It is an intense and fun MUST read...

I just got done reading one of the articles posted by Sam (that she says Dr. Sexson unearthed), and I also am quite impressed by how much fun and intense it was. Just because I read this article I am write now pre-ordering the book. If you have any respect for Nabokov, his work, or what happens to magic when the trick is unveiled only halfway through the act, you must read this article. The link is here.

The part that excited me the most (as a writer) were in the last lines of the article:

But—and this is the second but not secondary meaning of the blottings out—revisions also offer a window into the humanity of the author. That even the greatest of geniuses (and yes, I believe the term is valid for these two) were not superhuman; they live in the same world of error and doubt that the rest of us inhabit. The fact that they think they've made "mistakes" makes their work even more perfect than it would be if they never blotted a line or scratched out a word.

This gives me hope that someday I may be able to actually write and perhaps publish something that is readable and close to intelligence (since I most definitely do not have the ability to turn lead from my pencil INSTANTANEOUSLY into gold on a page).