

But while reading it, there were many occasions on which I shook the entire bed (including dogs) because I was laughing so hard. (Fortunately, dogs are very patient and stoic about this.) E. B. White's humor is dry, his observations are clear and simple, and he makes it all look so easy. Yes, there are letters about Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little (I am more of a Stuart fan, myself), and his New Yorker columns, but it's the day-to-day stuff that overwhelmed me. White is the master.

If you're looking for excitement, this is not the book for you. But if you love good, clean, perfect, precise writing...well, E. B. White is the man for you.