About Anne Fadiman (1953)

"Essays, for me," she told the U.K.'s Guardian, "provide for the writer a chance to move into the sort of leisurely, slightly hedonistic mode that, in the 21st century, has become a luxury."

She remains a great lover of books, telling the Guardian, "I am very grateful to the electronic world for making my life easier, but there is something about holding a book — the smell and the world of association. Even when e-books are perfected, as they surely will be, it will be like being in bed with a very well-made robot rather than a warm, soft, human being whom you love."