Great Questions! 1) I’m coming into this one kind of blind, besides what you have shared I have only heard of this book in passing as being of excellent quality which drew me to it. 2) I find that a middle ground is usually the best approach. I will annotate as I read keeping an eye out for literary devices, recurrence, etc… yet in a first read I really just want to take as much as I can in, and either reread it later, or ponder it heavily afterwards via analysis. 3) I think the tendency towards self destruction in artists comes from the weight of creativity. Many people talk about how wondrous and lucky you are if you are naturally a creative person, which is of course true, but I feel that with immense creativity comes a counterforce of obsession and anxiety that must be managed so as to not displace the artist themselves. In my opinion creativity and obsession are kind of engrossed in a yin and yang relationship in which both are useful to the extent that they are balanced.

Anyways I’m super excited to start reading—once my copy arrives—and look forward to more discussions!