I really enjoy good writing...

...wherever it is and whatever it's about. I've often thought that I don't care as much about the subject of a book or a magazine or newspaper article as long as it's well-written and compelling. (Ditto for TV shows while we're at it. I used to like watching Dick Cavett because he could make any topic or guest interesting.) Most of my reading is newspapers and most of that is the New York Times. I love reading their puff pieces because they are often so well-written. These first two paragraphs of the Escapes section caught my attention this morning. All I can think of when I read things like this is: I wish I could write like that.

THE alligator crouched on a bank in the Okefenokee Swamp and leered its tight-toothed grin — a sphinx daring travelers to pass.

My canoe measured 17 feet, and this refugee from the Jurassic Age looked about half that size. Even so, it seemed that a flick of its thick tail, as jagged as a buzz saw, could send the boat (and its unnerved cargo) reeling. Instead of a thump or a bump, though, the alligator slipped indifferently away, nosing beneath the dark water, until just a few bubbles marked its passing.