I really liked the format of the book. Part one is a memoir made up of selected snapshots from King's youth that led him to the writer he became. They don't necessarily always follow chronological order but they've got a certain logic to them that reinforces the advice that comes later. And you care. I couldn't stop reading as King went from the kid in Durham to sliding down the wall as he heard the good news about Carrie's paperback rights going for a ton, which is neatly foreshadowed in an earlier snapshot.

The advice itself also reads as a narrative, less Strunk and White and more your buddy telling you over lunch to try this thing, it's helped him a lot. Again there's a lot of the snapshots from a career going on talking about "And here's this time I had to learn this bit, so don't be afraid. It's gonna happen so just roll with it."

I've never really had non-fiction suck me in and keep me reading like this did. King can definitely say that he knows his language.