New on my list of recommended books on the creative life: Annie Dillard's Living by Fiction, a book about... the world. I've had it on my shelf for years; finally re-read it last week. What a splendid book. She's also a master of the intended diction drop-- which is sometimes hilarious. More anon.
Update: Very fun: novelist Alexander Chee's personal essay, "Annie Dillard and the Writing Life".