I had noticed reviews of this book but hadn't been drawn to it particularly. For one thing it was interrogating the work of Russian short story writers and for another it was written by George Saunders, whom I found rather daunting. But a friend, a writer, recommended this book so passionately that I thought I had to at least take a look at what it had to offer. And my...!

So I'll start by saying that I'm not a great fan of the short story and it's been a while since I've read any Russian authors so a book detailing a teacher's classes on Russian short story writing didn't have a huge appeal.

And then there's George Saunders. He is the author of the Booker-winning 'Lincoln in the Bardo' which I always wanted to read but kept putting back on the shelf thinking it was beyond me with its unusual form, structure and premise.

But I recently read 'Lincoln' and am completely won over by it, and in agreement with the Booker judges (that doesn't happen often). What an amazing, original, breathtaking book!

As a result, I conceded this writer might be worth listening to. So I took up this book and once again have been amazed.

Saunders has such a warm, inclusive manner. This has been evident in his radio and tv interviews, but also in this book where he shares his insight into writing, reading and life through taking seven short stories almost line by line, drawing our attention to what the writer is doing, how we respond as a reader and what life lessons we learn as a result. It's amazing. And it's important.

As Saunders says: 'The part of the mind that reads a story is also the part that reads the world...' And, he says, meeting readers has convinced him that 'there's a vast underground network of goodness at work in the world - a web of people who've put reading at the centre of their lives because they know from experience that reading makes them more expansive, generous people and makes their lives more interesting.'

This is a book which needs to be taken in small doses, though. No point in rushing it!