Dear Lionel Shriver,

Congratulations. I finished We Need To Talk About Kevin, and it’s my new favorite book.

Here’s what I learned:

1. As my first e-book on a Kindle, We Need to Talk About Kevin taught me I actually like e-readers. Apparently page-turning is hard work. (See Jon Stewart’s Kindle commentary here.)
2. I decided I really don’t want kids (sorry, Mum).
3. I learned it may or may not be my fault if my son turns out to be a mass murderer.
4. I learned to write beautiful, self-aware prose, even about paint drying. (I was hooked from the very first image of drooling eggs.)
5. I remembered characters don’t have to be likeable.
6. I learned it’s okay to be a nonconformist and question the idea of American Supremacy.
7. I learned how to write letters to my dead husband with effective flashbacks. Oh, sorry: Spoiler alert.
8. I observed writing about politics, current events, and unconventional perceptions can work. Long live intelligent literature!
9. As an editor, I added a new Bucket List item: Be a part of a remarkable manuscript like We Need to Talk About Kevin. Let me know when Kevin gets paroled, and I’ll hunt down those wily commas for you. You know where to find me.
10. But most of all, I remembered reading diverse, challenging, and high-quality literature is key to being a strong writer myself.

Well done. And thanks.

Cheers,

Missy Lacock

UPDATE: Lionel Shriver has since favorited one of my tweets (dusts off shoulder).