This summarizes a wonderful article by Anthony Madrid.
No, not a novel or a poetry collection, not a compendium of essays. Certainly not a book for publication.
The books are:
- a book about oneself
- a book about others
- an anthology of favorites
- a book about words
- a book of lists
- a book to burn
Mr. Madrid provides examples for each of these, The Diary of Samuel Pepys for the book about oneself. Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book is the example for a book of lists, of which Madrid states, “Again, your book of lists won’t be as good as hers. Hers is a thousand years old; her personality is exquisite and Martian.”
If you have the literacy to read this post, you have what it takes to write any or all of these books.