One of the great ironies of being a writer is that you necessarily lose the ability to experience writing in the way that first made you want to write. Sometimes when I’m in the midst of taking some passage apart in order to figure out how a particular author has achieved a certain effect, I’m overcome with a kind of deep sadness resulting from the fact that I can’t simply let such mysteries be, to bask in the baffled state of wonder I have, say, about my iPhone.
Do you read like a writer? If so, is it always a good thing?