"I can look back through my diary and I can tell when I discovered Joan Didion because all of a sudden I’m writing like Joan Didion. I mean it’s a very poor imitation, but there I am, writing like Joan Didion."

"I wish I could write like Joan Didion."

"Nearly all of Joan Didion contained in one volume, and therefore more of the late 20th century US than in any other writer."

"If I had to pick one book, one example of what I love, it would be this book. I enrolled in a lecture series called “How the West Was Written” and started with Willa Cather and ended with Joan Didion. In the middle of the series we read Stegner. It is as great a book as you will ever read."

"I guess it’s a bit obvious to have a Joan Didion book on my list, but she is my most loved writer of all time. This book is a memoir about the year the followed her husband’s sudden death, and is one of the greatest books about grief and loss ever written. I re-read it last year, after going through a breakup, and it really helped me. I recommend it to anyone who's dealing with the loss of someone or something."