If you read Junot Diaz, you’re familiar with his omnivorous approach to language. He takes phrases from everything—Spanish, New Jersey, comic books—for the perfect words to tell his story. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Lola track friends were ciguapas; in “The Cheater’s Guide to Love,” Elvis sits shiva with Yunior as he tries to get over his ex-girlfriend. With such specificity, it’s not surprising that Diaz publishes rarely. But between books, he’s a prolific poster of news to Facebook. And he posts about everything, from happenings in Hispaniola to immigration in Korea. It’s impossible to know how any writer writes, but seeing what this writer consumes is a close second.
Bonus endorsement: The Annotated Oscar Wao