I don't tend to be a big re-reader of books. So I've fallen into the habit of giving away books shortly after I read them (or rather, putting them in a box by the door & getting rid of boxes at a time; it's a rather unglamourous spot to live out a few months, that spot by the door, but life is harsh).

As I live in a small corridor (ie. a Sydney terrace), I'm quite content with my rapid removal of books. I like the small gap on the shelf made by an abandoned book. Space for something new.

So it's with mixed feelings that I finish a book & realise it has to be kept. An important book, or a book to remind myself, or a book I'll go back to (in part if not in totality).

It turns out Sara Paretsky's book, 'Writing in an Age of Silence' is one of those keepers. Not only does Paretsky write about writing when you're a child, writing when you're a woman (with the keen feminist eye that works like a cold espresso to the brain), but also writing in a time when civil liberties are under threat in the post-911 world.

And though it *may* help to be familiar with Paretsky's fiction work (she often refers to the influences on her PI invention, V.I. Warchowski), it's not necessary. I've read only one Warchowski book & still found enough to be fascinated by. Paretsky's vision of Chicago & history & civil liberties is enough to keep me interested all on its own.

Highly recommended.